Chinese Tian-Ling worker shoes remade as fashion plimsolls
Ospop has taken the classic Chinese Tian-Lang worker-sneaker, a handsome, highly evolved little plimsoll, and reworked it, adding insoles, designer colors, eyelets, improved laces -- and sweat-free labor practices -- to produce a high-fashion export version. I bought a pair last week in dark green and I've been wearing them around, and I've found them surprisingly comfy and exceptionally handsome. The tennies arrive wrapped in paper designed by noted calligrapher Zhao Zhi Gang. The company is also running an educational charity for development in the area around its factory. Link
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Wonderful looking shoes. Goes to show how industrial necessities can become fashionable items. I'd buy a pair right now if it weren't for the $43 shipping charge to Canada not including customs fees, ouch.
But, not distributed in Asia!
They look like more thought-out Chucks. Neat. Too bad I just bought a pair of One Stars for thirty bucks (made in china, of course.)
Damn. They don't come big enough. Figures.. having size 15 feet is a curse.
Wow that's pretty incredible.
Chinese worker shoes are fashionable. Fuck it, why not.
Wow, this is like the kind of thing William Gibson would have invented to give an obnoxious hipster character something to buy if it hadn't already existed.
Now, would you buy these because your unaware of the irony of paying eighty American for re-badged Chinese factory worker shoes, or because your aware of it and crave irony like a a Chinese factory worker craves a pack of Zhongnanhai's.
Well Cortana, Ye know what they sat about men with size 13 feet...??
Mithrandir - #1 WIN
Just searched ospop on Facebook and if you become a fan of their page they have some really interesting videos to watch about their shoes, factory, and education initiative to watch. Well worth it.
$76 for a pair of canvas hi-tops?
AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.
Consumers are stupid.
"Tennies?" Really, Cory. One of the first things I learned after coming to Canada is that they are called "runners" or "running shoes."
And "colors" instead of "colours?"
Are you sure you are not really from the Toronto suburb of Buffalo?
Yeah, I bet the originals don't cost $76.
Asian supermarkets and similar sometimes sell cheap tennies (yeah, I said tennies). I wonder if you get the real deal there?
$76???? Good luck with that. Anyone know where you can buy the original shoes online?
this is so hilarious! i haven't seen these shoes, but i have a pair of the "Feiyue" (Shoalin Temple) shoes that the actual students their wear. these shoes are all made to hold up to wear & tear, but are not ergonomic and are made super cheaply. i got my pair for like $14 and that is even super marked up!
the fact that they are trying to make this fashionable and super high-priced made me laugh so hard! i guess chucks don't have much support either, but it least it is a staple/icon. and i think the average chuck is around $30.
feiyue's last me about a year doing kung fu, other brands, 3-4 months.
I get black ones without paint on the sides.
I am actually interested in a pair of these. I understand the irony that's been pointed out in the above comments, and $76 is the upper end of my shoe budget I would like it better if it was a little lower. At least with these it's not like Nikes and you're paying $90+ for a pair of chinese made shoes anyways. And at least with your $76 they at least claim to be making donations to local education how bad can that be?
Claim to be making donations?
"Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of shit. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time."
– Tommy Boy
Having worn pairs of “回力” in my childhood (http://flickr.com/photos/shumeng/2484338016/in/set-72157605406968706/ standard color in blue, rubber stud bottoms optional), I'd love to have a pair of these. $76 is a bit silly for turning an essentially proletariat, utilitarian equipment into a marketed capitalist fashion icon, but I can't say I'm not tempted!
Interesting ... trying to access the site from Singapore yields a redirect to this page:
http://www.ospop.com/block.php
(In case they've blocked *that* page from other countries, it just says "Sorry this site is not available in your country" and offers a login box for a bypass code.)
Limited distribution I can understand, but limited ability-to-browse? Could they just be trying to save bandwidth in countries they don't sell to, or ...?
Perhaps there is a young, entrepreneurial type in Hong Kong who can source the original, presumably cheaper, shoes and sell them on Ebay?
I purchased a similar pair of shoes at a flea market in Galt, CA for $20. Minus the "circle T" of course.
As a fan of "Pattern Recognition" (and William Gibson in general, of course) I'd have to point out that Cayce Pollard would have bought the original item in bulk, while this version would have sent her into convulsions. And that's just the approach I'm taking as based on a fictional being who, I think personally, was on to something. (Again, thank you W.G.) While branding is getting more and more pervasive, here I am feeling like going in the opposite direction.
Still... cool shoes.
i had a pair of Japanese canvas construction worker boots a few years ago (around $20 from my local hardware store if i remember right). they were surprisingly tough but had almost no cushioning on the sole, making them impractical for long walks on concrete. if someone made a more comfortable version for a higher price, i'd probably buy them.
jikatabi?
http://www.baskweb.com/site/store/1052802/images/Black_Jikatabi.jpg
Speaking of shoe support, is it time to cite this lengthy but brilliant article about how our notions of foot support are all wrong?
The site is also blocked here in Shanghai, China.
At the local market, you can buy the original version for about 1$. The biggest size you can get is a size 10 which kind of make sense when you look at the construction workers here. They come from the poorest parts of China and are quite shorter than the average Shanghainese.
these look like my palladiums (in gray)
UK buyers beware -to your $76 shoes + $44 shipping fees you should add a whopping £44 (44 pounds sterling) of import duties to the bill, bringing the total cost higher than $200!
Returning the items and obtaining a refund is also a challenge with their unhelpful (and somewhat deceitful) costumer services.