Nike athletic shoes are always popular, and they are always introducing new shoes into their lineup. The top seven new men’s athletic shoes sold by Nike are:

1. AJF12 Premier men’s basketball shoe: A hybrid of their Air Jordan shoe design and the Air Force One shoe, it’s $160.

2. Nike Air Pegasus+ 25 men’s running shoe: This variation is part of Nike’s nod to the 25th anniversary of this classic running shoe, with light mesh and full-length Air Sole unit. It’s $85.

3. LeBron Zoom Soldier II men’s basketball shoe: Another variation on the popular LeBron series, this has a full grain leather upper portion with perforated areas for breathability, and a new herringbone pattern. It’s $110.

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There has been a pitched battle for Olympic gold going on 1,222 miles from Beijing this week, but it’s likely only aficionados or little girls have watched. The equestrian competition ended in Hong Kong with Germany coming out on top with three gold medals (the U.S. won two, including a gold). Anyone who watched the events marveled at the sheer strength, skill and hutzpah of horse and rider, but in case Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin distracted you, there are lots of little girls who live and breathe horses. One person even attempts to decipher the riddle of why girls love horses on Yahoo!Answers. Now all these girls are going to need a horsey fix: If she’s around 6 to 8 years old, get her the “Fashion Angels” equestrian sketchbook ($15) from Toys’r'Us, or the Equestrian Challenge for PC for $20. If Barbie is her thing, the omnipresent doll has a complete equestrian outfit for $50 from etoys (if you want the horse and tack, that’s extra). There’s even a lovely book from the American Girls library, Girls and their Horses for $9. Mom, do you remember how much you loved horses? Maybe it was because of the classic movie National Velvet. Lest we forget that Jackie Kennedy made equestrian style chic, England’s Equestrianism.net maintains the standard. More recently, the O’Halloran Co. turned it into couture styling. (If you pay attention to fashion, you’ve noticed the riding boots that designers are churning out, such as Burberry’s $995 pair.) If the grown-ups have become enamored of dressage, this classy coffee table book shows you how to put the horsey into your home décor ($41). Finally, to make sure the holiday’s are just right, grab a Little Girl Riding Horse ornament from Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland for $6.

You may already know that Nike created the shoes for the U.S. Olympians (and also China’s Olympic team). A visit to the part of the Nike Web site about these shoes is a veritable encyclopedia/laboratory of custom shoe-making. They offer close-up views and detailed explanations of the design process for every sport’s footwear. Not just running and basketball, but field hockey, BMX, archery, wrestling, badminton, weightlifting and all 28 sports in the summer games.  They first show off their “flywire” technology, which uses cable to function as “synthetic tendons” that wrap around the foot. The development has reduced the shoe’s weight by 50 percent, they say.  A click over to their “lab” profiles the way every shoe was made for each sport. The Ballestra, for example, is for fencers. It has a traction pattern on a flat sole for balance, and extra foam because fencers put seven times their weight onto their front foot with every lunge.  The Grigorios for kayakers are sleek water shoes with split toes that are as close to being barefoot as possible. Equestrians wear the Ippeas, black boots modernized with zippers , lighter heels and a small titanium spur. You can even watch a video conversation with the designer of each shoe. But the best part is that you can buy some. Even if you don’t play badminton, you can check out the shoe and get a pair for $90, or grab a pair of the wildly patterned BMX shoes for $220 (pictured). You can’t buy the custom footwear for every sport, but there are plenty to pick from.

Your badminton is probably suitable for the suburbs: You and a buddy running around with a beer in one hand and a flimsy racquet in the other until the plastic shuttlecock gets stuck in a tree. In Asia, especially China, badminton is serious business, and you can see it in the Olympic competition. Even Bill Gates has been watching the action in Beijing. The birdie (or shuttlecock) can travel 200 mph, and pros can cover 4 miles at high speeds in a single game. If you want to try some serious badminton, start with serious equipment.  Yonex is the premiere manufacturer of pro badminton goods, and Badminton Alley is a good place to start. At the top of the heap is the Yonex Arc-Saber 10 racquet for $230 (on sale!) which weighs about 85 grams and is made of graphite, carbon and has custom strings. At a lower price point is the Muscle Power 99 racquet for $175, used by lots of pros and several world champions. Ditch the plastic and get a real goose-feather shuttlecock (16 feathers glued to a cork base), such as the Yonex AS Professional for $26. A less expensive but still fancy Black Knight 6600 yellow shuttlecock is $17 (it should be humidified before use - don’t ask us why). You can pay around $180 for carbon nano-fiber strings and a professional-level net will run $65. Perhaps you didn’t know there are badminton shoes that look like lightweight flat running shoes with curved toes, as well as grip tape for $3.50 and grip powder spray. To really bring the heat to the back yard, put it all in a pro bag for $65. And, yes, you can buy a whole badminton set at lower prices if you must. Now, just toss in some badminton lingo, like “flick,” “push shot” and “kill” and you’re ready to roll.

I love the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale (see “Nordstrom Celebrates with Beauty Exclusives” from July 24) for its prescience-for-the-masses fashion tips. Pay attention, and you’ll extrapolate the trendiest denim, the must-have boot, the silhouette of the season. And as the sale is also a reliable source for color predictions, the cat is now out of the satchel: Purple is the gray of 2008. What doesn’t purple look good with? It’s deliciously universal. From plum to royal to aubergine, the fashionable throngs can rock this color with confidence. I would happily invest in a fabulous purple tote or sexy halter or dreamy, floaty dress strategically gathered and classically tailored enough to last me 10 years. This shoulder-baring top from Catherine Malandrino (pictured) is timelessly alluring and very-of-the-moment in a regal Bordeaux. Not ready to commit to a full trench, but want to pop a little grape into your fall ensembles? Try it in a scarf, in cashmere or a gauzy, Ikat print. Or how about a little purple hammered-silk tank over jeans or peeking out from beneath that sharp gray suit you bought last year? Brilliant. A sleek pair of raspberry-purple footless tights under a black minidress is a bold statement. And apparently, this is a bandwagon you can’t jump on soon enough: I found my first purple crush of the season in this multi-hued peep-toe pump, only to discover that my size was already sold out (nearly all sizes, in fact!) before I had the chance to click the “checkout” button. Feeling wounded, jilted and robbed, I revenge- purchased a sumptuous pair of suede Christian Louboutins. Yes, I know this is my rebound pair — I’ll probably regret it when the credit card bill comes and end up returning them and picking up something more sensibly purplicious … but right now, oh, revenge just feels so sweet.

Did you make it to Lollapalooza last weekend in Chicago’s Grant Park? Were you in the crowd for Wilco, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails or Kanye West? No? Sigh. Neither were we. But that’s fixable. Read the Blogapalooza, take crib notes from the 2008 set lists, buy the shirt and say you went. The Lolla Coat of Arms women’s T (pictured) would do the job nicely, with its black and gold eagle stretched above a Lollapalooza banner ($20). You can get that same coat of arms on a Lollapalooza onesie ($15). A little more cash will get you extreme eye candy with the limited-edition custom-made Lollapalooza skateboard by Element ($95). If you’d rather be the center of attention for having not attended the CMA Festival, you can accomplish that with the 2008 official event shirt, which splashes the logo across your chest and lists the musicians down your back ($20), or even the official 2008 CMA shooter glass (and yes, that is its actual name) for $10. Wishing you’d gone to Bonnaroo? The 2008 limited-edition silk-screened event poster will help with that, since it’s got cool funky art and lists all the musicians who performed ($30). You say you’re more of a Coachella kind of girl? Then it’s the “Sound Waves and Heat Waves Unite” Hula Hula T that is calling your name ($35.) And if you’re really holding out for the music itself, you can still get single-day passes to the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival Sept. 26-28 ($80 per day) or grounds tickets to the 2008 Monterey Jazz Fest Sept. 19-21 ($35 Friday, $45 Saturday or Sunday). The longest-running jazz festival in the world already has its own official black, electric blue and gold 2008 event shirt online as well ($25), so regardless of whether you go, check it out. It’s as cool as Coltrane. — by Diane Porter

Thank goodness for the Web. How else would you be able to score handmade home goods from around the world? (Unless of course you’re going to pull a Phileas Fogg?) Enter Poppytalk Handmade, an online “street market” showcasing handmade goods from artisans worldwide. The key differentiator from other craft sites like Etsy.com is that Poppytalk Handmade features a monthly theme. July’s market is themed “Home Sweet Home!” and features goods to make a house a home. August’s theme is “School Days!” appropriately enough. Much like an antiques emporium, the site features a limited number of screened “sellers,” who rent their space by the month. We were drawn to artist Michelle Brusegaard’s unique take on formalwear, which includes striking, signed digital prints of gowns hanging on clotheslines ($15 each). Also nifty: Domestic Construction’s pendant lighting made entirely of tea cups ($58). Beehive Kitchenware’s bird measuring spoons ($88; pictured) and other kitchen goods are the antithesis of standard issue culinary wares. The same can be said for Flappergirl Creations’ sexy aprons and coffee cup cozys ($28, $12).

Skulls aren’t just for bikers and pirates anymore. If you thought skulls and crossbones were morbid, menacing, or just plain silly, it’s time to bone up on your fashion sense. Anyone with a pulse has to have noticed the proliferation of skeleton craniums on everything from aprons ($30) and maternity skirts ($70) to this pink skull T-shirt dress ($21) for toddlers. Skulls are about as hip as you can get, as evidenced by these Christian Audigier Charmed Skull men’s board shorts in black ($128) or these Juicy Couture men’s skull-print board shorts ($78). Girls like empty heads, too. Check out this black and white sundress (on sale for $37) or this pink bandanna halter dress ($59; pictured). Both would look mordantly good with a pair of flip skull sandals ($23). For boys, a pair of Vans Ferris skulls skate shoes ($45) might revive a fading fashion reputation. Skulls can even be cute, as on this pink skull denim handbag ($29) and this sterling silver skull and crossbones bracelet ($68). The trend is more than a bit of skullduggery. It appears to be serious business.