Chris Estes

What do you think of First Lady Obama’s sporty new shoes?

Michelle Obama was caught sporting her new pair of casual tennis shoes with a hefty price tag of $540.  I have never heard of the French Fashion company Lanvin – but can tell you $540 for a pair of dog walking shoes is expensive.

My New Balance 574′s usually do the trick for comfort and reliability.  But if you really want a pair of shoes like First Lady Michelle Obama you can for a nice price tag.

Check out the NY Daily News article below or live on their site, here.

First Lady Michelle Obama steps out in Lanvin sneakers and they’re only $540!

BY Amy Diluna
DAILY NEWS FASHION EDITOR

Friday, May 1st 2009, 3:22 PM
They’re in poor taste. That’s way too much to spend on sneakers, especially in a recession.

Michelle Obama has taken casual to a haute new level.

While volunteering Wednesday at a D.C. food bank, the First Lady sported her usual J.Crew cardigan, a pair of utilitarian capri pants and, on her feet, a sneaky splurge: trainers that go for $540.

That’s right: These sneakers – suede, with grosgrain ribbon laces and metallic pink toe caps – are made by French design house Lanvin, one of fashion’s hottest labels. They come in denim and satin versions, and have been a brisk seller all spring.

They’re out of stock at posh Meatpacking District boutique Jeffrey, and Barneys New York boasts a limited selection of the sneaks, which are a cult favorite among fashionistas.

It’s likely Michelle got hers through Ikram, the Chicago retailer that often outfits her.

“They’re shoes,” the First Lady’s reps sniffed when curious reporters inquired about the fancy footwear.

Michelle has stepped out in Lanvin before while getting down to business. A week ago, she shoveled dirt at a tree planting while wearing the line’s chiffon tank.

Dresses and strappy pumps cost upward of $1,500, while tops go for $400 to $1,000.

Other celebrity fans of Lanvin’s costly kicks include Ellen DeGeneres and Kanye West, who has blogged about his faves.

As the family’s primary dog walker, Michelle clearly requires comfortable footwear.

“I got up at 5:15 in the morning to walk my puppy,” she joked Thursday. “That’s how my day starts. Even though the kids are supposed to do a lot of the work, I’m still up at 5:15 a.m. taking my dog out.”

She’ll be trodding on New York’s sidewalks Tuesday for the first time as First Lady. Michelle will meet with staff at the U.S. mission to the United Nations. Later, she headlines Time magazine’s “100 most influential people” gala.

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With Kenneth R. Bazinet

For the past few months you have inevitably heard the phrase “Buy American”.  This isn’t a new phrase by any means, especially if you have been around me.  It is almost a humorous statement usually followed by a smirk from most people.  It is no mystery to anyone that has been around me long enough to know I get on my soap box when confronted with the question “how do you plan to solve it”.  I’m not totally sure how to end it, in fact I don’t want to end it.  Globalization at its finest created the US – sailors hitting the shores of North America searching for riches.  What I do want to end is the displacement of American’s for manufacturing jobs overseas.  In other words I don’t want an American to be out of work so that a product can be produced in another country.

This post isn’t about history or so much about social awareness of my fellow American’s as it is an introduction to a series of post I am writing about American Made goods I have bought and used over the past few months.

I plan to do a post about each of the products.  I have no time-line for completion or number of post.  As a disclaimer I have not been paid or even requested to do reviews of these products. So far I plan to do a review of:

• Work Boots
• T-shirts
• Jeans
• Socks
• Tools

You know the basic guy stuff.  My inspiration comes from a fellow blogger Stephanie at On My Mind.  Stephanie runs a website,dedicated to goods “Still Made in the USA.”  Stephanie’s Why Care page states it well the reasons I care and what my intention of the post to come are about:

According to consumer polls, most Americans don’t know or care where products are made, and if asked will say only that they would buy American-made products if the cost were the same or nearly the same as the imported versions.

With our single-minded pursuit of low prices, we have attained unprecedented levels of material possessions, but what have we given up? The answers are all around us if we would but look. The more I read and listen, the more reasons I find to pay attention to where things are made.

The purpose of StillMadeinUSA.com [in my case the corresponding post] is not to stridently criticize, but to gently persuade. The decision to be an informed consumer must come from within. Below I suggest some reasons why consumers should care about looking for products that are made in the U.S.

Stay tuned for more info and post to come. Don’t forget you can sign up to recive post via e-mail.

Imaged adapted from TandTINC.com

For those of you that have been following me know the last year or so have been tough.  So I’m going to take a break and explain it all to you and give you the update on my status.

As many of you know I lost a job in Washington DC then moved to take a job in New York City.  For various reasons that job lasted until the mortgage crisis hits its high and the banks didn’t need contract labor.  So I once again packed my bags to move home to Birmingham because I decided to start my own Business stemming from my work with SEO by Chris and start a business of my own called Birmingham SEO. During the few months after my move back to Birmingham I need to get my health in check.  I had all kinds of physical and emotional problems that required some overnight stays for testing and observation.  Most of these so called “Problems”  were all related to stress and being overworked.  Some might just call it “exhaustion”.  So about the middle of June all is well and I’m ready to get back at it full time. Plus we all know money doesn’t grow on trees it comes from somewhere.

Image Adapted from library.thinkquest.org

During June I built my business plan and implemented the web portion.  In the process I picked up a couple sites of my own that I would use to supplement my consulting income.  The websites did show real potential. But all the while not producing money.  So into July I took a short term contract as a political consultant for the Humane Society Legislative Fund while trying bring in some revenue and potential clients down the road.  The revenue part worked well but the clients were hitting a slow.  I would make calls and look through the want ad’s for people needing services.  The state of the economy was starting to really hurt my target business and they did not or could not afford services.  So in turn business hit bottom.  I put a lot of time in building up my sites that have turned out to be only a supplement and produce about enough for a Mc Meal a day.  Since we all know money doesn’t grow on trees I have decided to get back into the regular employment market to make ends meet while I wait for my customer base to come back around.

I am currently in the process of talking to several employers but they are either almost too scared to hire or want someone with many qualifications and years of experience.  The current employment situation is a company’s dream.  They get a much better pool of applications to choose from.  I got turned down for a job that the only posted job requirement was “Pass a Drug Test” and “Graduate High School.”  The person they hired had a Masters Degree and Spoke 3 languages.  If I was the hiring manager that person would have been my choice too.

Logo from IBEW.org

Adapted from WoodFramers.com

So I am going back to my roots and what I know.  I’m a third generation union worker with an electrician brother.  Blue Collar work runs through my veins.  I have fought it and tried to change it – you just can’t change who you are.  So the most promising leads for employment is with craft unions in Birmingham.  Accepting  one of these jobs will still enable me to pursue and grow my business.  Weather it be with the Carpenters or the Electricians I hope to find the fix to my economic woes.

So really the state of the economy has effected me.  I’m not bad off like some places.  I am very fortunate and do see that if the economy doesn’t rebound and correct itself I could quickly be with the others.  My business plans are on hold for the moment.  Not really on hold – I’m waiting for the market to rebound and allow me to get back to work.

Wish me luck and wish America Luck.  Times are tough for many people. My contribution is buying American.  It may be more expensive but is a better product almost always.  Plus it helps out your neighbor.  If you neighbor is working then that means things are going to be ok.  If we get Americans back to work our Economic Crisis will be over.  Its really simple.  if people are spending money then that means there making money.  So help me do my part and make it yours.  Buy American.  Real Patriots buy American.

Image adopted from Wikinomics.com

As President Barack Obama gets ready for his first night in the White House the Honeymoon is ending. Wednesday begins his first full day as President.  Obama’s Presidency begins in a time of Economic Turmoil and trying times internationally.  It is unlikely that he will get a long honeymoon that has been extended to presidents past.

Pres. Obama inherits a two front war in the Middle East.  A weakened economy full of scandal and turmoil that directly effects the falling employment rates.  Many people from around the world will be  looking to the Leader of The Free World for guidance.

So to spare you the obvious problems that face America lets take a look at days gone by with information from the United Steelworkers Rapid Response.  Only history will tell the legacy of Former George W. Bush today’s stats are dim and perhaps indicative of how history will be written.

The Legacy of George W. Bush

Printable format

	When Bush Took Office	Today
Unemployment Rate	4.2%	7.2%
National Debt	$5.7 trillion	$10.6 trillion
Manufacturing Jobs	17.2 million	13.0 million
Americans without Health Care Coverage	40 million	46 million
Employers Offering Some Type of Insurance Coverage	69%	63%
Annual Premium Cost for Family Coverage	$6,230	$12,680
Americans in Poverty	31.6 million	37.3 million
U.S. Trade Deficit	$362 billion	$688 billion
Cost of College6 Public Private	$3,766 $17,377	$6,585 $25,143

1. U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics Survey, Manufacturing Employment, 2000 & 2008.
2. Kaiser Family Foundation, Employer Health Benefits, 2008 Annual Survey.
3. Kaiser Family Foundation, Employer Health Benefits Surveys.
4. U.S. Census Bureau, most recent available data is for 2007.
5. U.S. Census Bureau, data is from a 12-month period of December-November for both timeframes.
6. College Board, Trends in College Pricing, data is for tuition and fees only.

Image from Counton2.com
Statistics eblast original source for USW.org