Footwear

WASHINGTON - Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana said they improved his strength and posture. Celebrity Kim Kardashian boasted they allowed her to ditch her personal trainer. But federal and state officials said the rocker-bottom Shape-ups and other toning shoes made by Skechers USA Inc. don't live up to the hype from the company and its high-profile endorsers. On Wednesday, the Manhattan Beach company agreed to pay $50 million to settle false-advertising allegations by the Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of 44 states, including California, as well as the District of Columbia.

Collective Brands Inc., which owns footwear brands such as Sperry Top-Sider and Keds as well as the retailer Payless ShoeSource, will be split in two by multiple buyers in a purchase valued at $2 billion, including debt. Wolverine Worldwide, Blum Capital and Golden Gate Capital formed an acquisition company to buy Collective for $21.75 a share. The deal was unanimously approved by Collective's board and is expected to close by early in the fourth quarter. The price represents a 104% premium on Collective's 30-day average stock price before Aug. 24, when the company first announced that it was looking into a strategic and financial shift for its operations.

If you live in Los Angeles or other fashion-forward places where people are eager to try new things, you have seen them: people running around in shoes that look like gorilla feet, modern ninja footwear or high-tech surf booties. They are the newest twist on the oldest walking technology on Earth: feet. With major shoe companies releasing a slew of these so-called barefoot shoes onto the market this spring, what began as a small movement among hard-core runners is edging into the mainstream.

For a recent episode of the TV series "Modern Family," Raul Ojeda crafted a pair of shoes covered in red sequins for actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson. His character, Mitchell, shows off the shoes for a "Wizard of Oz"-themed birthday party he throws for his partner, Cam. A decade ago, Raul Ojeda was working as a shoe shiner. Now the 29-year-old is leaving his own footprint in Hollywood, supplying custom-made shoes to stars such as Steve Carell and Sally Field. Ojeda is the owner of Los Angeles-based Willie's Shoe Service, a shoe repair shop that has been providing footwear to the entertainment industry since 1956, when Willebaldo "Willie" Rivera opened a small business across from Paramount Pictures on Melrose Avenue.

Gonzalo Duran, an immigrant shoemaker who during four decades built a loyal clientele among flamenco and folklorico dancers by making custom-fit footwear from his home shop in Boyle Heights, died Friday in Los Angeles of heart failure. He was 78. Duran was considered part of a dying breed of craftsmen, cutting leather by hand with his scarred and callused fingers like an Old World cobbler.

Here's the cliche: Men slumped over seats in cushy boutiques giving compulsory nods while women shop for shoes. Laden with shopping bags, the sticker-shocked males stumble out of the store, pondering all the other things on which they could have spent their money. Like rent. But that's the modern cliche. It wasn't always thus. According to the author of "The Essence of Style," Joan DeJean, "The transformation of the shoe industry that made possible the current craze for luxe footwear began during Louis XIV's reign . . . because the Sun King himself was a shoe addict of the first order."

Lined with hay and held together by a net of rough string, the leather shoes look bulky, itchy and downright uncomfortable. But if they were good enough for Oetzi, the 5,300-year-old man found in an alpine glacier in 1991, they're good enough for the modern foot, insists Petr Hlavacek, a Czech shoe expert who has created replicas, taken them out for a walk and pronounced them far better than most modern footwear. "These shoes are very comfortable.

Sheepskin footwear is (a) gorgeous,( b) hideous, (c) comfortable, (d) clunky or (e) a national uniform. At the very least, you should have selected "e," but the answer probably doesn't matter. The fur-lined boots everyone seems to be wearing -- even in July -- are a fashion phenomenon that shows no signs of abating. The king of the hill -- Ugg Australia -- hit the U.S. market like a sledgehammer and sales started to soar around the turn of the millennium, defying all odds for what should have been just another fad. Instead, in the third quarter of 2009, the company sold more than $212 million in products.

The Right Start Inc., a juvenile products catalogue company in Westlake Village, has teamed with Reebok International Ltd.'s Weebok division, to launch a Weebok children's catalogue. Weebok is the children's apparel and footwear unit of the Stoughton, Mass., athletic shoe maker. The new catalogue will feature Weebok's complete line of infant and toddler apparel, footwear and accessories. It will be mailed nationally during the first quarter of 1993.

Crocs Inc., the maker of colorful plastic clogs with holes, and Skechers USA Inc. said they had agreed to settle all outstanding litigation over patent-infringement claims. Skechers, based in Manhattan Beach, will stop making and selling some "molded footwear styles" under the agreement reached this week, the companies said. Other terms weren't disclosed. Crocs, whose stock has dropped 96% this year, is fighting to bar copies of its shoes amid falling sales. Analysts have questioned whether the Niwot, Colo.

Regarding "No Junk in the Trunk" by George Fuller, June 26: You can find healthful choices at almost all fast-food joints — get the grilled chicken sandwich, feed the bun to the birds, skip the fries, etc. Paul Cadman Malibu Catharine Hamm's piece "Pay Up, but DIY" [June 26] prompts this comment. As a pilot and onetime frequent traveler, I hope to raise the awareness of today's travelers to the dangers of wearing inadequate footwear. When flying, ask yourself how fast could you run in flip-flops or 4-inch heels should you need to evacuate and run for your life.

If you live in Los Angeles or other fashion-forward places where people are eager to try new things, you have seen them: people running around in shoes that look like gorilla feet, modern ninja footwear or high-tech surf booties. They are the newest twist on the oldest walking technology on Earth: feet. With major shoe companies releasing a slew of these so-called barefoot shoes onto the market this spring, what began as a small movement among hard-core runners is edging into the mainstream.

Fredda Stevenson sized up the despondent young man who'd slunk into her remote watering hole on U.S. Highway 50. He was thirsting for beer and, as Stevenson learned, advice. His new bride, he grumbled, had blown all their cash on slot machines in Reno. Then they'd sped east through 100 miles of sagebrush and hills as dark and lumpy as mud pies. They camped down the road from Stevenson's bar, near a large cottonwood tree that had inexplicably thrived in Nevada's badlands. The couple started quarreling.

If the production values of the recent Milan menswear shows are any indication ? an indoor rainstorm at Burberry, John Varvatos' railroad track runway and Ermenegildo Zegna's green-screen "Live-D" presentation ? luxury brands are done hedging their bets and tightening their belts. They are back to selling the sizzle they hope will sell their steak to men who've been on a bread and water diet for the last several seasons. Below are a few of the highlights from the opening act of the 2011 fashion show circuit.

Camper, a Spanish version of Cole Haan, makes comfy heels and stylish sneaks for fashionistas who don't want to sacrifice looks for comfort. Based in the sunny Balearic island of Mallorca, Camper has opened a new store at the Original Farmers Market. The store walls are blanketed with flowery, petal-like sheets by Japanese artist Tokujin Yoshioka. Yoshioka, who was mentored by designer Issey Miyake, has collaborated with brands such as Hermes, Toyota and Swarovski on design concepts.

Havaianas, the Brazilian maker of fashionable flip-flops, opens its first U.S. store Sunday, June 27, in Huntington Beach. Located on Pacific Coast Highway across from the Huntington Beach Pier, the 1,250-square-foot Havaianas store includes a permanent customization station, where you can design your own pair of flip-flops by choosing a strap and contrasting foot bed with the option of adding a Swarovski crystal charm before a machine clamps everything...

Four well-heeled women have told Pittsburgh police that a man accosted them, removed their footwear, then sniffed the shoes. One woman said the man complimented her footwear as she entered an elevator and asked if he could have a shoe. When she refused, he took one anyway, then sniffed it "like it was a bouquet of flowers." Patty Cohen, 42, said a man kicked her heel and knocked off her shoe. He apologized, then grabbed it and smelled it.

Payless ShoeSource Inc. said that its fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 20% after the company underestimated demand for warm-weather footwear and that second-quarter profit may beat estimates as the largest U.S. shoe retailer stocks more sandals and open-toe shoes. Net income in the period ended May 4 fell to $23.9 million, or $1.05 a share, from $29.7 million, or $1.30, a year earlier. Sales fell 3.9% to $738.2 million. Chief Executive Steven J.

From corsets to sky-high stilettos, women have been suffering in the name of fashion for years. Thanks to the Beverly Hills-based footwear line Dana Davis, named for its founder and chief executive, high-heeled- shoe lovers can breathe a sigh of relief. In its third season and selling well locally at Nordstrom South Coast Plaza and at danadavis.com, the label features chic styles with invisible comfort technology such as customized arch supports and strategic cushioning. Imagine heels that may actually be good for you. With designs including embellished flat sandals, driving moccasins and the 41/2-inch platform heels she introduced for spring-summer 2010, Dana Davis just might be the brand to make a comfort shoe go mainstream in the fashion world.

Step aside, Imelda Marcos, for the newest shoe maven in Asia: the sole purloiner of Seoul. For years, his eye was on men's shoes, mostly designer brands like Bally and Ferragamo. But he wasn't above lifting a pair of women's pumps. Pretending to be a mourner, he cased the prayer halls in hospitals, where South Koreans take off their shoes, leaving them in piles before kneeling to memorialize a friend or loved one. Then he wore one pair at a time out of the room, returning in slippers to snatch another, as many as half a dozen in one heist.