cheap bwith shoes, air jordans

Springtime, flowers are blooming, the sun is out, the weather is warm. It’s a season of inspiration, that is, until you open your clothes closet. Somehow, come spring, <a href=”http://www.cheap-nike.net”>cheap nike</a>why does it always feel like there’s nothing to wear? Well, if you’re wondering what to hang in your closet this year, we’ve got some help for you. Teri Agins is the author of The End of Fashion: How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever, and senior special writer for the Wall Street Journal. She joins us by phone from her office in New York City. Hi, Teri.buy nfl jerseys

Ms. TERI AGINS (author and senior special writer for the Wall Street Journal): Hey Michel, how’re you doing?

MARTIN: Um, what do the designers want us to buy this season, and what are we really going to buy?cheap nfl jerseys

Ms. AGINS: Okay, we, you know, we’ve gone through, like the last two, three years, of a lot of embellished clothes. I mean, you know, the ‘90s were all about beige, and black, and taupe, and then we got this explosion of color that started after the turn of the century. And, you remember now that you’ve got green shoes, and orange shoes, and you’ve got things with sequins on them, and just a lot of embellishment and embroidery, etc. And now it seems that now, you know, the industry obviously, once you’ve collected too much of one thing they want you to move on to the next thing. So, this spring it’s all about what they call a cleansed palate. So there’s, so we’re going to see a lot of white, and we’re going to see a lot of things that just a lot, you know, dialed back, a not all that, you know, bright color and prints. You know, we’re going to see, obviously the usual pastels and everything, but a lot more solids, less embellishment, and much more tailored styles. Even pantsuits are back.china nike shoes

MARTIN: And let me just remind folks that we are taking your calls this hour. It’s 800-989-TALK. And, go ahead Teri. It’s a lot of clean palate, as you were saying. White, and the taupe, and stuff like that. So Teri, let me, trick question, what are you wearing today?

Ms. AGINS: Okay, well actually I’m wearing a very old dress. This is a black and white polka dot dress that I bought at Ann Taylor several years ago. And, you know, sleeveless, and it’s something that doesn’t go out of style. And this is one of the tricky things about fashion, now, Michele, because clothes do not really go out of style. You can wear something that’s several seasons old and you won’t look dated. I mean, even a lot of loud prints and, you know, the embellished things that women bought the last few years, they love them, people love how they look in color, and I don’t think a lot of women are going to be ready to give up on that and start wearing a lot of white, which also is very hard to keep clean. I mean, we people who live here in New York, I mean, I won’t wear anything white unless its something I can wash, because, you wear a white shirt and you take it off at the end of the day and it looks like you put a magic marker around the sleeves and the collar, because it’s just, you know, you get all that urban grime.

luxixi

MARTIN: Well, you know, working in a newsroom, I always say if I ever buy a white shirt I should just take the pen and mark it myself. Because you know somebody’s walking around with a pen.

Ms. AGINS: Exactly. But the white does look really crisp this season. There’s a lot of eyelet, dotted, Swiss, and then the other thing, the skinny jean. You now, we’ve been wearing the low rise jeans, and now…

MARTIN: Maybe you’ve been.

Ms. AGINS: Well I didn’t really wear the low rise, because I had a hard time getting a good fit. But the skinny jean is thin all the way, kind of a narrow pencil. They used to call it the cigarette jean, that jean is back. And leggings. And leggings are really going to be big in the fall, but they’re really going to start in the spring, but they’re wearing them different this time. Instead of the, with the oversized top and the thick tennis shoes, they’re wearing, the women will wear a legging and then wear a short dress with it. So it’s a different look with a flat shoe. And that’s going to be part of this kind of cleaned up, less embellished look.

MARTIN: I have the top-ten lists from two different department stores that send me catalogs, and I’m looking at them. And, let’s see, they both say, belts. One says, let it go all the way to the waist, and the other says, this essential accessory is worn with everything, and runs the gamut from narrow to O.B., in a wide range of materials. Translate please?

Ms. AGINS: Okay. Well, belts, you know, belts were something else that had disappeared a long time ago, but belts are really back. And you go all the way from the narrow ones to the real wide ones. And they’ve got nail heads, and sequins, and crystals, and things on them, and that’s another way to kind of update your wardrobe. I think a lot of women have really gotten, I mean, now we’re into this whole individual style era, where, you know, everything goes. I mean, it started a lot on Sex in the City, where you saw the mixing and matching of prints and different, you know, colors, thick shoes, shoes with narrow, with skinny heels, shoes with boxy heels, and wide pants, and narrow pants, and all these things peacefully coexist now. And so, it allows people to have, you know, a lot more leeway on how you dress. But clearly you still want to have a few things so you’ll feel kind of current. So, as I said, the white, and also the skinny jean. Those are two ways to, you know, quick, cheap ways to make it work.

MARTIN: Okay, quickly, because I want to bring out a caller. But, what, one of the lists says, city shorts. Now, please. Please. What’s with the short shorts? As I understand it, the average size of an American woman is 12. Dare I predict…

Ms. AGINS: Size 14, actually.

MARTIN: Fourteen?

Ms. AGINS: Yes.

MARTIN: Dare I say it? She is not buying city shorts.

Ms. AGINS: No, but…

MARTIN: So who is going to buy the city shorts?

Ms. AGINS: Well, the city short, the one thing about fashion you have to remember is, is that, you know, sometimes you will see something that’s kind of outrageous that is introduced. And that’s really something for the window. The stores don’t put a lot of money in those goods, but that’s just enough to kind of bring you in. And they need that to sell the ordinary khakis and staples that you would ordinarily buy. But that short, it’s, first thing it’s not as, it’s not super tight. But it’s just, it’s an awkward length and I think it is going to be hard to wear. But you know there will always be a fashion victim out there who will jump on this, so I think you will see a lot of young women, perhaps experimenting with that. And they do kind of look cute with the high heels, the slides that a lot of women are wearing now. But it’s not going to cheap james shoesbe a big deal. But it’ll be a flourish that you’ll see in big cities here and there.

MARTIN: Let’s go to Mike in Iowa.

MIKE (Caller): Good afternoon ladies. Thanks for taking my call.

Ms. AGINS: Hi.

MIKE: I wanted to ask you a question about, I’m in the hair and cosmetic industry, and what we find drives our business a lot is youth culture, and especially, like, what’s going on with the hot bands, what’s going on with Hollywood fashion…

MARTIN: Celebrities, yes.

MIKE: Yeah, celebrities. And I’m wondering where does that intersect right now with the clothing and fashion industry, especially for the next season to come?

Ms. AGINS: Yeah, the celebrity influence is huge. I mean, and you will notice, I mean, all the magazines, you know, Star, In Style, I mean, all these magazines that used to be just gossip tabloids, the big part of their emphasis, the way that they present their stories, a lot of it has to do with fashion. And, you know, celebrities are really just the arbiters of taste and style for American women. And that’s why you see so many celebrities now, you know, Uma Thurman, advertising for LVMH, for Louis Vuitton, and you see, you know, Halle Berry, with Revlon, I mean, rather, with Giovanni Versace. And you see that because, you know, they’re the real role model. It’s not the supermodel, but it’s the celebrities. People really relate to celebrities and they want to dress like them and they, you know, and they also even buy their own clothing brands, because, you now, Beyonce’s got a clothing brand, and so does Jennifer Lopez. And so this is all part of a, you know, of the, you know, the pop culture with fashion and celebrities has really intersected.

MARTIN: Thanks for calling Mike. Let me just pause here to say you’re listening to TALK OF THE NATION, from NPR News. Teri, what is up with the platform shoes? Actually, you know what? I’m going to change my mind. I’m going to talk about something else.

Fashion is in our faces so much these days. There are all these TV shows telling us what to wear, what not to wear. These makeover shows. You wrote a book called The End of Fashion. It seems like, on the one hand it seems like we’re obsessed with fashion. On the other hand, I think you’re telling us that we’re really not. That we’re driving this train now, in a way that was not the case 30 years ago or 40 years ago.

Ms. AGINS: Exactly. By the end of fashion, I meant that all the old rules, that clothes were supposed to go out of style, the planned obsolescence, that people were supposed to buy, the middleclass people would have to wait for the trends to trickle down, I mean, all that’s over now. You can go to H&M and stores like Target and, you know, fashion is now affordable and available to everybody, all at the same time. And so, that’s a big influence now that has changed things completely. But, just a minute, I started rambling and got all off track. So you wanted to know exactly… Michel?

MARTIN: Yeah?

Ms. AGINS: Yeah, so what did you want to, I said I got all off track here a second as I was rambling on about the end of fashion.

MARTIN: We’re just talking about clothes Teri, it’s okay. But let’s go to a call. Let’s go to Madison, Wisconsin, and Stephanie. Stephanie, what’s on your mind?

STEPHANIE (Caller): Well, you know, I am 56-years-old, and I’m your average person, woman. I’m about a size 12-14, and, you know, kind of on the heavy side, but very, very fit. And I really, kind of, I get very frustrated when people try to sell me fashion. They’ll say, well, this is really in this year, and this is really in this year, and, you know, you go through enough fads, you see things that don’t, really don’t work. How can you, can you work it so you can wear things that really are flattering for you? I mean especially when certain colors come in certain years and some, some colors like, I, there’s no way I can wear white, at all. I’m a redhead with, you know, warm, peachy colored skin. I don’t, you know, I can’t wear those kinds of colors.

Ms. AGINS: Mm-hmm. Well, the thing is, is this is, and this is back to the whole idea, have it your way, this is all about individual style and doing things that really work for you. And I know that, you know, once I got into my 40s and so, I really got a lot more confident about wearing the styles that looked good on me and not just what was in fashion. And often I will sit out a trend. I mean, we were talking about those shorts. I wouldn’t wear those, because, you know, it’s not anything that’s going to look flattering. So, I think that you, you know, you know what looks good on you, by this stage of the game, and, you know, keep wearing those styles and updating them a little bit. And I know if I find, like, a pair of shoes I really like,jordan fushions shoes I like to wear a skinny heel, high heel pump, I will get two or three pairs. And, you know, keep them for several years and wear them as, you know, change them as each one wears out, because I know that I will always like that particular shoe style.

MARTIN: Stephanie, has anything really caught your eye so far?

STEPHANIE: You know, um, it really, really hasn’t. I worked until recently in a department store, I worked on the loading dock. And, I’ve been kind of a homebody. I had to quit that job because of a foot injury. And, you know, I am just, nothing has really caught my eye. I, you know, I haven’t really seen anything that, you know, that I like at all. I’ve been, I do like the bright colors, especially like the pinks, the warm pinks, and the greens.

Ms. AGINS: Listen, stay with them. If they work for you, stay with them.

STEPHANIE: You bet. You know, and some, I find that getting basic clothes, getting the best-made you can, that you can make them last, just last, they last for years, you know? I’ve…

MARTIN: Stephanie?

STEPHANIE: (Unintelligible) maybe five or six years.

MARTIN: Stephanie, thanks so much for calling.

STEPHANIE: Thank you. All right.

MARTIN: Stephanie, I think she should go for some green platform shoes. What about you Teri?

Ms. AGINS: Oh, you were talking about platforms earlier. The platforms, um, you know, they’re okay. I don’t like them because I have a big foot. I wear a size 10 foot, I mean shoes, and forget it. And so I always like to wear a kind of a dainty shoe…

MARTIN: Okay.

Ms. AGINS: And the other thing about platforms is, is that those of us that remember them in the ‘70s and many of us wearing them turned our ankles.

MARTIN: Okay. No turning ankles here. Thank you. Teri Agins is the author of The End of Fashion:puma fans How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever, senior special writer at the Wall Street Journal. She joined us by phone from her office in New York City. Thanks Teri.

Oct. 29, 2001 — Sometimes I wonder how I came to be a member of my family. I like to think of myself as open-minded and compassionate.cheap adidas shoes Some of my relatives, on the other hand, though I love them dearly, can be Neanderthals.nike fans

That became all too clear a few weeks ago at a family gathering on the East Coast. I related with horror a news story I had heard that morning, how some passengers and crew were refusing to fly on planes which carried Arabs or anyone who looked like one. One relative shook her head and said, �That’s terrible.� Another pursed his lips together, then parted them. �Good,� he said.nike men shoes

Later, driving around New York, I found myself being extra friendly to the city’s cab drivers, many of them Pakistani Muslims, chatting with them and tipping heavily. The drivers were worried on three levels: about terrorism, about racism and about their families back home in Pakistan. I felt bad for them.cheap nike

Finally, it was time to fly back to Tokyo, where I live. I didn’t feel concerned about my safety, but I was prepared for long delays, security checks, even bomb scares. Sure enough, the terminal I was in at JFK was evacuated for an hour, but I made my flight, happily ensconcing myself in my business class seat, thanks to a free upgrade.
The upper deck wasn’t full. There were just a handful of passengers. The man across the aisle from me was dark-skinned, Arab-looking. He had an accent, I could hear, from his conversation with the flight attendant. I didn’t think much of it. I bent down to stow my bag.
wholesale nike shoes

In my line of sight were the shoes of the man across the aisle. It was no wonder they caught my eye. They were shiny black, polished to a high gloss. New or old, cracked or smooth, I couldn’t tell under all that polish. The only thing I could tell was this: they were cheap shoes, really cheap.

It was like a red alert went off in my head. I remembered reading about the instructions for carrying outpumas shoes the terror attacks supposedly found in Mohamed Atta’s luggage. Hadn’t it said something about making sure that hijackers dress well when boarding? Hadn’t it said something specifically about making sure their shoes were really well shined?

I looked down at my own footwear. Scuffed. I felt a lump in my stomach. What was a guy with cheap, shiny shoes doing in business class? I was being absurd, of course. I myself was a trespasser in business class; there only because I’d scrimped and saved my miles. Just because he was here too didn’t mean he was wealthy. �Stop being so ridiculous,� I told myself. But I continued to take surreptitious glances at his shoes and at him.

We took off. We reached our cruising altitude. The man noticed my glances. I felt horrible and ashamed. I wanted to jump up and apologize. But the lump in my stomach kept me in my seat. For the next 13 hours to Tokyo, I tried to forget it all, watching “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and “The Wedding Planner,” reading my People magazine. But every once in a while, when I saw the man move, chinese kongfurustle, get up to go to the bathroom, I got nervous.

Of course, we landed perfectly safely in Tokyo. The man was not a hijacker. He was a businessman or a doctor or a golf pro.

If I told some of my relatives this story, I’m sure they would look at me with a triumphant gleam that would say, �See, you’re just like us.� Unfortunately, I can’t totally disagree with them anymore. But at least when I think of how I reacted, the word �good� does not come to mind.
The upper deck wasn’t full. There were just a handful of passengers. The man across the aisle from me was dark-skinned, Arab-looking. He had an accent, I could hear, from his conversation with the flight attendant. I didn’t think much of it. I bent down to stow my bag.

In my line of sight were the shoes of the man across the aisle. It was no wonder they caught my eye. They were shiny black, polished to a high gloss. New or old, cracked or smooth, I couldn’t tell under all that polish. The only thing I could tell was this: they were cheap shoes, really cheap.

It was like a red alert went off in my head. I remembered reading about the instructions for carrying out the terror attacks supposedly found in Mohamed Atta’s luggage. Hadn’t it said something about making sure that hijackers dress well when boarding? Hadn’t it said something specifically about making sure their shoes were really well shined?

I looked down at my own footwear. Scuffed. I felt a lump in my stomach. What was a guy with cheap, shiny shoes doing in business class? I was being absurd, of course. I myself was a trespasser in business class; there only because I’d scrimped and saved my miles. Just because he was here too didn’t mean he was wealthy. �Stop being so ridiculous, I told myself. But I continued to take surreptitious glances at his shoes and at him.

We took off. We reached our cruising altitude. The man noticed my glances. I felt horrible and ashamed. I wanted to jump up and apologize. But the lump in my stomach kept me in my seat. For the next 13 hours to Tokyo, I tried to forget it all, watching “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and “The Wedding Planner,” reading my People magazine. But every once in a while, when I saw the man move, rustle, get up to go to the bathroom, I got nervous.

Of course, we landed perfectly safely in Tokyo. The man was not a hijacker. He was a businessman or a doctor or a golf pro.

If I told some of my relatives this story, I’m sure they would look at me with a triumphant gleamcheap shoes that would say, �See, you’re just like us.� Unfortunately, I can’t totally disagree with them anymore. But at least when I think of how I reacted, the word �good� does not come to mind.

This is NEWS AND NOTES. I’m Ed Gordon. On today’s Roundtable, the president admits his frustration with Iraq, and do we now have an ending to one of America’s great mysteries?
cheap goggles

Joining us to discuss these topics and more from our bureau in New York City, Pedro Noguera, professor of education from New York University, and Bob Meadows, a writer of People magazine – or for People magazine I should say. And from our NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., economist and author Julianne Malveaux. She’s president and CEO of Last Word Productions.brand watches

All right, folks. We woke up to a face that has become all too familiar for the wrong reasons to all of us, and that is little JonBenet Ramsey. A suspect now has confessed to killing JonBenet, saying that her death was an accident. A former teacher, 41 years old, saying now that he was in love with the child beauty queen. He was captured in Bangkok and will be extradited to the United States.adidas shoes

We don’t know enough details to discuss this particular portion of the case truly, Julianne. But what we do know is this is one of those cases, now that we see someone who may be – and I underline may be – the murderer of this young girl, it shows us the idea of rush to judgment that Americans – and really the world – made in this case and often other cases. So many people thought it was the brother or the mother or the father who immediately said it had to be.
wholesale nfl jerseys

Ms. JULIANNE MALVEAUX (President and CEO, Last Word Productions): You know, Ed, you’re very right about the notion of rush to judgment. We’ve seen that in so many cases. But I think that’s connected to this 24-hour cable cycle that focuses on certain kinds of cases and elevates them far beyond proportion.

Of course, the death of any child is a tragedy, but I would ask
cheap puma shoes
how many children’s death have not had that kind of coverage? If you look at our community, the African-American community, at the number of poor children who are found dead that never get the attention or even the acknowledgment of a JonBenet Ramsey, whose death dominated the media for nearly a year.

I feel very badly, of course, for the family because they basically operated under the cloud of suspicion with Patsy Ramsey even being accused of killing her own daughter, albeit perhaps inadvertently. But we have to look at what news has done about elevating cases disproportionately and how reporters who, you know, rush to scoop each other, come up with these crazy, half-cocked, far-fetched, you know, kind of theories that then become part of this spin cycle.

Just this morning there was a piece where they had three court-type – Court TV-types or legal lawyers – you know what I mean. Well, they had them again speculating. Like, why are they speculating? We don’t have enough information. We the public need to demand that people put a period on that, that they stop it.

GORDON: Bob, it’s interesting. You worked for People magazine and that was a story that People covered back and front. When you think back 10 years ago -it’s hard to believe she would be 16 had she lived – when you think back, as Julianne suggests the constant coverage of this, there were many of us in the media who thought that even at that point, you know, we were going too far.

Mr. BOB MEADOWS (Writer, People magazine): You know, I really don’t know if that’s the case here. I mean one thing I do want to say is that most times when children are killed, it’s by somebody that they know. That’s a fact. So it’s not really completely out of the question that people would think that the parents or the brother – maybe not the brother – but the parents had something to do with this. There was a lot of evidence…

GORDON:: When I say too far, Bob, I just want you to understand I mean just about the amount of coverage we gave it, that’s all.

Mr. MEADOWS: Yeah and you know – I mean, but it happened and people bought it. So I don’t really know if we – if there was – you know what I mean? Yeah, to me it’s like okay, enough. But just the nature of the business itself, you know, people kept reading about it. People are going to read about it now, they’re going to be fascinated. OJ Simpson, boy that was coming out of my ears. I couldn’t wait for that to be over with. But people kept watching. People kept reading. So yeah, is it too much? Well, as you know, don’t pick up the magazine. Change the channel. Do that type of stuff.

GORDON: Here’s the interesting point with JonBenet, Pedro, and the idea that you had videotape, as Julianne said, with the advent of 24-hour news we’re so used to seeing, seeing, seeing. Had there been no videotape of this young girl on stage, had she not looked 13 or 15 rather than whatever age she was at the time – 6, I guess – you know, we would not have seen all of what we saw. The fact that she was a beauty queen really helped elevate all of this.

Professor PEDRO NOGUERA (Professor of Education, New York University): Absolutely, and I think the point that Julianne made earlier about the large numbers of deaths of children across the country and the fact that this is not an issue that we raise, it really speaks to the disservice that the media often plays in sensationalizing these kinds of cases and preventing the public from understanding the larger issues involved.

We have many children in America today whose lives are in jeopardy because they don’t have secure homes, they don’t have parents who can look out for them. And these are the bigger issues that Americans are not grappling with. Instead, what we get are these kinds of cases where these glamorous children and their wealthy parents are – occupy the news for long periods of time. And Americans just continue to not really understand the deeper issues that really affect the quality of our lives in this country.

Mr. MEADOWS: You know, I’ve got to say, though, it’s not even really just wealth parents. You know, that girl in Utah, Elizabeth Smart, her parents weren’t wealthy – it’s just white kids. That’s really what it is.

Ms. MALVEAUX: Well, you…

Mr. MEADOWS: Let’s just be real.

Ms. MALVEAUX: And what we ignore is the foster care system and the number of African-American childrenwholesale goggles in the foster care system. There have been a couple of recent cases in New York that, to its credit, the New York Post had covered somewhat extensively. But that – those cases are like the tip of the iceberg. Our children are in trouble and folks are running around talking about JonBenet without talking about, for example, the oversexualization(ph) of that child and the extent to which, you know, sex and sexuality play a role in the exploitation of children.

GORDON: Yeah, and say what you will. One of the things that happens when you see and hear people talk about something every day – the idea of the brother being suspicious or the parents being suspicious – even for those who are investigating the case, it does plant that in your mind. And sometimes you will react because you hear something day after day after day and start to believe it even in your subconscious. So it is something that we have to be careful about.

All right. We’ll move our attention now to the president. We are finally hearing through cracks and crevices that the president – as he made clear in a private meeting held this week – is concerned about the lack of progress in Iraq and frustrated about the new Iraqi government.

Pedro, this really cannot come as a surprise, yet it’s interesting because usually this president holds cards very close to his vest and would not let something like this out.

Prof. NOGUERA: Well, it’s amazing that he’s finally concerned.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Prof. NOGUERA: I just finished reading the most recent issue of Time magazine; journalists just describing the carnage, the constant carnage in Iraq, the civil war that’s going on nonstop, the total inability of the Iraqi government to address any of it and the irrelevance increasingly of the American troops there. It’s a total mess. It’s a quagmire. They have no way out. There’s no strategy. And Bush has created a mess of immense proportions that the American people and the next administration will have to try to figure out.

The fact that he’s finally realized that maybe he made a mistake is quite amazing and disconcerting.

GORDON: Here’s what’s interesting to me, Bob Meadows, the idea – and we can recall in the early days of this war when Rumsfeld and – the Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, the vice president, suggested that we would almost see parades in the streets by people being freed from the oppression that they knew, and now the president is saying that he’s shocked by not seeing greater public support for the American mission.

Mr. MEADOWS: Yeah, it’s – right. They thought…

GORDON: …from the Iraqi people.

Mr. MEADOWS: Exactly. People would be singing the praises. And you know – a lot of people, sure, they were happy once Saddam went down. But the thing is, when you knock down somebody’s government, whether they’re elected or not, there’s going to be turmoil and instability that follows. The other thing about it is, can you imagine if some other country came in here and – you know, I’m not a Bush fan – but if some other country came into America and actually got rid of him somehow? Even I wouldn’t be too happy about it. You know, it’s like this is the person leading my country. So no, you can’t expect for people to just throw rose petals in front of you. That was so incredibly naïve.

GORDON: All right. Julianne Malveaux, have at it.

Ms. MALVEAUX: Take Bob’s analogy, because I love it; it’s a great one. And actually I would have a different reaction. But take Bob’s analogy of someone came and got Mr. Bush. But not only did they do that, then they decided to reorganize our Congress.

GORDON: Right.

Ms. MALVEAUX: They decide to reorganize our Senate. They decide to pick who they like to be in charge of whatever. I mean, people are outraged. In addition, let’s say that they – you know, Iraq is just about in civil war, and so let’s say that this governing group came in and decided to fan our attentions, you know, so that maybe we had a North-South war or a race war, something like that. Yeah, people are upset.

You know, this administration is an utter disaster around this issue. We’re going to spend a trillion dollars, we’re – you know, but we can’t fix New Orleans. I know that’s an aside, but you know we’re going to spend a trillion dollars on this mess. We can’t figure a way out of it. The people do not want it. Our actions there have inflamed extremists in the rest of the Middle East, and so now we have other drama that we’ve got to deal with. We don’t have the troops to deal with it. We don’t want to pay our troops. And this man runs around, you know, on a motorcycle in Pennsylvania yesterday, you know, touring the Harley-Davidson plant without a clue.

We – the problem, though, is that Democrats aren’t a heck of a lot better. And we are in desperate need of leadership in this country. And though Democrats have talked about things, they’ve talked about them very softly. They have not talked about what is wrong and what an alternate plan is. And certainly we can’t just get up and leave. As Colin Powell said in the beginning: if you break it, you’re going to have to fix it. But we have not figured out how to fix it.

GORDON: But, you know, it’s funny you – yeah, you stole my thunder there, Julianne.

Ms. MALVEAUX: I’m sorry.

GORDON: Because that’s what I was going to give to Pedro – the idea that lest we forget the words of Colin Powell, they’re really starting to ring true here, Pedro.

He quietly – and then, toward the end, not so quietly – tried to tell those in the administration who were for this war and moving fast and moving quick that there has to be a new way to talk to people that we’ve not talked to in the past. And if, in fact, you break it, you buy it. And now it’s bought.

Prof. NOGUERA: But fixing it is not going to be easy. And as we saw with Yugoslavia, when you have a dictator in place who’s holding together a country that’s historically been divided, when you remove that dictator what you often get is civil war and years of bloodshed. It’s unlikely that you’re going to be able to find a regime that can pull together the Shiites, the Sunnis, the Kurds, into a regime that was – that leads to a coherent Iraq now. And so fixing it I think is a very complicated proposition, and I’m not sure what that’s going to entail and how easy it will be.

GORDON: Perhaps another trip by the White House – this from words from the vice president last week – and people really started to kind of pay attention this week, and that’s the question of whether or not voting for or against Joe Lieberman was aiding and abetting the war in Iraq and those who are opposed to American standards. What was said by the vice president is that the Democratic primary was giving the al-Qaida types exactly what they wanted. Julianne?

Ms. MALVEAUX: You know, Dick Cheney needs to get off the Kool-Aid. This is so ridiculous. I mean these folks have abused the word terrorism, the notion of terrorism, the concept of terrorism, to try to bludgeon people into voting for them. And so to come out of that Connecticut primary with that kind of a statement is typical Republicanism. They used this war from the time it started – they used September 11th from the time it started for political purposes. And this is nothing more than political rhetoric, which fortunately, finally, the American people are beginning to see through.

GORDON: How much, Bob, can this be said to be, rather than political rhetoric, Republican rhetoric, just the idea that we all don’t see through the same prism in that there are a load of Americans who really believe this?

Mr. MEADOWS: There really are. There are tons of them. And Bush was applauded yesterday becauseugg boots he actually – he didn’t say this, he didn’t bring up al-Qaida and he didn’t say Democrat, but he said something that implied the same type of thing and people were applauding him.

They were like – he said, you know, there are some good people out there but they think we should cut and run, and we can’t do that. This is what he said when he was speaking with Lynn Swann. And he got – he was, like I say, he got an ovation for saying that.

This, though, it is politics, because let’s not leave out Joe Lieberman in all this. He said the same exact type thing about Ned Lamont as well after the loss. And you have to realize Ned Lamont only won the primary. He’s still got to repay – face a Republican candidate, Alan Schlesinger. So they’re just still fanning those flames so that Lamont will lose.

GORDON: Mm-hmm. All right. Let me move quickly to a subject that has been talked about for quite some time, and it became a phenomenon in inner city and with inner city children about a decade or so ago. And that is the high cost of gym shoes and the want for many African-American. And now we see suburban children buying $150, $180 gym shoes. The difference is, oft times those in the inner city cannot afford these.

InStep’s NBA Superstar Stephon Marbury, who is now suggesting that its time to stop this high priced gym shoe. He is putting out a line that he will wear himself during this upcoming NBA season, Bob Meadows, of a $15 gym shoe – the Starbury.

Mr. MEADOWS: I think it’s great, nothing wrong with it. I’m sure that the kids will add it to their collection. It won’t be the only sneaker they buy, unfortunately. But I think it sends a really good message that we have to -that we as black people especially have to slow down on this just rampant consumerism. Save your money. Don’t spend it on – don’t spend $150 on sneakers. And actually, you know, of course, this has been going on for generations…

GORDON: Yeah.

Mr. MEADOWS: …since the Jordan’s came out in 1984, so it’s not a new thing. I don’t really blame the kids for it. But I think it’s a really positive move by Stephon who got a ton of bad press last year for the Knicks. So hopefully this will get him some good…

GORDON: Yeah, that’s, we know that’s certainly part of it.

(Soundbite of laughter)

GORDON: With about a minute and a half to split between the two of you. Pedro, this is something that you have to talk about the parents as well, those who know they can’t afford to buy the expensive gym shoes who have often made a way somehow.

Prof. NOGUERA: No, you’re right. And too many parents fall, you know, prey to the advertising and to the pleas of their children to buy these very expensive sneakers. I have some kids myself who are putting pressure on me for the (unintelligible), so I understand those pressures.

It’ll be even more significant when we see Nike and these companies that produce these sneakers come out with cheaper products and take a step similar to Marbury’s in reducing these inflated prices. So I think it’s a good step; it’s a small step, but hopefully it’s a step that others will follow.

GORDON: And, Julianne, very quickly, put your economist hat on for me. I’ve not seen this shoe yet, though I’m told we’ll get a look at it next week. But I am told that it is not a, quote, cheap shoe. It doesn’t look cheap. And this really shows you the idea of the profit side of these kinds of gym shoes, that you can make a quality shoe and sell it for $15.

Ms. MALVEAUX: Absolutely. I mean these shoes are produced in China. They’re using the same material that they use for all these other shoes. And so what you’re really saying is that Nike Swoosh, all these other folks via stars like Michael Jordan and others, basically was extracting $130 worth of profit. You know, take a couple dollars out for the advertising budget, take a couple dollars out for Mr. Jordan or whomever, but, you know, $120 worth of profit per pair of shoes.

The thing is, you know, one of my nephews had his shoes taken from him on a bus in Oakland about five years ago. Somebody stole his shoes. Pulled a gun on him and said give me your shoes. And so I just want to hug Stephon Marbury. I think this is just such a wonderful move. And I just would like to see more of these stars step up and connect their own economic success to the success of the community that has empowered them.

GORDON: Yeah. All right. Well, Bob, we see it’s already working. Stephon is turning that image around. He’s getting a hug from Julianne Malveaux today.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Mr. MEADOWS: Exactly.

GORDON: All right. Julianne, Pedro, and Bob, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
nike air max
Prof. NOGUERA: Thank you.

Mr. MEADOWS: Thanks, Ed.

Ms. MALVEAUX: Thank you.

GORDON: Next up on NEWS AND NOTES, Sam Moore may be best known as part of the duo Sam and Dave, but his new CD puts him together with some other great musicians, the greatest of our time. And in our African music series we’ll hear how singer Sara Tavares is making a uniquely Cape Verdean sound from a mix of cultural influences.

It’s understandable: you’ve been out and spent your hard-earned student loan and want to show off the spoils of your spree.cheap shoes/t-shirts So you pop your fabulous new heels on and strut around feeling pretty darn pleased with yourself. You shouldn’t be. You’ve forgotten to take the sticker off the sole and it looks positively HORRID; nothing says cheap like a flash of white on a black shoe.nike air jordans

I will never be able to understand the thinking (or lack thereof) that lends itself to the stickered shoe. nike shox shoesNot only are you advertising how little they cost (Choos and Manolos don’t come with a visible price tag sweetie) but, simply put, it just looks daft. It’s not that I expect podiatric perfection from the denizens of the Oxford Road corridor, far from it. Indeed, I too have spent the best part of my uni years in Primark pumps. air jordan shoes
brand t-shirtsAll I ask is for a little consideration for the message your ensemble gives out. Sticky stilettos scream out that their wearer has no respect for fine footwear, tacky trainers are impractical and as for the black boot complemented by the whitish underside…no matter what Stevie and Sir Paul try to tell us, ebony and ivory don’t always live together in perfect harmony.cheap air jordans
bwith shoes
Stickerless soles are a dream we can all make a reality, so next time you purchase a pair, stop, look and peel (or scrub with a bit of nail varnish). Your shoes, and all those who see them, will thank you for it.
buy nba shoes

DOROTHY used hers to get home, one of Cinderella’s fell off and a group of TAFE students will be using a pair of theirs to help out the people of Haiti, Nepal and Africa.
china shoesnba jerseys

Shoes – accessory or necessity, either way you look at it they’re a basic human right. North Coast TAFE students from the Great Lakes Campus will give thousands of people in third world countries their first pair of real shoes.
light snow
Part of a statewide campaign by TAFE colleges each student will donate a pair of their gently worn, pre-loved shoes.kids jordans

Great Lakes TAFE student association officer, Sue Dunlop, said having proper shoes can make a huge difference to disadvantaged people around the world.cheap gucci

“Many poor people – particularly in places like Nepal – cannot afford shoes,” she said.cecilia

“Having a decent pair of serviceable shoes can dramatically improve their chances of finding work. While a decent pair of shoes costs people in third world countries two to three months wages, we often throw away our shoes because we’re bored with them well before they are worn out.”
kappa shoes

She said cheap plastic shoes, available in many countries, are an environmental problem.

“They don’t last well in rugged conditions and often end up as landfill.”

While TAFE is collecting shoes at both Taree and Great Lakes Campuses, Ms Dunlop is also looking for cheap bagslocal clubs or businesses to act as collection points for the gently worn shoes and joggers to help TAFE student associations across the state reach the ultimate target of 100,000 pairs by mid year.

At a first glance, flat-soled shoes, like the incredibly popular Uggs and the ballerina shoes, seem to be the most comfortable options women are currently offered, especially if compared to the 4-inch stilettos available in most stores. However, podiatrists continue to warn, foot lockerif their design is not appropriate, they can do even more damage than their high-heeled counterparts and this also applies to cheaper, counterfeit Uggs, the Daily Mail says.cheap brand t-shirts

  Uggs Australia are undoubtedly immensely popular, despite being repeatedly rubbished by fashion critics as the ugliest invention ever to see the light of day, right up there with Crocs. Nevertheless, these sheepskin boots are very comfy and warm, which has made them a favorite with countless Hollywood stars, both female and male, but also with millions of people around the world – if they afford to spend over $220 for a pair of shoes. They’re well made and, most importantly, they offer proper support for the feet so that the gait is not altered.cheap eyeglasses

The same doesn’t apply to the imitations that have sprung out of nowhere and conquered the hearts of (mostly female) customers. “Kock-off versions of the designer boots are crippling a generation of young women, ‘literally breaking’ their feet. With just six months of wear women could saddle themselves with a lifetime of foot deformities, backache and pain in their feet. And a phrase has even been coined for the gait of devoted wearers – the Ugg ‘shuffle’ – which describes the lopsided, pigeon-toed way in which cheap versions of the boots force women to walk. Top brand Ugg Australia boots, which cost from £150, are worn by celebrities including Katebrand t Moss and Cameron Diaz, sparking a craze for the flat, furry generic boots. But low-cost imitations often provide inadequate foot support,” the Mail writes after speaking to concerned podiatrists.
wholesale adidas shoes

When they’re worn by young women, knock-off Uggs are even more dangerous. “Because these boots are warm and soft, young girls think they are giving their feet a break. In fact, they are literally breaking their feet.cheap adidas shoes Their feet are slipping around inside. With each step, the force falls towards the inside of the foot and the feet splay. This flattens the arch and makes it drop. The result can be significant problems with the foot, the ankle, and ultimately, the hip,” Dr. Ian Drysdale, head of the British College of Osteopathic Medicine, says for the publication.
cheap kappa shoes

So, while telling themselves that they’re doing their feet a favor by not walking in high heels, the women jordan shoesof today are actually doing more damage – and they’re not even aware of it. The number of female patients complaining of back pain, toe deformities and feet pain has increased considerably in the UK in the past months, which is why experts deem it necessary to inform potential customers of the dangers that come with Uggs knock-offs.

Nobel laureate and Bangladesh Grameen Bank Managing Director Muhammad Yunus, on Tuesday, said the Grameen Group, is planning a joint venture handbagswith German sports apparel maker to make low-cost shoes for the poor.cheap kappa

 
  If the deal gets through, it will be a major footprint in Yunus’ social business. 
 Both Grameen Bank and Adidas have signed a MoU to work together on how to bring a low cost product — affordable to the poorest of the lot — into the market.china cheap air jordans
 
He said “the shoes will be cheap and affordable for the poor, besides it will protect people from diseases.”  This was one of the examples Yunus cited talking on “Social Business: A new paradigm to address poverty”, organised by Ficci and Aditya Birla Group here.
cheap wholesale

Addressing the captains of Indian industry, he made a clear distinction between ‘selfish business’ and ‘selfless air jordan shoesbusiness’.  Dwelling on Grameen’s association with Groupe Danone from France with whom they have launched separate joint venture in social business to serve the poor with nutrition, he gave cheap air jordanslessons on why and how social business is not charity but business wherein a surplus is passedwomen shoes on to the target group of beneficiaries in the form of lower prices, better service and greater access.wholesale adidas shoes
cheap nike

When Jennifer Maddalena-Patrick opened The Couture Exchange consignment boutique five years ago, some people just didn’t get it. And those who did sometimes turned up their noses. Not anymore.

“The attitude has definitely changed now,” said Maddalena-Patrick, who now runs two locations of The Couture Exchange – Shrewsbury and Westfield – in addition to an online store on eBay.

“It’s become more accepted,” she said. “People who wouldn’t have bought before are buying consignment. They’re not turning up their noses now.”

Consignment shops and their more downscale brethren – thrift stores – have been around for generations selling everything from clothing and accessories to antique furniture and knickknacks. The online reseller eBay added new energy and interest to the trend.

But consignment shop owners say consignment – in which sellers share a percentage of sales with a retailer of anywhere between 40 and 50 percent, – has gained new fans with the recent economic downturn and recovery.

“I definitely see a difference in business. Now I’m getting people who aren’t just bringing in things to sell because they’re just redecorating. People are bringing things in because they need the money or they’re moving away,”said Carol MacArthur, owner of Encore Quality Consignments in Bernardsville. “There’s no shortage of great stuff that comes in here.”

And, MacArthur said, the types of things that are selling well have changed, too.
“Unlike when things were flush, the things that are selling now are very functional things – beds, lamps, dining room tables,” MacArthur said. “People aren’t as interested anymore in figurines that just collect dust. If they’re spending money it’s on functional items.”

The popularity in consignment and reselling isn’t just a local phenomenon. According to a survey last year by the National Association of Resale and Thrift Stores (NARTS), 74.2 percent of resale stores nationwide reported increased sales last year.

ALEX COHEN, host:

This is Day to Day from NPR News. I’m Alex Cohen.

MADELEINE BRAND, host:

I’m Madeleine Brand. There are plenty of predictions that this year’s holiday shopping season will be one of the worst in decades. One bright spot, though: outlet malls. NPR’s Tamara Keith paid a visit to one.

TAMARA KEITH: The Christmas music has been blasting from the speakers of the outlet mall in Hagerstown, Maryland, since November 1st. But Anthony Taylor(ph) and his wife were just getting around to starting their holiday shopping. He’s been looking for a job for more than a year. So, as he puts it, they’re counting their pennies.

Mr. ANTHONY TAYLOR: I just feel like the prices are – they’re better, not to say that they’re good; they’re just better. It’s less markup, is the best way to look at it.

KEITH: Taylor drove 50 miles to get to the outlet mall. Cheaper gas prices made it seem like a good idea – that, and the promise of bargains at favorite stores like Polo.

Mr. TAYLOR: Why not look at an outlet, just to see if you can’t get the same thing for a better deal? Between the outlets and online shopping, that’s the way we’re going to have to do it.

KEITH: Outlet stores used to be small operations near factories where people could buy damaged goods. Now, there are more than 200 outlet shopping centers. The marketing message is still all about value. The savings tend to be anywhere from 20 to 60 percent compared to typical retail prices.

These days, the clothing, purses and shoes usually aren’t seconds. But they also often aren’t exactly what you’d find in full-priced retailers. Outlets carry last year’s models, or products made from slightly different materials. And these centers have become a thriving subset of the retail industry as a whole.

Ms. KAREN FLUHARTY (Senior Vice President for Marketing, Prime Retail): I think it’s safe to say that we’re on par with last year’s levels at this point.

KEITH: Karen Fluharty is senior vice president for marketing with Prime Retail, the owner of the Hagerstown outlet. She says that both sales and traffic at Prime’s outlet malls are holding up despite the recession.

Ms. FLUHARTY: What we’ve seen in the last few months certainly parallels what we saw in the early ’90s, when the economy was somewhat soft. And during times like these, what we see are shoppers that are really looking to make smarter choices with their dollars.

KEITH: There are no outlet industry-wide numbers. But at the 33 Tanger outlet centers, sales are up just slightly over last year. That’s not stellar, but also not nearly as bad as the double-digit losses experienced by many retailers. Steve Tanger, the outlet company’s president and COO, says outlets tend to be more stable, regardless of the economy.

Mr. STEVE TANGER (President and COO, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc.): The old adage, in good times, people like a bargain, and in not so good times, people need a bargain, is really true today.

KEITH: One firm, Premium Outlets, expanded this year, even as the economy was contracting. In early November, the company celebrated a grand opening at its newest center, on the Jersey shore.

Ms. MICHELLE ROTHSTEIN (Senior Vice President, Chelsea Property Group): The big question was, will shoppers come out?

KEITH: Michelle Rothstein is senior vice president at Chelsea Property Group, which owns the Premium Outlets. She says shoppers came out in droves. And yes, they were spending.

Ms. ROTHSTEIN: People very much want to be shopping. They just are very cautious, and when you give shoppers a very good, tangible reason to come out and good deals, the shopper is responding.

KEITH: But the outlets aren’t entirely immune from troubles facing the retail sector. Outlet stores are slashing prices earlier in the season than usual, just as their mainstream counterparts are doing. Still, for Paula Chacala(ph), the outlet prices just aren’t low enough this holiday season. She came to Hagerstown with her boyfriend and mom and hasn’t bought much of anything.

Ms. PAULA CHACALA: Not even – but coming all the way up here and wasting gas to save like five bucks on a shirt.

KEITH: Chacala say she’ll be doing most of her holiday shopping at Wal-Mart or Target – her and a lot of other Americans. Tamara Keith, NPR News, Washington.