Esplanade
Spring has finally arrived... Well OK, it's probably global warming. But, while I was out enjoying the early stages of our planet's demise, I noticed a marked rise in the number of Dutch style cruisers out and about on the city streets. While a cruiser isn't my first choice for bombing around the Charles River, I appreciate seeing others enjoying the casual pace of a Dutch bike for running errands or riding a few blocks to a watering hole.
When I came back to my sketchbook, I was inspired to whip up a light, comfortable ladies sneaker for casual spring riding. This design is essentially a hybrid of a flat and a canvas deck shoe.
After some collaboration with the lovely Mandy McClausky, I decided to split the collar at the achilles tendon and have an thin underlay of foam backed lycra to maximize comfort and prevent gnarly blisters from constant abrasion. This also allowed me to add a little pop of color to the shoe.
The midsole is a slim plain vulcanized tape with a second layer of thicker tape at the toe. I designed the heel logo as a weld of 3M reflective to add a touch of night-time visibility using an element that would be on there anyway.
