Footwear Plus

Sheepskin boot brand Bearpaw heeds customer requests for more men's styles.

With everyone from tween girls to Grammy Award-winning country crooners like Gretchen Wilson sporting Bearpaws nowadays, it may seem like the brand has tapped the market. But as Bearpaw devotees repeatedly posted on Facebook and Twitter, the company was missing out on one major chunk of the footwear industry: men.

The No. 30 Germain Racing team, led by reigning Truck Series Champ Todd Bodine, will proudly wear the Georgia Boot logo as an associate sponsor for the entire 2011 season. In addition, Georgia Boot will be the primary sponsor of the No. 30 Georgia Boot Tundra at Kentucky Speedway in July.

Nat-2and its madcap designers, the ones behind the Zipper 2-in-1 sneaker sandals, has found another way to keep sneaker addicts in their kicks. The Nat-2 Rainrunner, a sneaker-hybrid that has all the markings of a classic canvas hi-top (even real laces), is actually a 100-percent waterproof rain boot.

The wellies, made from high-quality rubber, trick the eye with printed sneaker-centric details, like contrasting stitching, toecaps and side labels. . .

Beginning this month, aspiring singer/songwriters can post an original song on YouTube for a chance to become the voice of Nine West Vintage America Collection. The winner of the Vintage America Voices Contest will be featured in the December issue of Lucky magazine and have the opportunity to record and release a single through Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s in-house label, Hickory Records. .

Organizers for the Outdoor Retailer show announced that attendee registration numbers for the 2009 Summer Market, held at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, UT, July 21-24, are meeting benchmarks from this time last year. If registration numbers continue to grow at the current rate, Outdoor Retailer will be on track to meet, and possibly exceed, the number of 2008 attendees. .

Were not so sure wearing Chooka boots in the pool will keep your feet dry, but it sure makes for quite a fashion statement.  We thank Rob Moehring, CEO of Kent, WA-based Washington Shoe Company and makers of Chooka, for forwarding us this pool shot.. .