Fashion in the News: Nike releases Back to the Future kicks

This is the second installment of a segment I call Fashion in the News. You can see the first here.

So, if you've been reading this blog with any regularity, you know how much I love movies and what a big inspiration they are to me fashion-wise. (Just click the "movies" tag at the bottom of this post if you don't believe me.) Well, apparently I'm not the only one, because sneakerheads and Back to the Future fans alike have been demanding Nike Mags for almost three decades now. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you are a very sad person and you need to immediate watch all three Back to the Future movies immediately. And, when you're done, watch them all again. And, after that, watch the second one several more times.

Nike Mags, as many of you will recall, are the ultra-futuristic kicks that made Mary McFly exclaim, "Power laces! All right!" 2015 may still be four years away, but Nike Mags are already here (well, ones that don't really have magnetic functions or power laces, but still look pretty cool).

Nike released 1,500 pairs to be auctioned on Ebay over the course of ten days. They sold for tens of thousands a pair, and all of the proceed's went to fund Parkinson's research. Kanye West was one of many to score a pair.

And yes, they may be a bit ugly (though not quite as ugly as those shutter glasses Kanye used to wear all the time), but they are still cool. They may not be my style, but I definitely understand the feeling of seeing some piece of clothing in a movie and just dying to have it.

In fact, I am currently in a state of obsession over the Edwardian fashions of Downton Abbey, which I lovely nearly as much as the program itself. I am especially fond of the oldest daughter Mary's wardrobe. I even too screenshots of this dress she wore in the season one finale to a garden party so that I can make myself a shorter version of it. The stripes are so my style.

I'm also so in love with her riding hat that I swear I'm going to make one and then take up riding just so that I can wear it. And, even then, people will be asking me why on earth I'm wearing such a thing. It's just absolute perfection, isn't it?

Oh, what would I do without movies and fashion?

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Fashion in the News: Japanese businessmen try to beat the heat with Hawaiian shirts

I hope you enjoy my repeating Fictional Fashion Icon segments. Here's a new segment for you: Fashion in the News.

NPR reported an interesting story a few days ago. Since Japan has been suffering power shortages following the nuclear crisis, companies are coming up with inventive ways to help office workers survive the heat. Many offices in Tokyo, for example are having workers come in an hour earlier to take advantage of colder morning temperatures.

But now, and idea with the adorably Japanese name Super Cool Biz, is advocating for more casual heat-friendly dress codes. Ties and jackets are out, Hawaiian shirts are it.

(Photo credit: Louisa Lim/NPR)

This kind of sartorial revolution would shake things up in any office, but Japan's famously buttoned up business men are reacting in a variety of ways. Some are happy to wear more casual clothes, but many feel it's disrespectful and unnecessary.

One thing I noticed about Japanese culture when I was an exchange student there in 2003 is that people know how to work hard and play hard and they way they do both so successfully is by keeping them separate. A dress code like this threatens such ideas.

Still, in an 82 degree (F) office, working hard may not be so easy without a more relaxed dress code. What do you think?

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