HELP ME DOWN-AGE MY LOOK
March 5, 2008 2:59 PM Subscribe
Who knows how I can colorize NewBalance shoes without ruining them?
Bought pair of New Balance white walking/running shoes. Model # is 621, they were about $60. Seems the uppers are mostly criss-crossed pieces of white leather; also with white laces, and just a bit of dark blue (for the letter "N" and some other spots of trim). Well... I hate the look! Like an old coot walking around some old-person's villa wearing the lime-green pants and white shoes (and I am allowed to slam the old-person lifestyle because actually I AM 60.... ugh, but I don't wear such pants).
Some easy-to-find and not too expensive materials. THANKS.
Bought pair of New Balance white walking/running shoes. Model # is 621, they were about $60. Seems the uppers are mostly criss-crossed pieces of white leather; also with white laces, and just a bit of dark blue (for the letter "N" and some other spots of trim). Well... I hate the look! Like an old coot walking around some old-person's villa wearing the lime-green pants and white shoes (and I am allowed to slam the old-person lifestyle because actually I AM 60.... ugh, but I don't wear such pants).
Some easy-to-find and not too expensive materials. THANKS.
I have Asics, but they're probably the same sort of material -- soft plasticky bits and meshy bits. Anyway, I painted mine sparkly silver for my first race. Oh yes. I had silver spray paint on hand, but I ended up just spraying a bit of it into a cup and then painting it on the shoes with a brush. It worked really well -- never flaked or cracked, though with lots more running it did start to fade in places.
To be honest I think almost all running shoes are hideous so painting mine sparkly made me gleefully happy!
posted by loiseau at 4:03 PM on March 5, 2008
To be honest I think almost all running shoes are hideous so painting mine sparkly made me gleefully happy!
posted by loiseau at 4:03 PM on March 5, 2008
Best answer: I came across this tutorial. It looks like watered-down acrylics will work, but from a little googling it looks like the aficionados use Angelus leather paint (also good for painting gourds?!)
I must say that more than once I've stopped someone to ask about their awesome kicks and it turns out they're hand-painted. Post pictures when you're done!
posted by ruby.aftermath at 4:05 PM on March 5, 2008
I must say that more than once I've stopped someone to ask about their awesome kicks and it turns out they're hand-painted. Post pictures when you're done!
posted by ruby.aftermath at 4:05 PM on March 5, 2008
What happened to the colored sharpie on the white Nikes?
posted by devilsbrigade at 4:52 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by devilsbrigade at 4:52 PM on March 5, 2008
Response by poster: Very good suggestions. I agree w/ loiseau: the shoes being sold at malls are fascinatingly ugly. So ugly that I was forced to go with white, as the only sane option. I can see that dumping them in a pot of RIT provides the infused look (but it's good). The acrylic/acetone paint job is if you want to apply a Van Goghian fantasy. Bravo!! (See the elegant shoes shown at the end of the "this" link that ruby.aftermath provided.) I'll be thinking about the two techniques now. I'll give pix when I do it.
posted by yazi at 5:04 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by yazi at 5:04 PM on March 5, 2008
Response by poster: BTW: now I know that "kicks" are a "pair of shoes". Let's see, the only endearing nickname from my past is "tennies" and sometimes we said "keds" even if they weren't "Keds"; also, women say "heels" for shoes with heels. But "kicks" has that pimped out feel. It's what I need.
posted by yazi at 5:08 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by yazi at 5:08 PM on March 5, 2008
This may not be on point of the question exactly, but personally, I see the really big deal here as "yazi stepping out"!....AND in style too! Love you from a distance for that. Given these suggestions, you are well on your way my dear.
posted by LiveLurker at 6:46 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by LiveLurker at 6:46 PM on March 5, 2008
Response by poster: Actually, Yazi is sick of his entire life up to this point. Wouldn't mind stepping out of a tinseled fog, doing a little dance step, with Cuban or Brazilian rhythms in the air. Do they have those musics in heaven?
posted by yazi at 7:50 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by yazi at 7:50 PM on March 5, 2008
Geez, yazi, unless you're sick or something (and I sincerely hope not) it's a little early to be thinking about heaven. Despite the attitude of younger people that 60 is "old" (and let's face it, we once felt that way too), life can be way open-ended for us. I'm three years younger that you, have a younger, beautiful wife, two kids seven and eight years old, and fly jets.
Wear out those new running shoes, get a little of that latin rhythm in your step, flirt a little when you get the chance, take up something to get your adrenaline up (like skydiving, scuba, or motorcycles, and no, I'm not kidding), stay up too late, laugh with some kids, tell heaven to wait.
"Older whiskey, younger women, faster horses!" Bwahaahaaa!
posted by dinger at 4:34 AM on March 7, 2008
Wear out those new running shoes, get a little of that latin rhythm in your step, flirt a little when you get the chance, take up something to get your adrenaline up (like skydiving, scuba, or motorcycles, and no, I'm not kidding), stay up too late, laugh with some kids, tell heaven to wait.
"Older whiskey, younger women, faster horses!" Bwahaahaaa!
posted by dinger at 4:34 AM on March 7, 2008
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posted by kscottz at 3:07 PM on March 5, 2008