Every week a different FADER staff member will pick a clothing item or accessory that he or she has lately been spending a lot of time with—or would like to—and write a little love letter to it. We would’ve done a column on who we’re dating but that seemed a little bit much. This week Duncan Cooper writes about the VANS OTW Pritchard in a lovely shade of blueberry.
Buying shoes has always made me very uncomfortable. When I was little I had an over-rough lacer at Buster Brown’s, I think, and it turned me off of the whole thing. Now I buy the same shoe every six months so I don’t have to try on new ones. My purchase decisions are based on minimizing the distance I’d have to walk barefoot to replace them. Mall couture ’til I die: I wear Clarks, and I wear Vans.
So picture my grin at this new development, the Vans OTW Pritchard. Fancy Vans. Okay-in-the-office Vans. My dream come true: Date Vans. They wear like a skate shoe and look like you have a job, and honestly, isn’t that the self-motivated, ex-Big-Brother-reader ethos? Diplo in a cell phone commercial, Exit Through the Gift Shop nominated for an Oscar. For a middle-income aspirant like myself, it’s an ideal shoe. A wide release is coming in March, let's hope that includes my neighborhood. I'll need the black ones when these break down. Until then I'll be here, not letting other people touch my feet, walking like a blueberry badass.