Shoe Design Competition Judges Announced

The Vein Wear Shoe Design Competition judging panel has been announced. Hurry to get your entries in. There are only 22 days left. For details and to enter see the competition site: https://sites.google.com/a/veinwear.com/shoe-design-competition/

The judges are:

• Guy Mosel, FHM Editor
• Laura Stead, The Courier-Mail Fashion Editor
• Elizabeth Clarke, QWeekend Fashion
• Mikki Brammer, MAP Magazine Editor
• Matt Jordan, Imelda Blog Editor
• Wendy Armstorng, QUT Fashion
• Sally Brindley-Mills, MSIT Fashion
• Gordon Kelly, Hallelujah Shoe Works Owner
• Chris McCallum, Vein Wear Designer/Owner
• Szuting McCallum, Kitty Croquet Designer/Owner

Free Lunchtime Laneway Fashion

From BrisbaneTimes.com.au

Designs by Paul Hunt (featured centre with models) are among those included at the Burnett Lane fashion parade.


"Burnett Lane will be transformed into the city’s centre of high end fashion when the Brisbane City Council hosts a free lunchtime fashion parade.

Against the backdrop of the recently revitalised lane, city goers can enjoy fashion from 16 of Brisbane’s most sought after and well known designers, and designs from some of the city’s most talented up and coming Queensland University of Technology fashion students.

Designers include: Neon Heartache, dogstar, Pistols at Dawn, Maiocchi, Vanguard, Rebecca Manning Swim, Alexis Dawn, Daniel Alexander, Tengdahl, Foxton Danger, Lisa Brown, George Wu, Paul Hunt, and Darb Bridal Couture.

Accessories from: Chelsea De Luca, Stones Diamonds, Nat-Sui, Vein Wear, The Hat Box and Optiko.

The fashion show will be the first of a number of events to be held in the lane over the next six weeks in the lead up to Council implementing a permanent part-day road closure of the space from early 2011.

Burnett Lane was the first city centre laneway to undergo major revitalisation through Council’s City Centre Master Plan Vibrant Laneway program, designed to help deliver a vibrant, engaging and culturally diverse city centre.

Burnett Lane runs parallel to Adelaide Street and the Queen Street Mall. Entry to Burnett Lane for the Fashion Showcase event is via the Queen Adelaide Building on Queen Street Mall. "

Leather Shopping

I'm in Taiwan at the moment in our workshop. Yesterday I went leather shopping. Choosing leathers is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job.

Imagine hundreds of rolls of leather hides. All different colours, types, thicknesses and tanning techniques. There's nothing quite like unrolling a beautifully tanned, supple leather of immaculate quality and running your hands over it. It's very exciting to imaging it becoming an incredible pair of shoes.

A calf hide or half a cow hide can make about 15 or more pairs of shoes. I only stock between one and three hides of special leathers. Many of which can never be repeated because each hide and each tan and colour is unique to the batch. Matching the grain and colour with genuine full grain leather is impossible.

Rest assured, I picked up some beauties.

Get $100 to spend on new Vein Wear & Kitty Croquet shoes, just by tweeting

The first person to check-in 10 times to the Vein Shoe Store on Adelaide St, and twitter about it using the tags #veinwear and #raybanrare, will win $100 to spend on shoes.




This is dead easy. Do it!



Also, if you come into the store and tweet a photo of yourself pulling a whacky face wearing the Ray-Ban Rare sunnies (provided), you go into the draw to win the sunnies!



This all ends at the end of November. Start now!

One Shoe. Three Looks.

A man's wardrobe needs to be as versatile as a Swiss Army knife, allowing for a number of occasions to be covered, with a well edited selection of staple items.

Vein Shoes once again have come to rescue by designing a "multi-purpose" shoe that will suit all occasions. The Veegus Loafer carries all the qualities of a Vein shoe that you have come to love, like full grain genuine leather uppers and linings and skillful hand-craftsmanship.

As pictured these shoes will fit all the requirements of your summer wardrobe. From the office to cocktail hour and then a lazy Sunday, the Veegus Loafer will have you looking sharp no matter what the occasion.

Own a pair of Vein Wear Veegus Loafers today from VeinWear.com.

One Shoe.. Three looks by adamgrant featuring sheer tops

LnA Deep V-neck T-shirt
56 EUR - shopjenesaisquoi.com
Sheer tops »

UNHOLY MATRIMONY S11-P301 CHARCOAL FRENCH TERRY DROP CROTCH SHORTS
123 GBP - farfetch.com
Cut off shorts »

Maison Michel Sean Fedora
215 GBP - brownsfashion.com
Fedora hat »

DOLCE & GABBANA 110149 BLACK WOOL/VISCOSE MENS SUIT
1,189 GBP - farfetch.com

ANN DEMEULEMEESTER 3604123001 WHITE COTTON CLASSIC SHIRT
224 GBP - farfetch.com

Balmain jeans BLACK
725 GBP - matchesfashion.com

Balenciaga bags BLACK
1,025 GBP - matchesfashion.com

Lanvin shirts GREY
285 GBP - matchesfashion.com

Dior Silk Tie - Men - Ties
$120 - farfetch.com

PERSOL Sunglasses
165 EUR - colette.fr

Vein Wear Veegus Loafer
veinwear.com

Tiffany & Co Mens Tiffany Necklaces
pretty-tiffany.com

Leather vs. Vegan (PU) Debate

A long running discussion is going on in the footwear industry regarding the use of leather or vegan (PU) materials and which is better for the planet. There are some pretty uninformed articles circulating on the web. I thought I would re-post two thoughtful comments I read recently from LinkedIn discussions.


From Kathleen Fasanella, a vegetarian, animal activist:

"I've been lurking to gauge the direction of discussion and have been pleased other factions haven't been maligned. That's a tack to keep, it makes us look good. I suppose I should qualify my perspective:
1. I've been a vegetarian for a very long time.
2. I'm an activist, involved in animal rescue for years.
3. I'm a leather pattern maker working in leather garment production. I love the medium and don't find it incongruous to 1/2 in the slightest.

My point being that the motivations of vegetarian activists are not universal. As such a few misconceptions bear an airing because it's a way to integrate conversation and thus increase credibility and influence. For example, not all vegetarians and vegans are anti-leather activists. I know vegetarians who don't even like animals.

Many people like me are vegetarians because husbandry practices in the US (mostly) are unsustainable, highly wasteful of fossil fuels and extremely detrimental to the environment. Since few animals are killed for their hides, the remainder skins amount to byproduct requiring disposal contributing to still further degradation, disease and clogged landfills. In this light, the more responsible action is to process the skins so relatively less is wasted.

The points that can make an impact with activists is peppering the discussion with:
1. Few animals are slaughtered for their hides.
2. It is more wasteful to dispose of leather byproducts than to reuse them for materials.
3. Leather is more sustainable because it is longer lasting and more durable than substitutes.
4. The environmental load of synthetic leathers is arguably greater than that of leather hide production.
etc.

I've been fairly successful at converting quite a few activists with these points. Perhaps it is due in part to the credibility I have with sustainability adherents, my community and of course, that I'm a vegetarian animal activist working in the leather needle trades but it readily translates."


From John Avery, leather consultant of over 30 years:


"A true and thorough life-cycle analysis is difficult to achieve, one material to another. There are always grey areas, perhaps where commercial interests get in the way and some companies would prefer that actual figures don't get out. 


My 30-odd years in the industry do build up the anecdotal evidence though that anything based on the petrochemical industry is fundamentally short-term and less sustainable as well as being worse for the environment. 


Also, assuming that people will continue to eat meat, however grown and collected and regardles of pressure groups, that the chemical products of degradation from a rotting hide or skin are more environmentally damaging than the output from the tanning process. That said, the level of environmental responsibility demonstrated in many areas of the world immediately makes tanning the preferred option, due to the advanced treatment technologies available for waste waters from tanneries. 


Therefore it is always better to process a by product into a useable material. In the case of leather, one that provides unrivalled flexibility of application, performance and elegance."

3-Piece Loafers in a new Dark Brown Leather

The 3-Piece Loafer has been released in a beautifully supple paraffin wax leather. It is available now in the TCB Vein Shoe Store only and at VeinWear.com.

City News: Boots made for walkin'

'VEIN Wear shoe designer Chris McCallum (pictured) set off on a quest 18 months ago to wear the same pair of boots day in, day out for 500 consecutive days. What did he discover? That high quality items are less expensive in teh long run. "I estimate I walked over 5000 steps or 4km a day, averaged out for 500 days, in the Vein pleated desert boots," Chris says.

"The total distance walked was about 2000km. Like the Proclaimers before me, I walked 500 miles and 500 more, just to be the man who walked a thousand miles, which actually converts to 1609km making me the man who walked a thousand miles and then kept going!" Phew! The upshot of all this? Chris reckons his pleated desert boots, $269, are bloody good bang for your buck.'

Patent Black Full Grain Leather Pointed Loafers In Store Now for $249.00

Slick, soft patent black loafers released into the store and online today. 13 pairs available. The full grain leather upper is a beautiful quality, durable hide. A minimal sharp design with achilles padding for comfort and fit. The sole is a durable 4mm rubber. The full grain bovine leather lining is soft and strong. It is non-dyed so you can wear them with or without socks.

$200 Vein Wear Giveaway in UniSex Magazine

"WELCOME YOUR TOES TO SUMMER 2010 IN STYLE THIS YEAR.

Every guy loves a soft, light, comfy shoe he can wear with anything in summer. Introducing the Vein Wear's latest release (coming soon): THE BOAT SHOE. In butter-soft genuine nubuck leather, which is a more durable material than suede, Vein's boat shoe (RRP$239) comes in four colours to suit any ensemble - sky blue, black, pink and grey and features contrast stitching.

Thanks to the shoe's soft, flexible, slipper-style rubber sole, the boat shoe is surprisingly light and include all the usual luxuries you have come to expect from Vein - such as a softly-padded foot-bed and fully padded leather lining that is non-dyed and non-allergenic.

The boat shoe will be in Vein Wear's Brisbane city and Fortitude Valley stores from late October.

VEINWEAR.COM to order yours today or call the team on 0434 059 416 (or (07) 3357 4558).

Even better news is the $200 voucher that Vein Wear have put forward for you to win and treat your feet. Simply hit the UNISEXMAG.com site and go to our FREEBIES page for details."

Leopold Look Book Featuring Vein Wear Shoes

These shots are from the latest collection from clothing designers Leopold. Always refined, mature and classically cool. The shoes are not available just yet. But are expected in about 3 or 4 weeks, hopefully! We are making 10 pairs. If you want to pre-order, please email me (chris@veinwear.com). The style code is V1-4 and price is $199.00.