
LV_1790 – Vault x Diemme – Montebelluna Hi LX
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Collaborations are always exciting in the world of sneaker collecting. We get to see a shop or brand’s personal creation. Sometimes it has an awesome inspirational story beind it. Sometimes it’s a falsely made up one. Sometimes it’s about the artist who helped them design it, or a theme of some sort. There’s no rules to it, except to make it about you, and that’s what Bows & Arrows in Berkeley, CA did. Representing the local “mind expanders” looking for that perfect hallucinogen, they decided to go with a trippy twisted pattern on a 10 oz. canvas throughout the entire shoe. It’s nice to see the NorCal psychonauts represented, without referencing the “Dead Head” culture, which seems to be the go-to theme, rainbow tie-dye patterns and all. The black on white theme usually makes for a less than stellar concept, but this pattern is just ridiculously dope, and the leather accents complement the entire shoe nicely. A “B” woven label sits prominently on the tongue, for that custom branding we like to see on every collaboration, and what better way to break up an all-white vulcanized sole, than with a bright red Vault heel tab? The numbers were limited, and the Bows & Arrows exclusive is now sold out, so use your internet searching skills and hopefully you can get a pair for a decent price!
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There’s no easy way to break this news, but I’ll get straight to the point. The name Offthewallsite and OTWS are going to be leaving us soon. Vans has finally come to us and respectfully asked that we stop using those names, as they are too similar to Off The Wall and OTW, which are their rightfully owned trademarks. We were given a pass all this time, because let’s be honest, they like us, and love what we do for them, and for our beloved sneaker community. This fan site that we’ve created has grown by leaps and bounds over the years, as have the popularity in Vans, especially in the exclusive and limited releases, and collaboration projects , which us Vans collectors seek out mostly. That’s who we cater to, and naturally that’s who we represent. So with that, we will be changing our name to “Under The Palms”, which has a few meanings to me, but in all honesty, it’s just a timeless name. It appeals to us “cool guy Vans heads” who are down with the palm leaf pattern, it looks good on stuff, represents that Cali brand that they are, and most importantly doesn’t infringe on any trademarks! You could also say that we’re “under the palms” of our favorite brand, being held down by the man! Just kidding.
Let me break it down to you for a minute. We represent all that is dope about Vans. All this time, I haven’t really taken the time to sit back and think about that. I mean, I’ve always known that we were the most knowledgeable core group of Vans enthusiasts in the sneaker community. Not just with the shoes, but with the culture, the history, and the heritage. Vans has a ton of that, unlike a few other brands who buy their way into an industry, and constantly are called out for calling something limited, and creating tons of hype, and then re-releasing it later on, just making their customers mad, and in many cases, causing some to defect from said brand. Those tactics have allowed for many other brands to win over a new customer, especially our favorite brand, Vans. We embrace that authenticity about Vans, and we show the people that there’s also a sneaker collector community within Vans. We even convert fans into advocates. We find people all the time, who have worn nothing but Vans their entire life, but never knew there were Vans Vaults, Syndicates, and many dope collabs. We show them that there’s so much more to Vans out there. Without a place to gain knowledge, share release info, show off collections, and buy and sell your Vans to people who are specifically looking for your shoes, then why collect? Vans might as well not even do limited and cool stuff. We invite all to come and hang out with us “Under The Palms”.
-Guamstyles
Coming soon:
Instagram: @underthepalms
Twitter: @underthepalms_
Just a friendly reminder that our art exhibition is still up at Bait in Diamond Bar, so if you didn’t get to see the awesome installation we put together, along with all of our awesome friends who created some awesome art for the show. We’ve been given the okay to leave it up for a few more weeks, so stop on by and say hello, and head up stairs to check it out. Thanks everyone!
First off, I want to say thank you to each and every one of you that came out to support us last Thursday evening. Our successful opening night couldn’t have been done without a crowd! The California Native show is off and running, currently on display at Bait’s flagship store in Diamond Bar, and if you’re anywhere near DB in the next 3 weeks or so, stop in, and head up stairs to check out the awesome art installation, including some of my own personal Vans collection. To be honest, I only host these art shows so I can display my shoes, haha! I’d also like to thank our network of artists for coming through on this event with some awesome pieces for us all to see. It always amazes me, to see different people’s perspectives on our set themes, and to see their unique and talented styles. We’re not worthy to get the level of quality in the art we have been so lucky to receive, but we will proudly accept it and display it out of pure gratitude, if not for anything else.
Please do yourselves a favor and make it a point to come out and visit Bait on a free day, and see what I am trying to poorly put into words for you all. The show was scheduled to run for 2 weeks, but it may run longer now, as their art gallery calendar has opened up recently. Also, if you’ve never been in to Bait before, prepared to be blown away by the awesome vinyl toy collection that is on display. I think it’s safe to say that it’s the largest display of a personal collection (most for sale by the way) in the country, and possibly the world! It’s awe-inspiring, and from what I heard, we drew a bunch of first timers to the shop that night, and plenty of jaws were dropping once they set foot into the store. Don’t forget, Bait carries all of your favorite brand name apparel, and their sneaker selection has been growing as well, with some pretty exclusive stuff to top it off.
Lastly, thank you to Marc, Matt, and Eric at Bait, for working with us, and allowing us to do this. Ryan, Dennis, and I look forward to hosting more events like this in the future, and we have a gang of ideas that we can run with! Please take the time to look through all of the photos after the jump, and spread the word! Thank you.
-Bill “Guamstyles” Cruz
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