What’s a pair of shoes you own that you really don’t care about but feel you’re obligated to own?
The first Jordans I ever saw in person were the 3’s. I wanted them immediately. When I saw the 4’s, I thought they were 3’s and I saw them around more often than 3’s...so that was always like my Jordan grail.
I finally got my first pair at the age of 11 - a pair of Infrared VI’s. I got them for my birthday and proceeded to ruin them through typical 11 year-old-growing-up-in-the-mountains activities: biking, tromping around rivers, skateboarding, sledding, etc. And then I got some Maroon VI’s for the following birthday.
The VII,s VIII’s, IX’s and X’s were all trash to me. There was one kid in my school who always had the newest Jordans - his dad died on the job and he got some huge insurance payout so he always had the newest Jordans...but I never really cared for any of those.
When the XI’s dropped...I thought they were ugly as hell. But a whole bunch of kids in my school really liked them. And they all started wearing them. I hated the patent leather and the structure...I dunno...just never did it for me. Even though the Playoff XII’s quickly became my favorites...they never seemed to pull in the attention that the XI’s did. Non-sneakerheads LOVED the XI’s. I couldn’t understand it. Still don’t, really.
So that brings up the question...are there any pairs of shoes that you own but don’t really give much a damn about? Like...I’ve owned probably 20 pairs of XI’s over the years and every time I get them in hand I’m just thinking…’why did I buy another pair of these? I’m NEVER going to wear them?’
I suspect I do it because it’s just one of those pairs that is like...a sneakerhead staple. What ‘sneakerhead staples’ do you own that could easily live without?