Air Jordan:
YouTube link:
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Showing posts with label Sneakers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sneakers. Show all posts
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Old Love New Love
I started collecting deadstock (never worn) sneakers around 2005 when I first became aware of the Air Jordan XX. I was reading a magazine when I came upon a Michael Jordan ad featuring his latest Air Jordan’s. I hadn’t been interested in Air Jordans since the XI’s, so I had assumed that the line had died off after he retired the second time. This magazine ad peaked my curiosity because it brought back childhood memories of sneakers as a kid. Back in those days, I remember Air Jordans and Nike being so amazing and yet I took them for granted and never assumed that as an adult I would want to own them again. I would simply get a new pair of sneakers and dirty them up as soon as possible. I guess that’s why they’re so sentimental to me now, because I actually enjoyed them until they fell off my feet.
Fast-forward to 2005, and I went to the sneaker store to buy myself my first pair of Air Jordan’s in years. Unfortunately they didn’t have my size so I had to go online (which was my first time looking for shoes on the internet), and try to find a pair. To my surprise I came upon a vast collection of websites dedicated to sneakers and Air Jordans. Over the next several weeks I dedicated myself to learning all about the sneakers I had missed out on since the Air Jordan XI’s. What excited me the most of all my research was that Jordan Brand would retro sneakers from the past. These were sneakers I had always wanted, sneakers I had owned, and sneakers I had never known existed. Truth be told until that time the only Air Jordans I had ever known about were the III’s-XI’s.
Knowledge is power; is an excellent quote to remember when entering a new hobby. All I knew at that point was that I wanted to buy all the Air Jordans that were retroed. Lamentably around that same time period, the DMP packaged released and I didn’t even know about it. I felt terrible after because I had loved both those shoes in that package and was even willing to pay $500 to get them (luckily I didn’t). I did however promise myself that the next package that Jordan Brand would release I would buy. That package was the Old Love New Love package, a.k.a. OLNL pack, and Beginning Moments Pack, BMP pack. They were going to be my first Air Jordan I’s and my first package. I assumed that the package gimmick would only be used once in a while and the shoes would be well made. Oh how little did I know.
My thoughts on the package are that I pretty much hated it from the beginning. They’re not the same height as the original black toes, they don’t come with a Nike Air logo and instead have a Jumpman Logo, they crease easily (after one wear), and the leather isn’t as thick as the originals. While I do recognize that Jordan Brand wanted to release a package that was different from other releases, I also felt cheated because I had to settle for the only sneaker that came close to the original Air Jordan 1’s at that time. It’s not so much that the sneakers are terrible, but it’s that I wanted to own a pair close to the OG’s and any substitute would not satisfy. The positive aspects of the shoes are that the insoles have been upgraded and are comfortable, the shoe paper is lasered (similar to the CDP’s), and the shoe box was nicely designed. (Speaking of the shoe box, I am also providing a picture of the box with Jordan’s back beside a photograph of him wearing the #45. This has always made me assume that the picture on the box must have been photoshopped.) Over all the shoes are great, but I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone who wants a retro similar to the 1985 black toe 1’s.
Jordan Brand website:
Monday, May 23, 2011
Nike SB SF Giants Dunks
The Nike SB SF Giants Dunk were released summer/fall 2010, however at that point I was occupied with other issues and was unable to buy a pair. I didn’t even know about this pair until early 2011. While it would have been nice to buy them as soon as they came out and wear them while watching the San Francisco Giants win the World Series; waiting until later was monetarily beneficial. In short nobody gave these sneakers much hype, so I was able to buy my pair for real cheap. While I do appreciate buying them cheap, I also loved that the hype was low because most of my Nike SB’s have never been worn and over time their hype rises in value.
Not to say I’m a reseller because I don’t plan on selling mine. I just look at sneakers as works of art and having them look flawless is my preference. So I’m usually stuck with this conundrum; how do I wear my sneakers, and yet keep them deadstock in the box? Of course the easy answer would be to buy two pairs, ‘one to rock and one to stock’. However I don’t have the funds or the room to do that. So my solution is to keep the one’s I view as art in the box, and the ones that are still nice but don’t carry any hype worn on my feet. The SF Giants Dunks fulfilled my need to still be able to wear a nice pair of sneakers, and not be worried that one day they’ll be worth hundreds of dollars. In all honesty I have been buying Nike SB’s for years but have never worn a pair. I would just buy my size and then look at them at home and store them in the box after. I have done this similar ritual with my toy collection where I prefer to see them in mint condition packaging.
So I am now writing this blog entry a few days after haven worm them for some time. My concerns about wearing them before were that they would hurt my feet after wearing them all day. However these concerns soon dissipated after a few hours of wear because they felt so comfortable. This comfort is mainly due to the Zoom Air cushioning, the ample amount of space around the ankle and the plush cushioning around the ankle support and tongue. Sure I do realize that not everyone will come to the same conclusion surrounding this sneaker, but for me the Nike SB Dunk low has felt so comfortable. Heck, they’re more comfortable than retro Jordan’s (but that’s another subject). For now I can say that Nike SB Dunks are the only sneakers I want to buy. Apart from the comfort, these sneakers are also beautiful. The Dunk provides such a vast pallet for colours and materials that unique interpretations by designers can seem endless. The SF Giant Dunks were designed by Shawn Baravetto; Nike SB’s Footwear Product Line Manager.
Nike SB:
http://www.nikeskateboarding.com/archive#/year/2010/id/36/name/zoom_dunk_low_sb
YouTube link:
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Air Jordan III Comparison
If you were to have asked me a few years ago what my favourite Air Jordan sneaker was, I would have said the Air Jordan V. There were so many things to love about that sneaker, but my favourite feature was how the Jumpman logo would standout against the 3M tongue. Eventually I was able to get that sneaker again when they were released as a retro. Like most things I collect, once I have it I start wanting something else that I don’t have. At that point, I didn’t have a pair of Air Jordan III’s. So I would spend hours looking at pictures and reading about how it was made. All this led to a hunger for them that grew stronger every day that I didn’t have them.
Throughout the years I did hear rumours about them re-releasing again, but the years came and went and they never were released. All of that changed in 2008 when it was finally confirmed and pictures were released of the black cement Air Jordan III. At last I told myself I would be able to own this pair. Then when I finally had it in my possession I still wanted more, and so the Air Jordan III true blue was also released. I was now a very happy man, however I still came back to youtube videos of Michael Jordan at the Slam Dunk competition wearing the white/cement III’s. Those were now the sneakers that I knew wouldn’t let me sleep until I had them.
So I stayed optimistic and believed that all good things come in three, and so finally out of the blue I read somewhere that the white/cement III’s where a confirmed release for 2011. What made this release even better was that they would come in an OG box with hangtag and elephant print shoe paper. When the release day came I was one of the first persons in the sneaker store to buy the III’s. I then went home and decided to bring out the other two pairs and look at them and compare them to one another. While there are minor differences between the three sneakers, I believe Jordan Brand did an excellent job in all three sneakers. Finally after years of dreaming and wanting, I was able to have my complete set of my favourite Air Jordan III’s. But just like the V’s, now that I have my III’s my want for something I don’t have is still there, and so my next goal is to get a pair of Air Jordan cement IV’s.
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEMrcmiuuVk
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
YSL High Tops Sneakers | footwears
http://marcustroy.com
Friday, March 4, 2011
Air Jordan III CDP black/cement
In having to describe my feelings towards this sneaker I would say the concept of yin yang is most appropriate. While there is a lot of good in the sneaker, there is also a lot of bad as well. To start on a positive note, the good would have to be the release of yet another retro III, especially the black cement version. That in itself isn’t saying very much for this 2008 retro, because the III is already a beautiful piece of art. The elephant print, the black tumbled leather, the visible air unit, the Jumpman logo on the tongue, and the silhouette will always combine to make this a masterpiece. Yet once you start judging this CDP III version and compare it with past releases you can only focus on the negative. The bad qualities of this version include; a paint job that can crack easily, the substitution of a Jumpman logo on the back heel instead of Nike Air, the down grading of leather, and the outrageous fact that it came as part of a package deal that included a retro pair of disgustingly ugly Air Jordan XX’s.
I sometimes feel awkward criticizing Jordan Brand because it represents so many things that I valued so much when I was a child; and now to even have the chance to own them again, or even own them for the first time, I should feel grateful. But I don’t, and I blame it all on how the company is being run today and over the past few years. The Air Jordan Countdown Packages are a perfect example of how I hate what Jordan Brand has become. Their sneakers are now over-produced, cheaply made, not true to the original, and poorly constructed. Unfortunately this has led me to lose my passion for these once beloved sneakers. But as started in the beginning with the yin yang metaphor, when I do feel less enthusiasm for the brand I try to get back to the positive by focusing on why I still believe Air Jordans are the best sneakers in the world. I simply lace up a pair I haven’t worn in a while, go outside and enjoy the day. The sneakers are still very comfortable, and always make a positive statement where ever you go. Sometimes the best way to get the most out of your sneakers is by wearing them and not focusing on the minor details; that way you’ll always have more white than black in your yin yang passion for sneakers.
Jordan Brand website:
http://www.jumpman23.com/
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt0-PJhs7p0
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