Road Tested: Clae Russell

Sung Choi is my new hero. He somehow resurrected Clae and in the process hit me with one of the most pleasant surprises from a sneaker company in a long time. Perhaps I set my expectations too low? Actually, I did not have much in the way of expectations, but from the second I held these in my hands (at Vinnie’s Styles in Brooklyn) I knew that the quality was far beyond most of the hyped stuff out there these days.

I am by no means a sneaker collector. Hell no! I wear all of my stuff, and I wear it into the ground. That’s why with my ‘Road Tested‘ posts, I feature shoes that I have worn for a while now. I wear them on the streets of NYC, through nasty subway stations, and even during my business travels. I am all about aesthetics, but it is functionality and quality that will separate the one-hit hype wonders from those that are here to stay (assuming those in charge know how to operate a business ).

Despite a few pain in the ass pitbull claw scrathes from my eager-to-go-for-a-walk dog, these look brand spanking new. I GoJo the shit out of the white sole every week or so, each time restoring the white completely. If I am meeting with a rather conservative client, the Russells are my go-to shoes. If I was one of those dudes that were sneakers with a suit, these would be the sneakers to wear.

My mom always told me “You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. You can go cheap on clothes, but make sure you have nice shoes.” I will let Clae speak for me all day long.