Not Just for Sneakerheads...

Nice read from Ball Don't Lie's Kelly Dwyer. Sports aren't going to be a regular topic here at SneakersCultureLife, but I thought this blog was a great example of how sneakers branch out past our "small" sneaker collecting community. Fashionistas, jocks and everyone in between can appreciate an icon and an iconic shoe when one comes around. Cool kicks aren't just for Sneakerheads.

1: One Love

09.12.2010 - The first out of one-hundred -I had to start things off right. Firsts are a big deal for me. The first time I wear a new pair of shoes, taking out on their maiden voyage if you will, it has to be for something. I wouldn't just wear them randomly to the mall, it would have to be someone's birthday. Or it wouldn't be for just a normal class day, but maybe for a big family event. That being said, which shoes would be the firsts in my journey to one-hundred?

I felt it would only be right if I chose a pair of Ones. But which Ones? Air Forces? No, too typical. Air Trainers? Not enough significance. Air Max? Maybe, but let's look for other options. Jordans? Jordans... I've just had an apostrophe. (I think you mean an epiphany.) Lightning has just struck my brain.

There was no better shoe in the sneaker world to start off a list with than an Air Jordan. And the Jordan I's (1) were the perfect start.

since '85 (foreground). since '83 (background).

I only have two pairs of Jordan I's -both of which I received as a high school graduation present from my mom. Even though I had to wait by myself at Shiekh's in Great Mall to get them (this was back in the day when if you got in line at 6AM you were first; not like today where campouts for multiple days for the most hyped shoes are not uncommon), these shoes are special to me because they always remind me of her.

As you can tell, I'm not lying when I say they hold significant sentimental value -it's the reason I've worn them less than ten times in almost ten years. I wear Jordans for good luck. College midterms and finals, MtG Regionals and PTQs, that sort of thing. I only wore these when I really needed a miracle: Jordan I + my mom is an insane combination of luck summoning power. So when I picked them for my first day on the blog, I knew it was going to be a great day. And a great day it was...

Air Jordan I+ - White/Navy - Silver

+ Old Navy Plaid Button-up + Levi's 501 denim

It wasn't quite first Sunday, but it didn't have to be; it's always a blessing to go to church. It wasn't going to a huge fancy party, but it didn't matter; the small family parties we have are the ones I love the most. And it wasn't an especially busy day, but it's ok; I got everything done that I wanted to get done: go to church, spend time with family, relax and have a great day -check, check annnd check... that's it.

I don't need to wear an awesome pair of shoes for it to be a good day. But when I have a good day and am wearing an awesome pair of shoes, it makes it that much better. If you know what I mean, you know what I mean.

{currently in the speakers: Lupe Fiasco - Daydream}

(1) Jordan shoes are unique in the shoe world as they are numbered in Roman numerals, as opposed to something like Jordan '95 (ie. Air Max '95). This ran from Jordan I until Jordan XXIII (#23, where I predicted they would stop) -they currently use the year system for all new models. Basketball pro models that follow the Roman numeral system today (ie. Kobe, Lebron) derived said system from his Airness. And I'm sure that's not the only thing they emulated from Jordan.

*Bonus Section*

Oysters!

they're all watching the game, but she's always watching me.

cruisin' on a Sunday afternoon

(Photo Assist Credits: Rholinelle Joy DeTorres, Michael Hipol -thanks)

P.S. Lunch to whoever can name the movie from the quote at the end of paragraph two.

P.P.S. Google search is for cheaters.

One Hundred x One Hundred

I've never taken a full sneaker collection picture before. I've heard that it can take hours, to pull everything out and set everything up, from the people who have done them on the message boards. Given I have over one-hundred pairs of shoes in my collection, I think it would take me closer to half a day to finish that project.

But every week or so, I get a small snapshot of what that collection family photo would look like. It started when I was in high school. My uncle Jerome advised me that I should try not to wear the same pair of shoes in consecutive days -I should let them air out first. By keeping a nice rotation, I could extend the life of the shoes, keep each pair from stinking up too fast -just generally maintain all-around freshness.

As my shoe collection grew, the lineups in the hall grew. Days would pass and I would rotate between the pairs in the hallway and other pairs in my room, but every pair I wore eventually ended up in the hallway to air out. I would sometimes try to see how long I could stretch the line before my mom would get mad. The first complaint generally came around five pairs. The second came around eight. Anything past ten or twelve and it was final warning. Either that, or she would throw all my shoes into my room just to clean the hall. When the sneakers fill up the hallway to the point that I start stumbling on them on my way to the bathroom and kitchen, I know it's shoe cleaning day.

up the hall..

down the hall..

Today, my first shoe cleaning day of autumn, I took a look down from the end of the hallway and thought, "Man, there is a lot of heat(1) in this out here." Not to brag. Not at all. But any sneaker collector can admire a nice shoe when they see one and the hallway was my collection's mini-masterpiece. The variety reminded me of a time in high school. I decided that for the whole month, I would go through my entire collection (around twenty-something pairs at the time), a new pair every day, no repeats until the whole thing was done. Then I got to thinking, what if I tried that now?

I like to save the nicer shoes for things like date night, going out, birthday parties, church, etc. you get the picture... but if I filled in the work and bad weather days with beaters(2), I think this is something I could actually do. I've been wanting to do this for a few years, but now that my collection has begun to plateau, I think it'd be fun to dig into the depths of the stacks and see what I actually have.

sorting..

stacking..

I'll try to document everything on here as I go, along with some (hopefully) interesting stories about the shoes themselves or whatever they've inspired me to write about. Anyone that sees me can keep the blog honest by checking and making sure I haven't doubled up. I probably won't be able to do one-hundred shoes in exactly one-hundred days, but hopefully I'll be able to get through the collection by New Years. I'm actually more excited now that I'm writing about it than I was when I was thinking about the project earlier. Hopefully by the end, even if I don't have the family photo, I can piece it all together. Day one starts Sunday! I wonder what I'm going to wear....?

{currently in the speakers: A Tribe Called Quest - Can I Kick It?}

...(see what I did there?)

(1) Heat: n. - an expensive, rare or "hot" sneaker.

(2) Beaters: n. - the "every day" shoes that you don't mind getting messed up. a beat up pair of shoes.

*September 11th... we will never forget.*