An article of footwear flat pattern upper (126, 300, 302) portion (216) is provided. The upper portion (302) has a midline reference line (415, 416) extending between the toe end apex (316) and a midpoint on the heel end (314). The upper portion (302) also is comprised of an origin (344) aperture that is located within 10 millimeters of the midline reference line (415, 416) between the toe end (306) and the heel end (314) of the upper portion (302). The upper portion (302) is also formed with an overlay (500) that is coupled with the upper portion (302) between the toe end (306) and the heel end (314) and between the medial side (315) and the lateral side (317). The overlay (500) has an alignment aperture (345) that is aligned with the origin (344) aperture.

Described is a shoe upper for a shoe, in particular an athletic shoe, wherein the shoe upper is laceless and comprises: (a.) a lateral portion; (b.) a medial portion; and (c.) at least an elastic intermediate portion between the lateral portion and the medial portion, wherein the stiffness of at least one of the lateral portion and the medial portion is at least 2 times higher than the stiffness of the elastic intermediate portion.

An article of footwear may include an elastic membrane suspended within an interior of an upper of the article of footwear and spaced above the sole, such that a wearer's foot contacts the membrane and is cradled by the membrane as the membrane is stretched toward an underlying midsole. In some examples, the 5 membrane may contact the midsole for a discrete length of a contact area, e.g., selected by the manufacturer. In some examples, a void between the membrane and the sole is filled, at least in part, with a selected filler material. In some examples, the membrane comprises a material having tailored stretch characteristics.

An article of footwear may be constructed of a matrix of beads. For example, by preconfiguring the row length and the number of beads in a given row, the bead matrix may be configured to form a three dimensional shape that pulls towards a centerline or is concave.

A shoe includes: an upper; a tightening tool disposed above an instep of a wearer and capable of applying, to the upper, tightening force for drawing portions and on the both sides in a foot width direction of the upper; and an arch support part provided such that tightening force applied to a first side portion in a foot width direction of the upper can be transmitted to the arch support part. The tightening force transmitter has stretchability in foot girth directions set higher than that of the arch support part.

A lace guide for an article of footwear comprises a base, a body protruding from the base, and an enlarged head at a distal end of the body. The body, the base, and the enlarged head define an external channel that extends at least partially around the body to receive and retain a lace. The base may be a heel counter, and the lace guide and the heel counter may be an integral, one-piece component. Alternatively, the base of the lace guide may be a wing extending along a side of the upper, or may be secured to a footwear upper.

The present disclosure is directed to an apparatus, system and method for efficiently and rapidly cleaning the bottom of a shoe. The system includes a base having a plurality of alternating, complementary shaped cleansing portions separated by grooves. The configuration of the cleansing portions provides for a sturdy and efficient device for cleaning the bottom of a shoe.

An article of footwear has a tubular structure that may conform to various anatomical features of a foot. The tubular structure has a tunnel, and a tensile strand runs through the tunnel. Applying tension along the tensile strand may cause the tubular structure to conform more closely to one or more anatomical features. The geometry, or path, of the tubular structure on the article may be customized.

A shoe having a toe portion, a heel portion and first and second sides, the shoe including a sole, an upper and a closing mechanism extending from a top portion of the upper down along the first side of the shoe and then horizontally between the sole and the upper around the toe portion, around the second side and around the heel portion.

Hot melt sequins and methods of applying these sequins are disclosed. A method of attaching two components includes stitching a hot melt sequin to one of the components and heating the hot melt sequin to bond the two components together. Sequins can also be applied to articles to create structural elements such as heel counters, toe covers, and lace cages. Sequins can be applied in 1D, 2D, and 3D patterns as well as in dispersive patterns. Sequins can be applied to vary the abrasion properties of a portion of an article.