ICYMI: 8/7-8/11
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ICYMI: 8/7-8/11
Sneaker stories of the century of the week 8/7-8/11
Monday, 7th August 2023:
Kind of an interesting one...
Check out the texture of the tag... Lebrons (and KD's and Kobes) from that time period all had a very distinct size tag texture that made it very easy to tell real from fake...which tag do you think is real/fake in this case? (shoes are fake, btw)
#seemslegit #lebronwtl #lebronwtf #nikelebron
Top Comment: raynharton Have a feeling the janky looking tag was the giveaway for a real pair, don’t know why i think the smooth size tag is suspicious… particularly for an old pair of lebrons
There’s this movie out there called ‘Sideways’ that stars Paul Giamati as this wine snob going through some kind of mid-life crisis while also taking his best friend on a tour of some wineries in Northern California for his ‘bachelor party.’ His buddy is mostly just trying to get laid while Paul’s character is really into the wine and trying to convince his buddy to care about the wine as well. There’s a lot of talk about his ‘grail’ bottle of wine and how he’s been holding onto it for just the right time, and in the midst of his breakdown he whips it out while eating some shitty fast food and takes his first sips/gulps of it through a styrofoam cup.
I’ve got a handful of pairs that I’ve just never worn. I’ve mostly suppressed the compulsion to rip them outta the box and begin the slow process of wearing them down. Most are shoes with (monetary) value that have just appreciated over time, and it’s made it tough for me to say…’do I really need to un-DS ANOTHER pair of shoes?’ And then I ask myself… ‘can’t I just sell these and buy a slightly worn pair and pocket whatever I originally spent on these?’
But then I’ve got a few other pairs…pairs that I haven’t worn because I just feel like they’re like art. Pairs I don’t want to mess up. Samples or customs or whatever. Pairs I know would be difficult to replace.
The pair above is one such pair. Nearly 18 months ago, @sonsofblackmaria gave me the idea, so I hit the dude @157restorations and asked him if he could create ‘em. And dude shared with me his whole process and eventually just delivered me a bangin’ custom. I kinda rushed him towards the end…asked him to get them to me before my last vacation…and he did…but when I got them in I realized I just didn’t want them to see concrete. They were too dope. I had to save them for a special occasion. The problem is, tho, when you’re 43 years old and like to fly under the radar…what exactly constitutes a ‘special occasion’?
As they say…there’s no time like the here and now. So I styrofoam-cupped it. I put them on my feet and wore them to pick up my kid from school.
Tell me about your styrofoam cup moment?
Top comment: pappy_power_hour I’ve got some pairs that I can as saving for a special occasion that have appreciated. For months I’ve told myself I’m going to sell them and buy a gently used pair to wear. Sounds easy but it’s not as you surely know.
Sneakers saved as art is a tough one. It’s cool to have but I think about the things I save and it’s not like I display anything or have anyone come to my house to start conversations about.
Tuesday, 8th August 2023:
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On the surface, $300 retail for almost anything JB or Nike related just sounds crazy…but…is it really?
I’m sure many can relate, but growing up in the 90’s, I distinctly remember my parents scoffing at the idea of $100 shoes - let alone $300 shoes. I know, I know, inflation, blah blah blah. But $300 for a pair of shoes that sat on shelves 20 years ago, even at a retail of $150? $300 almost sounds INSANE.
But…is it? If you looked at the actual useful life of a pair of shoes…say…x amount of miles…what would you be willing to pay for those miles of use? I’m assuming most *athletic* shoes last anywhere from 500-1000 miles, so…let’s say…600 miles. We’d be looking at a price of about 50 cents per mile. Is that a good deal?
That’s actually quite a bit *more* expensive than gas (per mile) for (my) car…I currently pay about 20 cents per mile in California.
And…I suppose…an MTA ticket in New York currently costs $2.75 (one way), and the average New Yorker travels 10-20 miles ONE way to work…that gives us a basis of around 18 cents per mile…
Sounds to me like the cost of traveling in style is actually quite a bit more expensive than traveling for functionality…So...yea…$300 is a goddam ripoff. If you ‘have to have’ these, just wait it out a couple of months. I’d bet you an MTA ticket these fall to around 25 cents per mile (or, around $160). And if they don't, you can buy plenty of better pairs for half the price.
#jordansdaily #jordans #jordan17 #jordanxvii #lightening #retrojordans
Top comment: areyoucarlos 300 with a damn briefcase maybe. MAYBE
Wednesday, 9th August 2023:
Doing some (more) research for a Jordans card set with @sonsofblackmaria, I took a little digging through colorways and models for the sig line and I gained some clarity….
For all the sh*t people talk about 15’s - to me - they’re SO much more interesting than the 22’s. Or the 21’s. Or the 20’s. Or the 18’s. Or even the 16’s.
And, yeah, I *too* hated the 15s for a long time. I used to say that they looked like a suitcase (google this one, youngsters). Or a cappuccino machine. It elicits a strong reaction, right? Either you love it or you hate it. Right? There really is little middle ground on the 15.
But the 22. The 22? It’s just…so…meh. It’s just so absolutely 150% meh that it’s really the most forgettable of the line (at least, for me). I don’t know that I’ve EVER seen someone rocking a 22.
Top Comment: jeawhiz2 Interesting. Tbh I stopped paying attention after 13. Except for 23. Jordan should retro the 23.
Thursday, 10th August 2023:
Maybe I drank a bit too much haterade this morning, but at least @DevinKurant schooled me on the real deal..could it be one of @easymoneysniper’s burners? I’ll start out by saying that I will forever defend KD’s decision to come to Golden State and I will forever defend KD’s decision to go to Brooklyn….but…these shoes? THESE shoes?
For some reason, I’ve already seen like 38 posts or tweets of these random KD3 retros and I truly do not understand it…I feel like the boat *completely* passed me by on some of these KDs…sure, I dig the 4’s and 5’s and 6’s and the 8’s, but everything else? Hehhhh?
Is the KD3 like an *in demand* silhouette? I remember picking up a few pairs of these back in the day at thrift stores and tryna sell them on eBay and I don’t think any of them sold for more than like $35-40…I have NOT EVER heard anyone say that this is a shoe they wish Nike would retro. NOT A SINGLE PERSON. Maybe I need to find some new friends? Am I the one that’s out of touch?
But…I guess…it makes me wonder….is Nike just taking shots in the dark? Is there like some kind of unwritten rule that says Nike must give *every shoe* a retro after 10+ years to see if the sneaker world has evolving tastes?
IMO…this shoe looks FAR too much like every takedown or team shoe from that time period…totally nondescript in every way IMO…
Any of y’all looking out for these?
Top Comment: 40yoshoes Just a thought: Nike runs the streets. They make what they want, hype it up any way they think is going to be successful, and let it rip. Isn’t that “fast fashion?” You can’t be always trying to gage consumer interest and then go to manufacture, you’ll always be behind the curve. Also nba basketball is so global now, there’s international demand for related merchandise.
Friday, 11th August 2023:
How are we feeling about the NB 1906?
Love the side view, top-down not sure how I feel about the bulky dad shoe thing…lots of cool colors for these tho
Top Comment: ayyitsaidend i don’t have a pair but almoat every colorway i’ve seen has made me consider buying one
This, IMO, is fascinating…having imported quite a few random products I didn’t even know you could mess around with things like this.
I’ve always wondered about that fuzzy layer and really thought it was akin to tire tread….but all in a bid to minimize import and duty fees? And the fact that they’ve managed to get away with it for ~80 years…
#converse #chucktaylor #imports #mildlyinteresting
Top Comment: amartin81396 Still about 2 decades getting away with it, but they’ve only been doing the fuzzy bottoms since 2003. Prior to 2001, Chuck Taylor’s were all made in the US. They didn’t shift manufacturing overseas until Nike bought them.
Best thing about those MSCHF boots is that the jokes just never stop coming...
I don't actually OWN a dog, so why in the hell is IG serving me ads for dog shoes? Was it part of the marketing campaign?
"Show this ad to anyone who has mentioned MSCHF's big red boots or anyone who has a dog or anyone who has read the book #shoedog "
If you have AND ACTUALLY WEAR a pair of MSCHF's big red boots, be sure you give in and get charitable for your doggy friend.
Top Comment: 40yoshoes Digital advertising-I don’t get it. FB/meta is supposed to be able to deliver extremely targeted marketing, and yet you’re getting messages like that, who have they missed?
Enjoy the rest of your week!