(4/5) Cash vs. comfort: The entirely unimportant (sneaker) bloggers dilemma...
Sizing. One of the more important factors in sneaker acquisition for someone who likes to actually wear their sneakers...seems to *never* be discussed.
In the early 2010's, someone created one of the most useful threads on Niketalk that was directly responsible for me buying at least 25+ pairs of New Balances (at the time). Basically, it was a grid of all of the New Balance models on the market with a tally of votes showing where NTers would size up or size down, based on the model. Brilliant. This is how we shared information back in the day...we just...shared it. It wasn't about making a buck, it wasn't about getting someone to click, it was based on a genuine shared interest in answering the most pressing question for a sneakerhead (which wasn't 'where can I cop?')
As an aside and wholly unrelated to the topic at hand - Someone else decided to build an app around this idea...I'm not sure if it came before of after that NT thread, but I started noticing this popup called 'True fit' showing up on the foot sites when I was looking at sneakers...come to find out, True fit is still around. They'd ask you a series of questions based on popular models and would help you determine which size you should get in this entirely *new* model. So, for example, they'd run you through an algorithm similar to this:
"What size do you wear in an Air Max 1?"
"What size do you wear in an Air Force 1?"
"What size do you wear in a New Balance 574?"
Click the "Find your True Fit" button --->
"A size XX in this Asics Gel Lyte III should fit you perfectly."
For me, the algorithm was a little too basic. Anyone who knows anything about shoes knows that back in the early days - nearly *every* model and/or colorway fit different. I've worn YOTH Air Force 1's from a size 7.5 all the way up to a Jewel 9.5 and didn't feel any difference in wear. But. IMO, it was a good step for those who had no clue.
Ultimately, the holy grail of any internet influencing, TO ME, is to learn *exactly* how something will or won't impact me. And if I'm not worried about 'release day' and I'm not worried about jumping on the SNKRS bandwagon because I value my mental health, the only thing I can see that impacts me directly is how something will fit on my feet. And the fact that almost none of these 'influencing' companies are talking about comfort isn't very comforting...considering some of these publications are making tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars on our attentive 'clicks'.
But...to the question about comfort and sizing: Is it because the question is too hard to answer? Is it because foot anatomy is too varied? What exactly is the reason the major publications leave the 'comfort' or 'sizing' piece out of it? Is it too controversial? Does it threaten their bottom line? I'm surprised at how many people in my DMs asked me about how the Nike x Off-White Air Force 1 Mid felt on foot and even more surprised that this information wasn't readily available online (in my experience, they fit about a half size big and they are built something like construction boots). With 24 Billion pairs of shoes being released every year - you'd think someone that has the resources would figure out how to build a team of actual weartesters who could review these shoes for the general public. But. No. We're left with 'DJ Khaled's Louis Vuitton Sneaker Pillow is the Ultimate Vibe' articles clogging our feed...and we eat that sh*t right up.
