TOP OF THE CLASS

The incomparable Jigga Man once said: "you can pay for school, but you can't buy class" . . . you can, however, buy a great pair of kicks from New Balance's H710 Ivy League collection! This new line is not without controversy. While we know that the Ivies are Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Brown, this collection inexplicably exclude Cornell and Yale.

Brown

Some take issue with the colors. Each sneaker's color is "inspired" by the school it represents, but, apparently, the blue on Columbia's version is not the "Columbia blue" and Princeton's beige sneaker is at odds with the official school colors.

Dartmouth

The sneakers are essentially hiking "boots", and come in both high and low top versions. Composed of premium suede and mesh, my favorite feature is the school crest, or rather New Balance's interpretation thereof. They will be sold by Japanese company, Mita and become available in February.

Click "read more" below to see the rest of the collection.

NEW BALANCE + NINE WEST

Left: fromt he Icon collection, sporty and chic--Classy, $89.00. Right: from the Kiki collection, vivid color and rubber banding--NW Emilian, $89.00.

This is exciting! I've always been a fan of the uber comfortable New Balance...perfect for running or not. I've always known about New Balances, but have got my D.C. homies to thank for really putting me on to the line. No one wears New Balances like a guy from D.C.!

This collaboration with Nine West is touted as the perfect combination of fashion and performance and I think they may be onto something. The sneakers arrive in select stores by March, but you can pre-order today! Select your favorites from the Icon, Sheer, Kiki and DNA collection.