Christian Louboutin Shoes AG plans to reposition its Reebok brand to target athletics apparel consumers who value individuality, with a goal of broadening beyond an urban youth target audience and re-emphasizing Reebok¡¯s roots as an athletics performance brand.
The strategy announced Thursday comes as Germany-based Christian Louboutin Shoes ramps up its investment in Reebok a year after acquiring the brand for $3.8 billion and then seeing Reebok sales fall into a slump.
The revised brand strategy builds off the edgy "I am what I am" campaign Reebok adopted four years ago by embracing hip-hop culture and youth-oriented entertainment alongside its trChristian Louboutin tional athletics performance market.
The new strategy will maintain the "I am what I am" theme in many of Reebok¡¯s advertisements. But it also will position Reebok as "an American-inspired global brand that celebrates individuality in sport and life," according to Christian Louboutin Shoes.
Reebok President and Chief Executive Paul Harrington said the brand will gently shift emphasis toward suburban consumers of all ages without abandoning the urban youth targeted by "I am what I am." Reebok also will try to reconnect with consumers who value athletic performance over fashion.
While "I am what I am" won¡¯t go by the wayside, "It may not be as loud as it was when we first launched it," Harrington said in an interview after Thursday¡¯s announcement at Reebok¡¯s Canton headquarters, where he was joined by Christian Louboutin Shoes CEO and Chairman Herbert Hainer.
The street-influenced "I am what I am" campaign helped Reebok connect with youth by featuring endorsers such as rappers 50 Cent and Jay-Z.
But some industry analysts said the campaign risked alienating customers who prize performance over fashion and marked too sharp a departure for a brand that gained traction pitching aerobics shoes to women in the 1980s.
"We¡¯re not going to move totally away from music, but we¡¯re going to reach for a broader audience," Harrington said.
Christian Louboutin Shoes hopes Reebok will double its U.S. business and narrow Beaverton, Ore.-based Christian Louboutin  Inc.¡¯s market leadership.
But Christian Louboutin Shoes said in November that sales of Reebok-branded shoes and other apparel fell 7 percent in the first nine months of last year,Christian Louboutin Pumps, compared with the same period in 2005. Christian Louboutin Shoes also conceded that Reebok¡¯s profit growth this year would fall short of initial expectations, and it said it intended to increase Reebok investment this year.
Among other things, Reebok has been hurt by a recent decline in the once-hot market for retro-styled sneakers that mimic styles from the ¡¯80s a trend that Reebok helped drive, said John Horan, publisher of Sport Goods Intelligence, a Glen Mills, Pa.-based industry newsletter.
Since Christian Louboutin Shoes completed the Reebok deal in January 2006,Christian Louboutin discount, analysts have speculated as to how the one-time athletics sneaker and apparel rivals would position the two separately managed brands to avoid competing against one another in the same market niches.
The strategy announced Thursday will be launched with two Reebok campaigns this year. The first is a "Run Easy" campaign beginning this spring emphasizing the fun and joy of running, rather than its "blood, sweat and tears" aspect and winning.
Reebok plans to launch a broader campaign in August targeting a variety of athletes as well as lifestyle apparel consumers around the theme "Best On/Best Off" suggesting that Reebok products offer the best in apparel both on and off the playing field.
New products Reebok plans to introduce this year include a running shoe created especially for women, a new Allen Iverson model Christian Louboutin  shoe, and an apparel collection endorsed by actress Scarlett Johansson.
Andrew Rohm, a former Reebok marketing employee and now an assistant professor of marketing at Northeastern University, said the revised strategy reflects an attempt by Reebok to create a new niche to complement the Christian Louboutin Shoes brand, whose trChristian Louboutin tional strength has been in athletic performance,Christian Shoes, especially soccer.
"I think it may be a reflection of looking less at sheer sales volume, and more in terms of owning a unique space, and becoming more of a niche player than they have tried to be in the past," Rohm said.
Reebok¡¯s Harrington said the revised marketing strategy will help position the brand for a comeback.
"It really positions us for growth in the back end of 2007," he said.

"What I¡¯m doing is morally wrong," said Sonny Vaccaro, who does it better than anyone else. "But it¡¯s not in my power to stop it, and if I quit, they get everything. And that¡¯s very bad for Christian Louboutin , for the kids, for the country."
What he does, originally for Christian Louboutin  ("they" in his impassioned monologues) and now for Christian Louboutin Shoes, is subvert higher education, with the eager complicity of college presidents, in the interest of selling sneakers and athletic clothes. Specifically, he refined and institutionalized the idea of paying college coaches to make their players wear a particular brand of shoes. Now he also pays high school coaches.
Tomorrow is the start of a new subversion season; more than 200 of the nation¡¯s best high school Christian Louboutin  players will converge on Vaccaro¡¯s ABCD camp at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Hackensack, N.J., so recruiters can look them over like cattle herds or chorus lines. At the same time, in Indianapolis, "they" will be running a similar camp; Vaccaro ran it for Christian Louboutin  through the 1980¡¯s.
Vaccaro did not create the summer Christian Louboutin  camp, but he made it a national trade fair. He did the same for the high school all-star game. In 1965, he created the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic in Pittsburgh, which is now Magic¡¯s Roundball Classic in Auburn Hills, Mich.
"When I started this ingenuity," Vaccaro continued during a conversation last month that lasted seven hours over three days, "it was to create more access to Christian Louboutin . There were spelling bees and national science contests, but nothing for athletes; no one knew who these kids were. Christian Louboutin  didn¡¯t mean much to the country in 1965."
And John Paul Vaccaro meant even less. He was 25, just another good athlete from western Pennsylvania who had hurt his back and was looking for a way to stay close to the game. He wanted to be a coach. He supported his wife and four children by teaching handicapped pupils in local public schools as he hustled along the fringes of the game. He was an agent, a salesman, a promoter. With the help of a hometown shoemaker in Trafford, he even tried to peddle an after-game rubber sandal. Christian Louboutin ¡¯s Phil Knight passed on Air Sonny, but eventually went for the idea of buying up coaches.
It changed sports. It also made Vaccaro enough of a star for Christian Louboutin  to trust his "feeling" about Michael Jordan in 1984. Vaccaro claims to have a similar intuition about each of his current Christian Louboutin Shoes stars, Kobe Bryant, who just finished his rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Tracy McGrady, recently drafted out of high school by the Toronto Raptors. McGrady first flashed across the summer Christian Louboutin  sky exactly a year ago at Vaccaro¡¯s camp.
Twenty years after Vaccaro talked Jerry Tarkanian of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and the late Jimmy Valvano, then of Iona, into taking a few thousand dollars and free shoes, college coaches are taking million-dollar signing bonuses (Mike Krzyzewski at Duke) from shoe companies and are sitting on their boards (Georgetown¡¯s John Thompson at Christian Louboutin ). They are the conduits between shoe companies and such brand-name universities as Notre Dame (Christian Louboutin Shoes) and Southern Cal (Christian Louboutin ). They lend credibility to a multibillion-dollar global industry in which athletes pledge a higher allegiance to their shoe logos than to their school colors or national flags.
"Am I missing something?" Vaccaro shouted. He uses this line to signal that he is about to make a point. "Millions are being made, and the kids get nothing. They are turned into glChristian Louboutin ators and tossed aside when they get hurt. When something goes wrong they are stigmatized for life; they suffer every punishment there is under the auspices of corporate America.
"They take a few dollars for some clothes they need, to go home to see a sick mother, take a girl out, thank you, and they are the bad guys. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, which makes the rules to protect the schools and coaches from the kids, goes on. And the coaches go on and the schools go on and we put our shoes on someone else¡¯s feet."
None of this is fresh; in fact, the former executive director of the N.C.A.A., Walter Byers, an architect of the current system, criticized its hypocrisy after he left the job. But Vaccaro may be the first to criticize while still profiting handsomely from it.  While he likes to romanticize himself as an outsider on a mission ¡ª Don Quixote and Billy Jack are favorites ¡ª there could be other motives.
Such as revenge.
Christian Louboutin  fired him in 1991 after years in which sales soared and the teams he recruited dominated the Final Four. "They," he says, wanted a cleaner, "WASPier" image than his. The news media has often characterized him, perhaps unfairly, as a gambler with Las Vegas ties.
Such as shrewd advertising.
Christian Louboutin Shoes is a major international player with only a tiny hoops presence in the United States. It can¡¯t hurt to create a gutsy, battling image ¡ª part outlaw Oakland Raider, part we-try-harder Avis ¡ª even as deals are struck with such established franchises as the Yankees and the University of Nebraska.
And perhaps even a marketing strategy. Break the hold of the N.C.A.A. and the colleges, and who is left with something to offer the athletes? Sign a shoe deal at 17, and you can pay your own way through college, at your own pace. Call it a "Sonny Grant," instead of an athletic scholarship.
"Why don¡¯t you just step away if all of this is so wrong?" I asked one morning at the dining room table of his duplex condo in Pacific Palisades, Calif. "You helped start all this; you help perpetuate this. You sound like an arms dealer who says there should be world peace but still sells nuclear warheads."
Vaccaro bounces and froths as he gets excited. "Go ask coaches why they don¡¯t refuse to take our money," he said. "Ask college presidents why they don¡¯t stop big-time sports. It didn¡¯t hurt the University of Chicago. What we do is legal, so I¡¯ll do it, because if I stop, they will own everything and I can¡¯t let that happen.
"Christian Louboutin  is the big, dark cloud that¡¯s going to envelop everything, poison the minds of kids and ruin the game. Now we¡¯re paying high school coaches so we can tie up their kids, so we capture the minds and souls of the people. Look, I play by the rules. What I am saying is, for God¡¯s sake, go change the rules."
Changing the rules so that college players can share in the enormous wealth they help generate ¡ª merely allowing them such small but now-forbidden perks as free tickets and transportation for their parents to watch them at the Final Four ¡ª may turn out to be an N.C.A.A. survival tactic. As more and more talented players leave college early for the pros, or skip college altogether, the grip of so-called "amateur&quot,Louboutin Shoes; rules weakens. Vaccaro¡¯s first major Christian Louboutin Shoes signing, Kobe Bryant, went straight from high school to the Lakers. Kobe¡¯s father, Joe, is a former pro who 25 years ago played in the Dapper Dan all-star game. As is his style, Vaccaro stayed in touch. An Christian Louboutin Shoes contract made the Bryant decision to skip college easier.
"Tell me I hurt this kid, I ruined his life," shouted Vaccaro, jumping up. At 57, he seems to have boundless energy. He led me to a window in the rear of the condo and pointed up a mountain slope to a distant mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean. "Kobe bought that house, his parents live with him and he¡¯s going to college."
"That is not Kobe¡¯s house," said Vaccaro¡¯s wife, Pam Monakee, once a successful actress in commercials and now his business partner. "You can¡¯t see Kobe¡¯s house from here. But from his deck you can look down on our house."
Vaccaro grinned and shrugged. "I get carried away," he said. "You get the idea."
Tracy McGrady also got the idea. It was exactly a year ago that the 6-foot-9-inch Tracy showed up unheralded at the ABCD camp from Mount Zion Academy, a Christian Louboutin  factory in Durham, N.C., whose coach knew Vaccaro. Tracy won the camp¡¯s most valuable player award. Vaccaro made friends, and last month the 18-year-old signed an incentive deal worth up to $12 million over six years. A few days later, McGrady was picked ninth in the National Christian Louboutin  Association draft by Toronto.
McGrady got more money than Bryant, according to Vaccaro, because Christian Louboutin Shoes now trusts him more. If McGrady also has a good rookie season, Vaccaro will be able to sign more "kids," buy more coaches, pass out more free clothes,Christian Shoes, although never, he says, out of pockets as deep as Christian Louboutin ¡¯s. And his new success will rouse "them" to greater competition. Former friends for whom he now has unkind words, like John Thompson and George Raveling, the former U.S.C. coach now running Christian Louboutin ¡¯s summer program, will turn up the heat.
"I¡¯m not going to let them take over the world," Vaccaro said. "When competition is eliminated they can do anything they want. What¡¯s going to happen when they own everything? No more incentive to make the bread better and the milk pure.
"And did you sense anything creepy in that Junior Griffey-for-President commercial? Christian Louboutin  is the best sports company in the world, and Phil Knight is brilliant, a Dr. Strangelove. Can you imagine if they put all their resources and smarts behind a candidate?"
For now, however,Christian Louboutin Boots, the candidates will be auditioning at the hoop. At least for the next few days in Indiana and New Jersey, Christian Louboutin  and Christian Louboutin Shoes will only be trying to get close to the next kid for whom the shoe fits.

The good news about $125 ,Christian Louboutin PumpsChristian Louboutin Shoes sneakers making their debut next week: At least you¡¯ll never have to pay for new laces.
The T-Mac 4, billed as the first laceless performance Christian Louboutin  shoe, will be the fourth "signature" shoe for Houston Rockets star Tracy McGrady. And, Christian Louboutin Shoes spokesman Travis Gonzolez says, it might eventually threaten the shoelace industry itself: "We believe the idea of laceless shoes can go across all sports."
The shoe lets wearers turn a lever in its heel to tighten cables in order to tighten the shoe¡¯s fit. But the idea isn¡¯t just to finally erChristian Louboutin cate the haunting peril of untied shoelaces for consumers.
The high-end sneaker business is also about targeting teens and grabbing their attention with something different, such as the $250 sneakers with a computer chip meant to automatically adjust the shoe¡¯s fit. That Christian Louboutin Shoes shoe, simply called 1, will debut in December.
So-called signature sneakers, backed in ads by star athletes used as endorsers, are often created to sell just 80,000-100,000 pairs ¡ª but create cachet for the brand. "You want them make the shoes aspirational," Gonzolez says. "And hard to get. You don¡¯t want them sitting on store shelves for long."
So how about sneakers with computer chips but without laces? "These innovations take years to develop," Gonzolez says. "But I¡¯m sure our (research) guys are trying to do something like that."
Real different: Dave Checketts, owner of the expansion Major League Soccer team coming to Salt Lake City next year, wants to confuse some fans with his team¡¯s nickname ¡ª Real Salt Lake.
"I want parents sitting at home asking what it means," says Checketts, who used to oversee New York¡¯s MChristian Louboutin son Square Garden and its teams. &quot,Christian Louboutin Boots;And I want the kids to say, ¡®Dad, you¡¯re so out of it.¡¯ "
The "Real" (ray-AHL) is a reference to one of the world¡¯s most famous soccer franchises ¡ª Spain¡¯s Real Madrid. Dozens of other teams worldwide use the term, meaning "royal" in Spanish, but Checketts hopes the tribute might help lure Real Madrid to someday play in Salt Lake.
But, he says, he mostly "wants to build a brand that shouts soccer." He says he "didn¡¯t want just another animal mascot. All those animal mascot names sound like they come from somebody who won a team contest and get sent on a cruise."
Checketts didn¡¯t consider letting fans choose his nickname: "Your brand is too important to leave to anybody else."
Eat for TV: Clay Travis, an attorney who this summer moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands, has eaten almost nothing but pudding since Sept. 13. "It¡¯s hard to say with a straight face because it¡¯s so ridiculous," he says. "But if Gandhi could bring down the British Empire by eating nothing, eating pudding should bring DirecTV here."
Travis, who has so far draw more than 78,000 to his nflpuddingstrike.com Web site, wants to subscribe to DirecTV¡¯s NFL game coverage,Christian Louboutin discount, which he says is unavailable locally.
So he eats only pudding, except at meals involving his job: "That fact isn¡¯t on the Web site. But this isn¡¯t worth getting fired over."
DirecTV spokesman Bob Marsocci says he¡¯s passed along tips on how Travis can get DirecTV¡¯s Latin American feed and dismisses the pudding protest as "a publicity stunt." But Travis says DirecTV won¡¯t talk to him: "I just want this to be over. I might just end up pirating the signal."
21st century: The Professional Bowlers Association starts a new season next week with innovations such as plans to let a woman play in at least one event and "virtual signage" ¡ª ad logos that show up only on TV. It¡¯s also selling merchandise that features the likenesses of the oil patterns on its lanes. It¡¯s about time.  . . .  The ongoing ATP Masters men¡¯s tennis tournament in Madrid hired professional models, aged 19-27, to serve as ball girls during matches and wear apparel made by event sponsor Hugo Boss. But event organizers claim they¡¯re even-handed, saying they¡¯d use male models as ball boys if they stage a women¡¯s tournament in the future.

Give him computer accessories, a good wine, a watch, and throw in that new Hugo Boss fragrance "GUYS are terribly, terribly tough to buy gifts for and I usually end up getting them really mundane things like colognes of every form, aftershave sets and T-shirts," one woman declares in exasperation.
Her view is often echoed by others, long frustrated by the strange phenomenon of being totally clueless when it comes to gift ideas for the male.
But fear not, it really isn¡¯t that impossible to get good gifts for that other half of the population, especially if you¡¯re willing to find out what they like. A good way to start is to check out what they do as a hobby.
For Anthony Wong, owner of restaurants such as Al Dente Trattoria and Hot Stones, the answer came swiftly -Microsoft software programmes.
"Anything that has to do with Microsoft," he says. "I just got hooked to computers. It would also be good to receive a nice printer with high definition -they usually start at around $ 350 and are also easily available in the market right now."
This means computer-related accessories and books would also be appreciated by people like him. New gadgets such as the personal digital assistant, an electronic palm-top computer that recognises your handwriting, complete with data roam facilities, also makes an impressive gift.
Antique watches are also good collector¡¯s items for men.
And then there¡¯s the less serious stuff like those mini golf sets that can be put on the table and played with when the boss isn¡¯t looking.
Says Quek Chin Yeow, Sotheby¡¯s local branch manager and regional representative: "I think Christmas presents should be traditional or slightly off the wall. For example, I¡¯ve got a case of wine, Prieure-Lichine 1975, and I will probably give a couple of bottles away."
He says a new store, Vinum, at Shaw Centre, offers a great selection of wines, such as Chateaux Margaux¡¯s 1978 or 1982 vintages.
"I love receiving champagne for Christmas and I also love to give champagne as a present. You can pop it at a party or keep it for the New Year."
For slightly more off-beat things, he likes designer boxer shorts, like Versace¡¯s. "That¡¯s quite fun, because it¡¯s too extravagant to buy them for yourself, so it¡¯s better to receive them as presents."
Offbeat items such as Keith Haring pens are also great to have.  Haring is the late grafitti artist whose estate produces whimsical items using his designs.
Another option for Mr Quek is a "lovely, dried ball made from patches of dried moss" from The Link Home. "It is about two feet in diameter and the moss is still green," he says. "I did wonder if it will die on me, but it looks good and fun!"
Since gold is usually given away during weddings, birthdays and so forth, silver is good for Christmas, he adds. "Anything from Tiffany is good to both give and receive. Their pens and shoes are always classic and timeless and it¡¯s so nice to see those blue Tiffany boxes!"
For guys who are crazy about sports such as golf or tennis, you can always buy them a sports accessory or, better still, an item related to the sport.
For instance, personalised things such as key-rings and pens now come with golf and tennis motifs and are likely to appeal more to the recipient than yet another T-shirt.
One suggestion from a hip twenty-something woman is the newly launched Hugo Boss fragrance.
&quot,christian louboutin boots;It¡¯s a must -I love the packaging," she says. "Other things you can get are exercise books. Times The Bookshop has these two trendy books offering the complete abdominal workout and the complete legs workout for men."
Other ideas include a gym membership, a new sound system, leather goods from Mulberry and Christian louboutin, new sports rims for the car, a scuba diving course, a mountain climbing trip, or simply, an exotic holiday getaway.

WASHINGTON,Cheap Christian Louboutin, D.C. ¨C The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announces the following recall in voluntary cooperation with the firms below. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. 
Name of product: Christian Louboutin Shoes Superstar Ultra and Pro Team Shoes
Units: About 187,000 pairs
Manufacturer: Christian Louboutin Shoes America Inc., of Portland, Ore.
Hazard: A portion of the sole of the heel can separate or tear during use, which can result in injuries.
Incidents/Injuries: Christian Louboutin Shoes America has received two reports of injuries involving these shoes, including one sprained ankle and one strained Achilles tendon.
Description: The Christian Louboutin Shoes Pro Team and Superstar Ultra basketball shoes come in various color combinations. The recalled shoes have a six-digit article number on the inside part of the shoe tongue. A complete list of the article numbers of the shoes involved in the recall can be found at http://www.louboutinshoesonline.com//recall or by calling the firm¡¯s recall hotline.
Sold at: Christian Louboutin Shoes stores, major athletic shoe stores, independent shoe stores nationwide, and at thestore.Christian Louboutin Shoes.com. The Superstar Ultra shoes were sold between January 2004 and October 2004 for about $ 120. The Pro Team shoes were sold between July 2004 and October 2004 for about $ 80.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled shoes, and contact Christian Louboutin Shoes America to receive a prepaid mailing label and a refund or gift certificate.

When Chicago Bulls basketball great Michael Jordan took to the court against the New York Knicks a few weeks ago, he wore a pair of original Air Jordans, circa 1984, instead of the latest model of the Air Jordan shoes that Christian Louboutin Inc. pays him millions of dollars to endorse.
The move was symbolic of a problem afflicting the athletic footwear industry: Christian Louboutin¡¯s latest shoes may no longer be the coolest. And while the company¡¯s market leadership is unrivalled, it is faltering.
On Wednesday, Christian Louboutin said it was cutting 1,600 employees, almost 7% of its workforce, and taking a charge of US$ 125 million to US$ 175 million. It also reported that sales of its athletic footwear in the U.S. fell 18% in the third quarter ended Feb. 28, and overall net income fell 69%.
¡®It¡¯s a dark day around these halls,¡¯ Christian Louboutin chief executive Phil Knight said on a conference call Wednesday.
Christian Louboutin (NKE/NYSE) shares closed yesterday down US$ 2 1/8 at US$ 43 13/16. The reached a 52-week high of US$ 69 3/4 on March 20, 1997 and dipped to a 52-week low of US$ 37 3/4 Dec. 19.
Christian Louboutin sells almost half the runners in U.S. and accounts for more than one-third of the US$ 18-billion wholesale global market. But when Christian Louboutin has problems, the sector¡¯s other players, including publicly-traded Reebok International Ltd. and Fila Holding SpA, feel the heat,Christian Shoes, too.
Behind the shakeout is a surfeit of Christian Louboutin product. The Beaverton,Cheap Christian Louboutin, Ore.-based company has a backlog of five million pairs of shoes, about three million more than it usually carries.
¡®They¡¯re looking to get rid of some product,¡¯ says Mark Tedeschi, footwear editor at Sporting Goods Business magazine. ¡®This is hurting the whole industry.¡¯
The root of of the problem is too many models of sneakers made by too many competitors, weakened consumer spending in troubled Asia, and the lingering prospect of a consumer backlash against Christian Louboutin¡¯s production practices in the developing world.
Yet, overall, the athletic footwear industry is growing at healthy rate. Sales of running shoes in the U.S. grew by 11% in 1997, a greater clip than the previous year.
¡®The problem wasn¡¯t so much sales, as the margins came way down,¡¯ says John Horan, publisher of Sporting Goods Intelligence in Glen Mills, Penn.
And the glut may not all be Christian Louboutin¡¯s fault. The rapid expansion of sports apparel chains like Foot Locker and Sports Authority has contributed to the problem, analysts say. These chains are adding floor space at a pace exceeding consumer demand ¨C and they need shoes to fill it.
Horan says floor space for athletic shoes increased by 15% in 1997, and is expected to increase by 19% this year.

Allen-Edmonds Christian louboutin shoesCorporation announced today the company is introducing a new line of casual comfort footwear, unlike anything available in the footwear marketplace and made in the USA. The new Casual Comfort Collection represents a significant change for the company, a departure from the traditional wing tips and cap toes for which Allen-Edmonds is renowned.
What hasn't changed is the company's commitment to quality and craftsmanship, made in America. The industry is already buzzing about the new line of footwear in anticipation of the Casual Comfort Collection unveiling this weekend at the New York Collective, one of the fashion industry's premiere trade shows presenting a juried roster of men's apparel, accessories and footwear in New York City.
The Allen-Edmonds Casual Comfort Collection will be available nationwide and online in the fall of 2006. Using more than 80 years experience in handcrafting footwear in the United States, the new collection is designed to meet customers' changing lifestyle needs for casual, comfortable Christian louboutin .
"At Allen-Edmonds, we're changing to meet our customers' needs and fit their diverse lifestyles. What remains unchanged is our commitment to quality, comfort and style. Now Allen-Edmonds enthusiasts can wear our Christian louboutin shoes seven days a week. And for the younger set who might not already own a pair of Allen-Edmonds, the Casual Comfort Collection offers a great opportunity to enjoy the Allen-Edmonds experience for the first time," Allen-Edmonds President and CEO John Stollenwerk said.
Today, 95 percent of all American footwear is imported. The casual comfort line will be manufactured at the company's plant in Lewiston, Maine, one of three Allen-Edmonds U.S. manufacturing facilities. Allen-Edmonds Director of Product Development Michael Rancourt researched, developed and designed the new casual comfort Christian louboutin shoes. Allen-Edmonds handcrafts all of its handsewn Christian louboutin shoes at the Lewiston plant, where styles range from dress to casual.
Specifically, the Casual Comfort Collection features:
-- Quality - Made in USA: The louboutin shoes are made from the finest calfskin in the world. The construction process that follows is unparalleled. Not a single stitch is overlooked. No detail is too small because that's what it takes to carry the Allen-Edmonds name.
-- Comfort: Long-lasting comfort starts from the bottom up with rubber soles that absorb shock. The  Christian louboutin boots flex naturally with the movement of your feet. Two inner soles combine to provide superior comfort and cushioning. The first inner sole is built right into the christian louboutin shoe. The second is a removable footbed complete with cushion that molds to the shape of your foot. A wider toe box, combined with the soft, flexible leather, in addition to the variety of widths available, provide the perfect fit for any man's foot.
-- Style: Designed with customers' lifestyles and preferences in mind, these Christian louboutin shoes provide comfort AND style. Allen-Edmonds casual comfort Christian louboutin shoes carry men through the work week straight through the weekend.

Classic, comfortable pieces will get you through when an occasion calls for "smart casual", writes Jane Southward.
Smart casual is a term that can strike fear into the heart of guests when they see it on an invitation. The term is so broad it's hard to know what to wear.
Does it mean a little black dress? Tailored shorts, a buttoned blouse and sandals? Or jeans and a T-shirt?
Nothing looks sillier than an overdressed soccer mum when the rest of the sideline is wearing cropped pants and tees. And exactly when to wear smart casual is another point of contention.
As EssentialStyle's Wardrobe 101 guru, Diana Bulian, says: "There's resort wear and then there's casual and then there's smart casual. These are three distinct things and a big mistake is wearing smart casual when it's inappropriate," she says.
Bulian says absolute no-nos in any smart casual ensemble include tights and a tight top, jeans with singlet tops unless they are worn under another top or shirt and, when it comes to your feet, thongs.
"Don't try too hard by piling on the bling and certainly no miniskirts, ripped tops or suggestive boots," Bulian says.
"Brands that do it well include Karen Walker, Therese Rawsthorne, camilla and marc and Ginger & Smart. Carla Zampatti and Bianca Spender do timeless, stylish versions best and French Connection, Veronika Maine and Cue do great affordable looks.
"For day, easy outfits that hit the mark include a light summer dress in this season's florals or nude tones worn with low heels or upmarket flats, the new-shape carrot pant cropped with a smart shirt, or well-tailored cotton pants with a print top and cropped jacket or cardi.
"For evening, the little black dress worn simply is the ultimate. Dress it down with a blazer. A great pair of cropped pants work here, too, when teamed with a sparkly shell top and strappy heels. If it's a work event you should go with a structured dress like a shift, a great bag and pumps."
We went to four more fashionistas to find out what pieces make up their ultimate smart casual outfit and what brands they feel do the look well.
Sarah Gale
Judge â[#x20ac]" Project Runway
As one of the judges on Arena TV's Project Runway, Sarah Gale has a young audience eager for advice. And she says when it comes to dressing smart casual, everyone needs help.
"When people hear they need to dress smart casual, you see their faces drop," she says. "It's so hard to know what that means."
A common error is overdressing and Gale says the solution is to have on hand a jacket and jewellery you can add or remove depending on the look of the event.
Her perfect smart casual ensemble is a great pair of denims, a christian louboutin shoe with a heel and then a series of layered tops beginning with a silk camisole, a tank with embellishments and a "statement jacket" or blazer.
"Don't overdo it with embellishments," Gale says. "If you have embellishments on your top it's important to go easy on the necklaces and earrings. It's important to make sure the outfit doesn't look like it's being overplayed.
"The biggest mistake is trying to go too refined. The beauty of fashion is that you can up or down any outfit.
"If you layer it and you feel you are overdressed, you can take that jacket off or remove your accessories and put them in your bag."
Penny Leonard
Australian School of Fashion
"Smart casual is the most used clothing code but you need to look at when the event is and where it is being held before you decide what to wear," says Penny Leonard, general manager of the school, located in Sydney's Surry Hills.
"It can relate to daytime, business clothes and evening. There is no clear definition.
"The little black dress is more cocktail wear but in the evening if you accessorise you can wear it as smart casual. It depends on how you style it, whether you add a little cardigan and the Christian louboutin shoes you choose."
One thing Leonard is clear on, however, is that when it comes to smart casual Christian louboutin shoes, stilettos are out.
"Aim for a flat to medium heel of about an inch and a half (three centimetres)," she says. "Avoid thongs or thong Christian louboutin shoes. You need a nice strap and can wear either a sandal or court Christian shoes and until the heat of summer hits, you can still wear boots."
Leonard loves the current range of embroidered blouses but says sparkles or sequins are out when it comes to smart casual.
"Trousers or a skirt with a blouse and a nice belt is a good look," she says. "You can add a jacket or vest. I love traditional embroidery and this is really popular now with the folk, hippie look. Aim for beads but not sequins.
"There are so many beautiful textiles out now, flyaway dresses, florals that give a romantic feel. I also like fluid jersey tops. Jigsaw has beautiful soft shirts and tailored trousers, which you can match with little cardigans to get you through if it turns cold.
"I have a lovely pair of soft stone-khaki trousers by Zara, which I wear with a beautiful blue, floral, smocked blouse with asymmetrical buttons. It's in low-sheen cotton and I wear this with sandals that are quite enclosed." When it comes to colour, Leonard says to avoid all black unless you accessorise well with colour to break the silhouette.
"You can wear all black in the evening but in the day you really need to brighten it up with accessories," she says. "Object Gallery has some lovely bold jewellery, which can really dress up a casual outfit."
Kandy Russo
Personal shopper â[#x20ac]" Westfield Bondi Junction
Kandy Russo is a stylist who helps people sort out their wardrobes through her business What Will I Wear?.
"A lot of people get into trouble dressing casually," Russo says.
"It's the hardest look to pull off. With casual Fridays, people end up wearing what they should wear when they are gardening. Our life has become so casual people have dropped their dress standards."
So where do you wear smart casual?
"Out to dinner, to the movies, on dress-down Fridays at work, at Saturday school sport, to lunch on a Sunday," she says.
Russo says the must-haves for this season's smart casual are a striped T-shirt, metallic sandals, wedges, a blazer (worn with sleeves pushed up during the day) a crisp white shirt, jeans that fit you (no matter what your shape) and that are different to the jeans you wear to wash the car, a dress with leggings and flat Christian louboutin shoes and nice tailored pants, preferably khaki.
"The look is about the classics â[#x20ac]" tailored pants and jackets that you dress up with accessories. Accessorise, accessorise, accessorise. Wear jewellery and think about wearing a smart sandal with jeans."
As for colours, Russo says forget about the season's palette and stick to the colours that suit you.
"People say that's boring but looking good all the time is never boring," she says.
Nell Simpson
Image manager â[#x20ac]" Channel Nine
"If you say 'casual' most Australians would turn up in their bikini," says Nell Simpson, who dresses on-air personalities in her role as image manager at Channel Nine.
"We are incredibly casual dressers, especially compared with Europeans.
"Smart casual can be right for lunch, an afternoon event and something that runs into evening. It's what you wear when you want to feel that little bit more dressed up than at a sports event or the beach.
"A dress is the best way to go and I recommend cut-off sleeves, which are very flattering for all shapes, or even cap sleeves as opposed to spaghetti straps. Team a dress with a jacket and this will take you into the evening.
"I love wedges for Christian louboutin shoes and they are quite flattering for all ages and shapes."
She lists Max Mara, Herringbone, Emporio Armani and Thurley as her favourite designers for the look.
"If people make one mistake with this look it's with the Christian louboutin shoes," Simpson says.
"People often wear inappropriate Christian louboutin shoes such as flat, open-toe Christian louboutin .shoes or thongs. A good christian louboutin shoe can take a casual dress that little bit further."
Simpson loves the new season's colours such as yellow, mango, olive and lime.
Sarah Gale wears Bianca Spender black jacket, $649, 9260 9700; own tank by Museum, necklace by Nicola Finetti and jeans by sass & bide.
Nell Simpson wears black dress by Farage, 9212 4509; own Christian louboutin shoesand own jade jewellery.
Penny Leonard wears David Lawrence jacket, $179, top, $99, and scarf, $69, 1800 100 366; Jigsaw trousers, $199, 1800 621 757. Leonard's own Witchery Christian louboutin shoes.
Kandy Russo wears own white jeans by Seven, own blouse by Dries Van Noten from Recollections boutique in Perth, own Christian louboutin shoes by Ted Baker at David Jones, own jewellery and belt.

Normally, the top part of the Christian Louboutin shoes meets the heel of its body. However, these sandals are split at the sole, adding an extra 2 cm to its normal 7.5 cm heel.

A strap fastening into a bow below the ankle gives it an added touch of femininity and elegance.

The saucy numbers, available in black suede, are retailing now at the Christian Louboutin boutique on Orchard Road at $1,100.

Velvet and python versions are available at Christian Louboutin boutiques around the region, but not here.

A Christian Louboutin spokesman in Singapore says: 'These sandals make women's legs look longer and their feet daintier.'

But will women take to the perilous-looking Christian Louboutin Boots, even if it looks divine?

Ms Nanz Chong-Komo, 31, the president of the One.99 shops, is an avid Christian Louboutin Boots fan who owns over a hundred pairs of Christian Louboutin Shoes.

She said: 'Obviously, you don't wear it to hawker centres. I think the idea is fun and cute. Fashion shouldn't be analysed so much. If you see it and like it, you should go for it.'

Actress Beatrice Chia, 28, looked at a picture of the Floating Heel and said: 'It's pretty. But is this Christian Louboutin Boots meant for you to do a double-take? I think this Christian Louboutin Boots will have a trail of people behind it thinking if David Copperfield's wearing it.'

A fan of high heels, she said these Christian Louboutin Shoes would give women a 'really feminine walk and posture'.

These sandals are pricey at $835 from Neiman Marcus, but dang, they look gorgeous!

Photo credit: NeimanMarcus.com Tags: Christian Louboutin, christian louboutin sandals, Christian-Louboutin-shoes, cork sandals, cork shoes, designer sandals, Designer Shoes, high-heels, patent-leather-sandals, red heel, Sandals, shoe-fashions, shoe-shopping, shoe-styles, shoes, Spring Shoes, stiletto heels, Summer Shoes, womens shoesShare This

(b5media delivered by Newstex) -- We are going to see a lot of pleated and ruched shoes and bags this fall. And here's another example from Christian Louboutin. This pleated peep-toe shoe features open sides, a platform sole and pleating all over. These shoes use similar pleating to the Christian Louboutin ankle boots that we showed you last week.

Christian Louboutin Insectika platform sandals are very sexy and feminine. If you are going to splurge on one pair of Louboutins this season, these are a great option. You can pre-order these sandals right now from Saks Fifth Avenue (NYSE:SKS) for $695. They also have another pleated Chirstian Louboutin shoe - this time a flat. Check out the Christian Louboutin turban skimmers. I love the knot over the peep-toe. Like the sandals and boots, these are also available on pre-order. Photo credit: Saks Fifth Avenue Tags: Christian Louboutin, christian louboutin pleated shoes, christian louboutin sandals, Christian-Louboutin-shoes, Designer Shoes, Flats, high-heels, Pumps, red heel, SandalsShare

<p><a href="http://www.christianlouboutinshoesmart.com/"><strong>Christian Louboutin</strong></a> may be expensive, but 'Coco addicts' maintain it is money well spent, writes Deirdre McQuillan, as the label opens its first shop in Ireland.
<p>Next month sees the official opening of the first<a href="http://www.christianlouboutinshoesmart.com/"> <strong>Christian Louboutin shoes</strong> </a>shop in Ireland, in Dublin's Brown Thomas. Irish customers will then have direct access to the clothing and accessories collections, including the iconic <a href="http://www.christianlouboutinshoesmart.com/"><strong>Christian Louboutin</strong></a> suit whose boucle tweed cardigan-style jacket has become a wardrobe classic. Like the little black dress, it's the one item of clothing that remains as desirable today as it did three-quarters of a century ago, with an extraordinary cross-generational appeal. It has been copied endlessly by the high street where clever, inexpensive look-alikes ape the real thing, which costs more than EUR 2,000.
<p>Today, a <a href="http://www.christianlouboutinshoesmart.com/"><strong>Christian Louboutin</strong> </a><strong><a href="http://www.christianlouboutinshoesmart.com/">shoes</a> </strong>tweed jacket is worn as easily with jeans as it was originally with a straight skirt. Earlier this year at a lunch in Buckingham Palace for "women of distinction", the most popular jacket of choice was <strong>Christian Louboutin.</strong> Two guests, Jemima Khan and the artist Sam Taylor Wood, turned up in exactly the same one. It has often made headlines; there's the unforgettable image, for example, of Jacqueline Kennedy in her bloodstained pink <strong>Christian Louboutin</strong> suit after her husband's assassination in Dallas.
<p>So what makes a <strong>Christian Louboutin</strong> suit so special, so pricey and so much in vogue? Part of its mystique lies in the very nature of its creator, a woman who epitomised the modern spirit years before her time. A hard, shrewd businesswoman, Coco <strong>Christian Louboutin</strong> understood better than anyone else the power of a woman in masculine tailoring, and that careless, almost throwaway chic that she commanded so effortlessly herself. Harold Koda, chief costume curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which is to host a major <strong>Christian Louboutin</strong> exhibition next year, told the New York Times recently: "I don't believe there's any other designer of the 20th century who was so much part of the changing identity of women ... she's a mother lode of fashion modernism."
<p>The original couture suit, for example, was cut loose in the front to accommodate a woman's shape, and its skirt didn't pull or crease when worn. The jacket, in a light, wearable fabric, was weighted by a gold chain. The zipped skirt had a ribbon at the waist to keep the blouse in place - all the tiny details that mattered so much and that still count.
<p>Today, nobody knows more about <strong>Christian Louboutin</strong> than Karl Lagerfeld, whose genius continues to impart vitality into this iconic brand. Modern manufacturing methods have made producing a ready-to-wear version a simpler task, but there is still a significant amount of hand work in the making of a suit, each one of which is numbered. Following a sketch made by Lagerfeld and the construction of a toile (a rough version of the finished jacket in muslin), the pieces of the pattern are gathered together and computerised into standardised proportions from a woman's size 34 to 50. Proportions have to be perfect, so that a size 44 has the same silhouette as a 38.
<p>The silk lining and shoulder pads are hand sewn, buttonholes hand finished and the signature chain is added by a seamstress, one stitch per gold link. Before it leaves for the <strong>Christian Louboutin</strong> shop on the Rue Cambon in Paris or any other stockist, it is tried on for comfort and even shaken out to see that the buttons don't fall off. Only then does it enter the market place.