Friday curious: Behold the Bös footwear!

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

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O hail, you insatiable consumers culture-curious folks. Gee, these guys rock! Seems like my country has some new fans on the US shoe market.

It all started as a jest of some sorts. At least from a Bulgarian POV, since this sort of shoes has long been associated with low-rate everyday use during the scorching summer days around the seaside resorts. You just put a pair of "web shoes" on, the parasol on your shoulder, and you go to the beach. This sort of shoes is the epitome of laid-back holiday time, that's for sure.

Now these three US guys have made a project based on the KickStarter platform that's being used for financing various creative projects, and garnering financial support from fans.

There's a story behind the name of the shoes as well. If we disregard the umlaut that's been put for fancy effect, the word "bos" simply means "barefoot" in my language. Because that's what you are - barefoot, beneath the nice comfy woven fabric that constitutes these shoes. The feet can breathe, the shoes are light and easy to put on and off - all in all, it's just another version of the sandals. And it's long been part of the culture over here, especially in commie times.

Oh, and as a bonus, I'm told every contributor to their campaign also gets some Martenitzi as a gift. Cool! :-)

Comments

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

What? Maybe Americans want to kick back and go to the beach too! I sure do, it's only 1000 miles to the nearest beach...

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Is there a place in the US that's more than 1000 miles away from the closest water basin?

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

Only a slight exaggeration, but unless you want to go to a muddy pond, I think its at least 300 miles!

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

No pools, no rivers, no lakes, no dams anywhere within 300 miles? Gawd, you must live in hell.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

As I said, unless you want to go to a muddy pond. I grew up on the Pacific ocean.

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

I would bet that at least 95% of all Americans live in places that are less than 100 miles from a beach.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

I live 300 km away from the seaside (https://maps.google.bg/maps?q=plovdiv&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x14acd108a248763d:0x6470d1fa6f1338a0,Plovdiv&gl=bg&ei=0uzPUrH-CqWwyAO4u4CYCg&ved=0CLEBELYD) but that doesn't mean there aren't a dozen rivers within a 20-km circle from home, and half a dozen lakes and dams within a 50-km circle. In fact there's a beach at the opposite side of town.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

If you were to go snorkelling/diving, where would you go?

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Greece. Kavala/Thassos on the Aegean Sea is actually closer to my town than our own Black Sea coast. But you don't need to go snorkelling/diving in order to bring woven footware to the beach anyway. :-)

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Thanks. They are cute deck shoes, or those are cute legs. Not sure which.

Do you need a suit out there? Where I am you need a thick suit to avoid hypothermia.

PS:

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

No you don't need a suit here, at least not in summer, when the water could reach up to +28 C.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

I think it depends on your definition of beach too.

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

You're right. Perhaps I should present several options so you could pick up the one that suits you.


This is a beach in Varna at the Black Sea, in the OP's country Bulgaria.


This beach is at the Neva river in St.Petersburg, Russia, just a few miles away from the North polar circle.


These are the mineral hot pools and adjacent beach at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, again close to the polar circle.


This beach is at Mondego river in the interior of Portugal.


This is a stone beach, again in Portugal, and is on a river.


This is a beach at lake Baikal in Central Siberia.


This is a community swimming pool and adjacent beach in Pahrump, Nevada, thousands of miles away from any sea, ocean or major river.


...And this is actually a beach at Arcadia lake in Oklahoma.

[peamasii.livejournal.com]

city beach in Amsterdam (artificial canal on the IJ, not the sea)

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

See all of those are quite a ways and the last is a mud puddle.


Here's one of the beaches I grew up near:


That one was ok, you had to sneak back behind the water treatment plant to get to it though.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

Sure looks fun. Maybe I could try to order a pair online.

[mikeyxw.livejournal.com]

They come with a Martenitzi, which according to the description that I translated using Google, is used to tie your loved one at the wrists.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

Actually the OP has put a link to a previous post that he wrote about the Martenitzi, so I didn't need to use Google. :-)

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

So you marketed a traditional footware as a unique foot covering for ignorant 'Mericuns. Good on ya. It's what we do, after all, export our crap and call it culture. Disney, anyone?

Oh, and I hope your shoe makin' entrepreneurs marked up the shit on these fresh kicks. Take a lesson on turd polishing from real US pros, where a bottle of beer known far and wide to be worth less than a buck in a bar and drunk by workin' class stiffs needing a cheap beer fix gets transformed by sly marketeers into a brew fetching over $40 a bottle (http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/07/21/pabst-blue-ribbon-is-classy-and-expensive-in-china/).

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

"We" didn't do anything. These entrepreneurs are actual Americans.
I wouldn't call that thing 'crap'. It's just... a thing. It's an item that's long been considered a useful addition to everyday life here.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

A useful addition . . . like beer!

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

Some smug hipsters are really upset at that last one I bet, heh.