*sigh*
Is it that time of year again? The time when we argue the merits of real vs. fake? The time when everyone throws their (strong) opinions out there in hopes of letting everyone know how they feel? Everyone just wants to be heard. Amirite?
*sigh*
As much as I hate a billion dollar media company asking engagement farming questions multiple times a day, I'm not *fully* above it. In the interest of also being heard, here's my unsolicited opinion on the topic (which has likely changed over the years):
- If you want to wear shoes as a 'sneakerhead', wear whatever the hell you want. But don't front. Fakes are fakes. Fake rare are still fake. But don't try to pull anything over on anyone. And I'm too old to *actually* care about what anyone has on their feet - real or fake.
- If you want to be a bonafied 'sneaker collector', and you want to show off a 'collection' of fakes, tho, there really isn't much beauty in a collection that took nothing more than a readily available 'buy it now' click that cost little more than $100...
As I've been rolling along my 'journey' as the Sneaker Savant, my views have changed several times over the years. But I think the most important thing I've been trying to internalize is that there really *is* a difference between a collector collector, a wearer collector, and a wearer wearer.
- 'Collector Collector': draws VERY clear lines between collectible and wearable. Wouldn't dream of wearing their collector items on foot. Fakes are entirely unacceptable.
- 'Wearer Collector': draws rough lines between collectible and wearable. Sometimes a collectible shoe could be worn. Sometimes a wearable shoe becomes collectible. Is kind of ambivalent on the whole 'real vs. fake' argument as it doesn't really impact them.
- 'Wearer Wearer': wears everything. Real/fake/collectible doesn't matter. They just love wearing their shoes.
IMO, I fall in that 'Wearer Collector' category. But most of the stuff I'm trying to do in the realm of The Sneaker Savant is in that 'Collector Collector' category.
(Please agree with me. I need the validation. And I need to keep riding the algorithm that rewards low-hanging fruit.)