On sneakers

Shoes are a special type of object that fit into a niche between form and function. They are similar to cars in this way. Shoes also, like cars, speak volumes about the person who possesses them. The type of shoes you wear are a visual cue of what you like to do and who you are. The shoes make the man.

There are a limited number of basic shoe varieties. You have your dress shoes, in shades of black or brown, which correspond to fancy vehicles (e.g., Ferrari, Porche, limousine). There are performance-oriented sport-specific footwear, which are like race cars. When you stomp around the trails in your big luggy boots, you're wearing the off-road vehicles of shoes. Leather sandals are jeeps, or dune buggies. Thongs? Convertibles.

And then we have all the rest, the sneakers, which is what most of us actually drive on a daily basis. There's a wide gamut of sneakers, from the economy-class two-doors, to the tricked-out low riders with spinny rims and hydraulics (yes, Prada sells sneakers). There's a sneaker for everyone's style. What's yours?