size? Blog

The latest release from our worldwide exclusive collaboration series with Nike Sportswear see the ever-popular Blazer silhouette land in a low-top version.

Constructed of premium tumbled leather and complete with Nike’s ‘vintage’ treatment, each colourway are limited to just 500 pairs each with the sail/black-sail colourway releasing this Friday (6^th April) and the sail/action red-sail version hitting stores and online in the not too distant future.

The Cross 70, a multipurpose outdoor training shoe, first landed on our shores in 1976. Constructed on a toughened PU outsole, the shoe’s key feature was a nylon weave upper, which was designed to shed weight. Strength and durability were then added to the silhouette by a suede heel and toe-piece.

The low-profile Cross 70 resembled other releases of its era - none more so than the adidas Originals SL 76, which also featured the same a Ghilly lacing system.

Released as a size? exclusive as part of Diadora’s Collection, the Cross 70 will be available from stores and online in April (exact date TBC).

The next in our series of New Balance ‘Excellent Makers’ campaign videos - a series of short videos created to showcase the skills of a selection of key New Balance wearers. From athletes, artists, musicians and factory workers, each one sharing the same passion for what they do - features UK based screen printer Kate Gibb.

A silk-screen artist who finds inspiration in the most unlikely of places, Gibb speaks on her love of art with the video culminating in the production of a unique New Balance-specific print.

Check it out…

The latest project from long-term collaborators PUMA and UNDFTD sees the innovative qualities of the Los Angeles based lifestyle brand brilliantly coupled with the storied history of the PUMA footwear lineage resulting in a colourful reworking of the Clyde, one of PUMA’s most iconic silhouettes.

Combining rugged Ballistic Nylon with classic PUMA aesthetics and added suede detailing, the collection brings a modern twist to a timeless classic and one of the most recognisable models in footwear history.

Available in 5 muted pastel colourways, the PUMA Clyde x UNDFTD Ballistic Collection launches at selected size? stores and online on Tuesday 10th April in limited numbers.

Arguably Diadora’s most iconic piece of footwear, the B. Elite launched in 1981 in its home territory of Italy, originally designed for Swedish tennis pro Bjorn Borg. In its early years, the shoe was hard to come by in the UK and so instantly became a hit with travelling football fans who regularly visited the Continent following their teams, usually to return with bags of premium sports footwear and apparel from the top European brands.

This level of prestige and its clean, classic styling ensured the B. Elite became one of the most desirable releases at the time, allowing it to stand its ground alongside other soccer casual classics like the adidas Trimm-Trab & Puma G. Vilas.

For our spring/summer 2012 releases, premium leathers have been used in the uppers and combine well with the two-tone, abrasion-resistant rubbers of the sole unit, with contrasting navy and red colour pops used on the side of the shoe, tongue and heel tab allowing the Diadora branding to standout.

A true terrace classic, the B. Elite will be available from size? stores and online in April (exact date TBC).

‘Staff Style’ is our latest feature here at size? where you can get a little look at what our head office staff are wearing. Concentrating on the shoes (as you always should do!), we’ll also pick up some info about the staff member including position, length of service, favourite ever shoe, their seasonal style prediction and what they are wearing today. Edition #1 below…

Name: Daniel Langhorn

Position: Look after multi-channel marketing

Time at size?: 3.5 years

Favourite ever shoe: Nike Air 180 OG or adidas Originals Dublin (size? 10th Anniversary edition). Tough call!

Seasonal style prediction: Hawaiian shirts and 50s South Pacific style!

What are you wearing?: Stussy Island shirt (available here) and a pair of PUMA Bluebirds (available here).

Ahead of the upcoming launch of Diadora at size?, we’re pleased to be able to bring a sneak preview of what’s to come from the Italian heritage brand. Shot by our friends at Second To None, the lookbook provides an insight into our exclusive summer 2012 collection of footwear.

Detailed info on each of the 4 silhouettes in the collection will follow but in the meantime you can see the lookbook in full by clicking this link.

Love it or loath it, re-selling is now a big part of Sneaker Culture. Over the past 12 months or so the latest generation of streetwear fans have sprung up here there and everywhere, each one trying to outdo the next with the latest/rarest purchases they can get their hands on. The result, more and more bootleggers have appeared offering a wide range of some of the most sought after releases at knock down prices that a lot of the new ‘sneakerheads’ find hard to resist.

Selling copies is big business, but how can you tell the genuine article from a down right stinkin’ fake; this was the task our friends over at Complex set themselves. So if you’re new to the game and don’t want to become the next victim, check out their article here.

Summer 2012 sees the welcome return of Italian sportswear brand Diadora to size? and to celebrate over the coming weeks we’ll be posting regular updates on the history of one of the worlds most iconic brands and their offerings for the coming season.

Diadora was established by Marcello Danieli in Caerano di San Marco, in the Montello area of the Montebelluno foothills of northern Italy’s Veneto region, in 1948.

In the early years, the brand specialised in the manufacture of boots and equipment for mountaineering/hiking and other related pursuits and soon established a reputation in Italy due to the high standard of product they produced.

Over the coming decades Diadora focused more and more on the production of premium sportswear products, honing their skills on competitive and non-competitive sports and leisure activities and successfully bridged the gap between performance-based and trend-led training footwear.

Renowned for their technical excellence and classic Italian styling, we’re proud to announce the return of Diadora to size? A brand steeped in history and with the premium product to match, we’re already predicting big things for these guys in 2012!

Earlier this week we posted the first video from New Balance’s ‘Excellent Makers’ series. The video focused on the UK domestic manufacture of selected NB lines and featured the work of some of the brands most skilled and dedicated workforce who have been based at New Balance’s factory in Flimby, Cumbria, over the last 30 years.

Today we bring the next short film from the series, a feature on NB’s US factory based in Norridgewock, Maine.

Enjoy!