Vault by Vans x DQM – “The Halves” OG Sk8-Hi LX (UTP Review!)

Mar 2 16 under Collaborations, Reviews, UTP, Vault | Comments Off

Last weekend had a few big releases, which was kicked off with the DQM “The Halves” Pack. With a focus on minimalism, DQM chose to let the materials and monochromatic white and black colorways do the talking. With premium tumbled leather throughout the shoe, these are classy as hell! The most recognizable and unique feature on this release has to be the luxury high-fashion inspired tongue stitching. I can’t think of another Vans shoe with this same feature. The embossed jazz stripe is another nice subtle feature, for those less interested in repping brands and logos. You may also have failed to notice that the toe is missing any perforations or stitching, which helps reiterate the statement that less is more. If you’re still on the fence about these, then you better decide quickly. Rumor has it, that the entire collection consisted of about 80 pairs total. That’s roughly 20 pairs per style. If that’s true, then these may not even be available anymore, so good luck! I have to give a shout out to the homie Jesus Ayala (mayimbe181) for picking these up for me, as they were in-store only, and I can’t forget to thank Sophia from Vans DQM for making sure we were taken care of. Thank you!

Vault by Vans x OTH x RBW – Raised By Wolves Pack (UTP Review!)

Feb 26 16 under Collaborations, Reviews, UTP, Vault | Comments Off

The Vault by Vans x OTH (Off The Hook) x RBW (Raised by Wolves) collaboration drops tomorrow morning, and the homies over at OTH were kind enough to allow us to get our pairs early. This pack is ridiculously awesome. There are so many cool details in each shoe, and everyone likes to talk about material, and that’s where this collection shines. It’s as if there was some sort of disagreement over how they wanted to lay out the materials on each shoe, so they came up with a compromise by inverting the suede and premium leather on the left and right feet. This has only been done by one other Vans collabo, and that’s the Engineered Garments Classic Slip-On LX series. These are by no means a copy-cat, as I feel there is way more going on, construction wise, with a Sk8-Hi Reissue Zip LX and an Old Skool Zip LX. Each shoe looks absolutely perfect in it’s own right, and if these came in either mock-up, I would still buy it in an instance. You might think that an all black colorway is getting quite tiresome, but when you focus on high end materials and minor details like the triangle stitching on the lace eye rows, the red stripe on the MTE outsole, and the dual-branding on the tongue tag and zipper pulls, then you’ve definitely got something that’s not quite so common anymore. Each pair comes with black flat waxed laces, 3M rope laces, and white flat waxed laces. To top off this release, each shoe comes in a heavy duty drawer box with dustbag, and there’s even a cool bottle opener key chain! If you’re on the fence, I hope my realistic iphone pics and angles in natural outdoor lighting will help you decide if you will be copping a pair, but honestly don’t sleep. I don’t think these will be around long.

Keep checking these sites for the release:

Off The Hook (11 AM EST / 8AM PDT)

Raised by Wolves (11 AM EST / 8AM PDT)

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Erwin’s Current Vans Room

Feb 15 16 under California, China, Collaborations, Friends, General Release, Heritage, History, Japan Only, OTWS, Pro, Supreme, Syndicate, UK Exclusive, UTP, Van Doren, Vault, Vintage, WDYWT | Comments Off

Erwin is the originator of the Vans sneaker room. When he first joined our forum and shared photos of what he had safely locked inside of his house, we were stunned. It’s something that takes a long time to build, and many more have replicated what he has done, and in their own tasteful way, but I just had to pay homage to our friend. Erwin has been thinning the herd, selling off some less favored pairs, but he plans to keep most of the gems. As you can tell, he has a thing for the Sk8-Hi. When we were all buying Chukkas and Half Cabs, Erwin was picking up all of the rarest and coolest Sk8-Hi’s. What blows my mind is that he managed to do this all while residing in the Netherlands. That’s some serious dedication! Thanks for being a part of our core community, and helping educate the new Vans collectors. Salute!

Check out a few prior pics of what the room looked like after the jump

UTP x The Laced Locked and Loaded Super Show (Event Recap) @lacedlockedandloaded #lacedlockedandloaded

Jan 26 16 under Collaborations, Events, Friends, OTWS, UTP | Comments Off

This past Sunday, we linked up with the homies at Frank & Sons for their inaugural Laced, Locked, and Loaded Super Show. If you aren’t from the SoCal area, or you aren’t a comic book, sports memorabilia, or toy nerd, then you probably don’t know what Frank & Sons is. Basically, it’s the OG Triple OG place to go for all things just mentioned. They’ve been around longer than San Diego Comic Con, and this was, and still is the place to go, to get your fix on all things collectible, and yes even sneakers! Open every Tuesday and Saturday! Our friend Pablo runs a booth at this show, and he, along with Frankie Z of Frank & Sons, and their team, organized one of the biggest, and best shows we’ve seen, since the Dunkxchange days. Keep in mind, this was a grassroots effort, and the local shops, and sneaker community came out and supported them to the fullest. I was just stoked to see someone local from my same home town area do something like this, and it was a no-brainer to be a part of it. L.A. came to the SGV/IE for this! The show was huge, and there was a ton of heat on display. I knew that if I was going to join in on this, then I would have to bring out some of the best Vans to ever release. Plus, I was representing for the Vans community that couldn’t be there. I took quite a bit of pictures, mostly of our table, which is probably what y’all wanted to see anyways, right? A special thanks goes out to my Tintin, and to the homie Dean for helping me out all day. Thanks to Pablo and Frankie for the hospitality and keeping things running smoothly for everyone, and oh yeah, thanks to everyone who’s already commented on a few pics on Strictly Waffles FB group, and here’s the rest that I took. Enjoy!

pics after the jump

My Top 5 Vans Pick-Ups of 2015 #underthepalms

Dec 31 15 under Collaborations, Recent Pickups!, Reviews, UTP | Comments Off

It’s been a good year for Vans. No, scratch that. It’s been a GREAT year for Vans! The collaborations were top-notch. Every sub-brand had something cool to offer. Vault by Vans pumped out a lot of epic collaborations, and Vans Syndicate finished off their first 10 years strong with some of the best retros and re-releases we never thought we’d see. The GR collaborations were just as epic, speaking mainly of Disney and the Young At Heart collection. It’s no surprise that Vans’ Instagram followers show more enthusiasm and response than all of the other shoe brands out there. I always get asked to form my own list of top sneakers of the year, and for this year I wanted to share my personal 5 favorite pick-ups. I’ve also created a little back story for each shoe, so enjoy!

-Guamstyles

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The Consortium Co-Lab Presents: East Los Musubi (Sunday Dec. 13th from 12-5 PM)

Dec 4 15 under Collaborations, Events, UTP | Comments Off

This just in! @eastlosmusubi will be joining us at our next @consortiumcolab, serving up their awesome Spam musubis, plates, and sliders, and selling some of their dope merchandise! There’s still time to reserve a table. Contact us by email, or phone. See you all at the @footageairspace on Sunday Dec. 13th, from 12-5 PM! 580 W Lambert Rd. Suite H Brea, CA 92821

The Consortium Co-Lab Presents: Woodman (Sunday Dec. 13th from 12-5 PM)

Dec 3 15 under Collaborations, Events, UTP | Comments Off

We’re proud to announce that Woodman (@wdmnco) will be back for our next @consortiumcolab. Their display was really nice, showcasing their tees and accessories. We look forward to having them return to the @footageairspace on Sunday Dec. 13th, from 12-5 PM! 580 W Lambert Rd. Suite H Brea, CA 92821

The Consortium Co-Lab “collecticon” (Starting Sunday 11.8.15 from 12PM – 5PM)

Oct 20 15 under Collaborations, Events, Friends, Merchandise, NEWS, OTWS, UTP, Vintage | Comments Off

We are extremely excited to announce, along w/ Sole Assassins (@soleassassins), and Footage by Thecoolshoeshine (@footage_official), that we’ll be hosting a bi-monthly “collecticon” if you will we’ve named, “Consortium Co-Lab” at the new Footage Air Space (@footageairspace) located next door to the Footage Shop in Brea, CA.

We invite all collectors to come BUY, SELL, and TRADE all things collectible, such as sneakers, toys, art, records, pins, and everything in between!

Footage consignors also have the option to pay for their vendor fees or make purchases from the event using consigned items as collateral! So join us and help create a grassroots community created by some of the biggest nerds in the game….US!

This will be an all-ages gathering every other Sunday from 12 PM to 5 PM launching on the 8th of November. Limited tables are available, so please inquire by emailing us @ consortiumcolab@gmail.com. Also feel free to call the shop @ 714-757-9001 or call Ron @ 562-253-3627 w/ any additional questions. Please follow @consortiumcolab for updates regarding the event! See you guys there!

580 West Lambert Road Suite H Brea, CA 92821

Vans Vault x OTH – AΩ Slip-On LX (UTP Review!) @othboutique @vanscanada

Sep 4 15 under Collaborations, Reviews, UTP, Vault | Comments Off

Every year there seems to be a style trend with Vans sneakers. Whether it’s influenced by seasons, celebrities, or taste makers, we all know that a trend can come and go like the wind, and with a vast catalog of styles to choose from, Vans can offer up just about anything for anyone. With that said, this is definitely the year of the Slip-On. Many collaborators have chosen this unassuming laid back model, and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few, but here’s some that come to mind. Murakami, Sneakersnstuff, Slam Jam, Barneys, Dime, Harmony Korine, and now add OTH to that list.

Montreal’s Offthehook consistently puts out stunning Vault By Vans collabs, choosing colors and materials that are just plain and simply timeless. No trendy color palettes or patterns. No embellished story. Just pure quality. This time we see a neutral-friendly grey in a combination of suede and canvas, with just enough Greek-inspired accent colors on the elastic to let you know these aren’t average. At face value, you might be turned away by the huge embossed letters on each toe, but to be honest, the branding is only noticeable up close, and besides…It represents OTH!!! These feature a standard white collar lining that are found on most Vans, and the footbeds are the slimmer Ortholite ones with an added leather heel pad, found on most OG Vault styles, so size accordingly. These finish off nicely with a custom black and white heel tab. One last thing to mention is that these come in a sturdy drawer box with dustbag. Us collectors love our drawer boxes, because it allows us to stack more pairs. Oh, you don’t know what that’s like? I envy you!

All in all, OTH continues to bring solid collaborations, that are wearable almost anytime, anywhere. They’ve got their style dialed in, and it’s clean, preppy, mature, and all things we eventually aspire to be. Eeevennntuallllly!!

GET YOUR PAIRS HERE WHILE THEY LAST!

more personal pics after the jump Read More