I spoke glowingly of fellow Wisconsinite Chris “C2″ Hui in my last post. The Nike Air Force Ones I highlighted in that entry were exceptional in terms of design and execution. Great sneaker artists fall flat once and awhile though their failures still eclipse the successes of lesser designers. The Nike Dunk Highs highlighted above fall short of the C2 standard.

I dislike the Dunk Highs in question for two reasons: color scheme and finishing. The light blue/black combination sends this shoe back to the early ’90s when neon colors were in style. The pictures I have viewed of C2’s work on these Nike Dunk Highs make it look unfinished. A look at the finishing on the heel show that these sneakers could use some additional work.  C2 will get a hit nine times out of 10 with his custom sneakers; you can check out some of his masterpieces at www.c2-customs.com.

Patrick’s latest release features a sweet ostrich skin perforated upper. These low shoes are available in two colors – black and brown, which both feature a white sole and trim.

These high-end sneakers are very simple, but the ostrich skin makes them a very rich looking shoe. You can easily pull off wearing these as a dress shoe because the style is so chic.Both colors are available right now at Atmos-Tokyo.

I prefer the brown pair because I think black shoes are played out. But really both of shades of the Punch Ostrich are cool. These luxury shoes are priced at 61,950 yen, which is about $550 USD.

Look for this latest release from the Gil II Zero series. The theme of this shoe is to try to get everyone to vote for Gilbert Arenas for the Best Celebrity Blog of 2007.These shoes came out today – Friday, December 7th.

Only 3,000 pairs of these shoes will be released. Along with the sneakers, a special T-shirt is included. Price of these kicks is $110.

These sneakers feature a shiny gold upper and solid black midsole. I think the “MVP” tag on the tongue is a little too much, but these shoes will sell.

Even though Gilbert is sidelined with an injury for the Washington Wizards, you can still support him with these shoes and with the votes!

Union NY has released some holiday t-shirts in 5 new styles. Thet-shirts will be available at Union NY and Union LA only. via pointblack.com

Acapulco Gold has announced their relaunch of their website. They have a collection as well as the new Acapulco Gold Mix. via highsnobiety.com

These three Plaid New Balance 576 are Made in the US to honor the three New Balance factories. They are available in the Navy/Black colorway(Lawrence), the Gold/Black colorway(Norridgewock) and the Purple/Black colorway(Skowhegan). Each sneaker comes in a white box with a corresponding plaid swatch on the lid. The sneaker is now available for $150.00 each.

Via highsnobiety.com