A New Take on Shoes

I was wasting time on the internet the other day, and look what I found! I can't decide if I hate it or if it is the coolest thing ever. Check it out for yourself.



This is a new concept from a company called Skins. It is a two part shoe system that consists of a removable inner piece called the "bone" and collapsable outer piece, aka, the "skin". The idea is to get buyers to buy one bone and multiple skins, so every pair of shoes has the same fit and feel. Each bone is molded to each individual's feet, so there is no "breaking in" period for a new pair of shoes.

The bones cost around $50 and the skins range from $120 to $300.

I have my doubts that Skins will be the next big thing and here's why:

1. They are pretty expensive
2. If I were still selling shoes, I would hate dealing with these things. What happens when you run out of a certain size in a bone? If you can't sell customer a bone, you can't sell them any skins, so keeping a steady supply on hand would be crucial for shops.
3. What happens if somebody changes their mind after buying the bone? Can it be remolded to another person's foot?
4. Crocs. I think they are the ugliest things ever, but people love them because they are cheap, comfortable, and hey, guess what, they mold to your feet. Huh, weird.
5. How long does the bone really last and does it start to smell after awhile?? Alot of the women's designs look like they would be worn without socks, so I'm thinkin' the bone is going to get pretty stanky somewhere down the road.

There could be hope for Skins, though. I think Skins could be popular with people that have foot problems, or people who are on their feet all day, or people who have some money to throw around. I could see these becoming popular with celebrities, for sure. When I was working at River Sports, I had a lady come in one day and hand me a prescription for Superfeet, so maybe if doctors get behind it, that might help.

The system is only scheduled to sell in select cities in select boutiques around the country. The website says that a store in Memphis is scheduled to have them. The initial product launch was set for January 2007. That was pushed back to summer 2007 and that has since been pushed back to fall/winter 2007. So, we'll see. Good new for Skins though, some sizes in a few models have already sold out during the pre-order phase.