Ladies and Gents I would like for you to...

give a warm welcome to our newest blogger Kara aka Miss Hood and Proper. I first met Kara last year at out FSF Bbq back in June. She has a dope sneaker collection and is an all around cool chick! Check out the 411 on our newest blog member:






1)Who are you and where are you from?Hey! My name is Kara and live within the great outskirts of South London. I am the Fashion Editor of Catch 22 Magazine, I blog when I can at www.hoodandproper.blogspot.com

, make beats, shake a leg on the online dance show 'Break It Down' for Spine TV and I love life!

2) When did you start collecting?

As a little girl, I was always fascinated by the power of kicks within the social hierarchy of my school playground but my first trip to New York in 2006 cemented my willingness to empty my account for kicks. My collection is hardly anything to scream from the rooftops about but it's nice for someone with my budget!

3) What's your favorite pair?

Everybody and their pet dog knows that I live in my Blazer SB Viotech's but recently I bought a pair of Jeremy Scott x Adidas Nizza Hi's in the traditional Kente cloth of my country, Ghana. Not many people can pay homage to their roots with their footwear so I love showing them off with pride. I love them so much that I broke the 'sunday best' code of conduct and two-stepped towards the collection pot at church wearing the Nizza's! That's how I gets down!






4) What's the Sneaker scene like in London?

The scene in London is similar to that in NY but, obviously, on a much smaller scale. We have the same crazy queues forming overnight to get first dibs on new releases and small, very small, events similar to that of Sneaker Pimps but overall we are quite a reserved people. We do not have BBQs and parties all the time and stadium filled events celebrating the sneaker scene. I think it's an English thing, we would probably love to have Sneaker Pimps over here but we like to play like we're 'too cool for school' and try to avoid acknowledging our 'hypebeast' statuses in public.

In relation to the retail scene, there are only a handful of places in London where you can get a nice range of exclusives from as all the smaller, more exclusive boutiques have disappeared over the years. It has made the scene very shady and secretive, more so than the American scene due to this lack of stores. Deadstock trainers are not casually sold in London the way they are in America as store owners are all trying to hold on to their exclusives for dear life as much as the next person. In a sense of style, it is common knowledge that Londoners are not fans of bulkier kicks of the basketball realm, for example, a Foamposite would not whip our sneaker scene into a frenzy. However, styles like the Jordan 5's, or the True Blue Jordan 3's are just as powerful over here as they are in New York.

I do hope that the London scene would let go of our inhibitions and be a bit more adventurous....maybe one day......



Welcome to the team girlie!!!