More than any of the other ‘Best of’ posts I am writing, this one was extremely challenging. I really focused a large part of my sneaker budget and time on acquiring older sneakers that I missed out on. How could I possibly get this down to three? So… I didn’t force myself to limit this list to three. I cheated just a little.
#4(ish): Supreme Jordan 5 (Camo)/Supreme Nike Air Max 98 (Red)
It wasn’t so much that I passed on each of these when they first released. More like I made a half-assed attempt at getting them and (of course) failed. I kept an eye on both sneakers over the months, looking for a reasonable price for non-DS pairs. The 98’s in particular really shot up in price and I kicked myself for not grabbing them when they were sub-$300. The Jordan 5s however became much easier to find and a price I was willing to pay.
Getting the 98s was a pretty funny story. One night I saw that a local consignment place was putting a pair of the red 98s up (available the next morning) for a very good price. I headed over at what I thought was first thing, only to be confronted by a young man already waiting. I knew he was there for the Air Max so I left. Before I did, I joked that he should hit me up when he grew out of them. A couple of months later I was at the Saintwoods x Nike pop-up (an epic failure for me) and saw the same kid, wearing the 98s. I talked to him again and mentioned that I was serious about buying them when he was done. He hit me up on IG that night and we met up a couple of weeks later and I bought them. This is an advantage of being a smaller size that I never thought about before lol.
#3(ish): Atmos x Nike Air Max 1 Animal Camo/Atmos x Nike Air Max 90 Tiger Camo
2017 was the year of Atmos for me. I have managed to nearly complete my Atmos Air Max collection. There are a few outstanding models that I hope to grab in 2018 – thank goodness for the re-releases! I realize they are not quite the same as the originals but I am willing to compromise to save money and have a sneakers that is wearable for longer.
The Tiger Camo was an easy pick up when we went to NYC. I actually got it at the dreaded Flight Club for a good price. My size has been very difficult to track down but Flight Club had it competitively priced for once. The sneaker is even nicer in person than in pics with great leather lining and nice 3M detailing.
The Animal Camo were another Instagram cop. A friend on IG DM’d me to tell me he had a pair that didn’t fit and that I was welcome to them for the same price he paid. Obviously I pulled the trigger immediately.
#2: Jordan 5 Tokyo
Until about a week ago, the Tokyos were the clear #1 pick-up of 2017. How could they be anywhere else on the list???? I have written a bunch about how I got them (thanks to Netmagetism) and how great they are, so I won’t do it again here. I love them so much that I couldn’t take them off my feet the first day I got them and ended up wearing them to the grocery store.
#1: Patta x Nike Air Max 1 (Patta Cord)
This is what changed a week ago and why this post was delayed. I was waiting for shipping on these Patta Cords and for an opportunity to take a picture of them (it has been blizzarding and minus 25 degrees for days, which is not the best for shooting sneakers). If you scroll back in this blog, you will see that I wrote about these being an obsession/grail early on. I mentioned that I was obsessed because unlike other Patta Air Max, these could be found sometimes for a not-too-terrible price. Well, I finally found them at a price I was willing to pay. It seems like perfect timing – as I see the light at the end of the Atmos collection, maybe I will start on the Pattas? Seems crazy to think I could get them all now at the prices they go for, but let’s see what 2018 brings.
Hype Less 