"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life;

- for there is in London all that life can afford."— Samuel Johnson

Why this quote you might ask. Why London? Have you ever been there? If not it’s definitely worth a visit. Its sheer geographical size and a population of nearly 8 million people of many different ethnicities, London is not only the largest city in Europe but also a place where a staggering amount of creativity is produced: fashion, architecture, music (just think of all the Britpop/Rock!), art and much more. A lot of people with a lot of ideas encounter and influence each other every day, and the openness and individuality one finds in larger cities are just two factors that London is such a “buzzing” city (“swinging” is soo 60s – for London is constantly changing). There is so much happening in this city; no matter where or when (who said Sunday was a day of rest, anyway?!) you are sure to find what satisfies your flights of fancy anytime.

Still not an answer to my question, you might think. What does this have to do with shoes? You are quite right – here it is: I am a huge fan of London. Not only did I live there for a couple of years but I also try to go “back home” at least once every six months. But more importantly, as one can imagine, Londoners with all their creativity and individuality also use their shoes to express these values. The Easter break was a good opportunity for another visit – so we (my bf and me) jumped onto the first plane Friday morning and off we were to one of my most favorite places in the world. On a purely research-based journey of course, besides the little bit of shopping.*cough*

But back to the actual topic. In London it’s pretty tough to avoid “cool” people. The plan was to catch some of these cool people and take pictures of their extraordinary, fascinating or just “plain cool” shoes. The sheer amount of people passing you in the streets, in shops, bars, clubs etc. is incredible – you’ll find anything you can think of. Guys in pointy shoes, fake pink fur coats (topless underneath) and tight jeans that surely must be doing some damage somewhere. There is also a huge trend toward all sorts of revival-fashion: neon colors, leggings, bright hair colors, jeans jackets etc. I dare say that it is true – if you can’t find it in London, you won’t find it anywhere else in the world. The most prominent shoes we saw were Converse All Stars, Nike and Adidas trainers but also boots and, as mentioned above, really pointy shoes.

With the girls we also saw some very interesting outfits: to get one thing clear right away, there seemed to be three predominant types of shoes. First, high-heels. No joke, there were so many girls out on the street (any time of day really) wearing some really nice high-heels. I’d hate myself if I had chosen a pair of my stilettos to walk around London the whole day, but these girls didn’t seem to mind it. The second group is made up of the different trainers. Prominent examples are the Nike Air Morgans or the Adidas Top Ten Hi, all in neon colors of course. (editor’s note: I bought a pair of those…each.) The last group of footwear worth-mentioning is somewhat typical for England: Wellies! Wherever you look, you are sure to spot some Wellies. They come in all sorts of colors and with different patterns and the girls I saw didn’t seem to think of Wellies as being a “fashion-no-go”. They wore them with jeans, dresses, short skirts, anything really. And they all looked fab.

Anyway, for today I’d like to look into the people behind their trainers. To me, people wearing trainers seem cool and with cool I do not mean trendy or fashionable. I rather mean accessible cool, down-to-earth cool, cool in a pretty uncomplicated way. You find these people everywhere; at Uni, in the city, in bars and clubs at night etc. They are always on the move – they know what’s happening where and when. These people are probably just like their shoes – flexible, fun and ready for anything. This sounds stereotypical. True. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. You’ll also find people wearing trainers because they just don’t care. Trainers, at least around Salzburg, are the perfect type of shoe to wear all year long, so why bother wearing anything else if this one pair you own works for all seasons and any kind of weather? The choice is really up to you. The people I took photos of in London all seemed to fit the first group rather than the second. They all seemed pretty much down-to-earth (considering the different places we found them – on the street, in a rather posh club, in a bar) and were very kind when asked to pose for the photos. One feature they all shared and which set them apart from the people wearing trainers for the sake of convenience was the color of their shoes. Neon or sparkling metallic colors really brighten up the greyest day or the darkest (as in not sufficiently lit, just to make sure) club. In contrast to their easy-going side, I am pretty sure these people also have crazy, wild side. The best example is the guy wearing the shoes with wings attached to them.

First of all, this reminds me of the Greek messenger-god Hermes with his winged sandals. The wings, along with the sort of psychedelic artwork, not only perfectly complimented the guy’s outfit but also emphasized his crazy character: he was dancing like a maniac, laughing hysterically and soon set fire to the whole crowd in the club. He was on drugs, you might think. That could have been a reason for his behavior, yes, but it would still be fitting of his psychedelic shoes. I do think such shoes only suit certain people; people have to embody what the shoes convey. Think about it, would you wear such shoes? Would they fit with who you are? I would feel rather stupid or like a clown if I was wearing such shoes. Anyway, this was a brief look at the people behind their trainers, at least of those I found particularly interesting. To finish off I'd like to share with you some more photos of extraordinary shoes: