Black on Black - Air Jordan 1 Hi

Who couldn't use an all black sneaker?  Especially one as classic as the Jordan AJ 1.  What's great about this moslty black color way (the sole is white) is that there is multiple black materials used.  Giving these AJ1's cool ostensibly and textures that make the all black color way anything but plain.  Due to be released tomorrow, 11/1.  Retail price  $139.99

Rose Gold - The new Pink for Womens Sneakers

Rose Gold - The new Pink for Women's Sneakers

It seems obvious that the typical Women's sneaker equation is "Shrink it, Pink it".  Basically make a guys shoe smaller and throw some pink in there.  Considering I grew out of the pink phase when I was like 12.. okay, maybe Twenty-something..this equation doesn't completely work for me.   However, lately there is a new pink on the scene, Rose Gold.  Not only does it sound more sophisticated, it looks it too.  I am seeing various brands conform to adding into their color repertoire.  Below are a few that stood out.


1) Nike Court Tennis Classic Ultra (Paris) $120

2) Puma Fierce.  Retail $100

3)  Adidas All Stars - Multiple variations of the Rose Gold




4)  Air Max 1s.  

5)  Nike Pegasus 83 - Quilted Pack

6) New Balance 574 in multiple colorways with the Rose Gold

7) Nike Air Max 90s 


















8) Nike Dunks - High Top Wedges

9) Nike Blazer Mid - Multiple Rose Gold colorways

10) Adidas ZX Flux 

Silver Sneakers

Silver Sneakers

What is silver sneakers?  So, if you've seen this term, like me, you may have  thought this was some sort of new sneaker.  Especially, if you follow sneaker trends.  

However it is not, and although it is not a technically a sneaker, I found it to be awesome and feel like not enough people know about and wanted to write about it.

SilverSneakers is a program that offers membership and access to several gyms across the country to Medicare Advantage and other Medicare supplemental plans.  To find out if you are eligible just go to their website.  https://tools.silversneakers.com/Eligibility/CheckEligibility 

In my opinion if you are 65 and older and have some form of health insurance it is worth the check. If you are eligible you can use the SilverSneakers location finder to find all of the participating gyms near you and utilize all the gym has to offer, without having to pay the gym membership.  

Top 10 Sneakerhead States

*Based on Google Trends 12 month period (10/25/2015-10/25/20016) of US search for Sneakers. 

10) New Hampshire

9) District of Columbia

8) Vermont

7) Massachusetts

6) Pennsylvania

5) Rhode Island

4) Connecticut

3) Delaware

2) New Jersey

1) New York

Explanation of interest per google Trends: Interest by subregion: 

See in which location your term was most popular during the specified time frame. Values are calculated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 is the location with the most popularity as a fraction of total searches in that location, a value of 50 indicates a location which is half as popular, and a value of 0 indicates a location where the term was less than 1% as popular as the peak.

Note: A higher value means a higher proportion of all queries, not a higher absolute query count. So a tiny country where 80% of the queries are for "bananas" will get twice the score of a giant country where only 40% of the queries are for "bananas".

For more information on analytics go to:  https://support.google.com/trends/answer/4355212 

The Newest of Nikes ShoeBox Series

The Newest of Nike's ShoeBox Series

It's beginning to look like this is a new trend with Nike Dunks.  Here is the second of the ShoeBox Series, Nike SB Dunk High "Silver Box", rumored to be released October 29th.  Retail price is $110.

Here is  hoping this will be a long lasting trend, as you know the first release was of the classic "Orange Box" as well as a low top dunk.  Dunks are one of my all time favorite Nike sneaker and cant wait to see what is next!

You almost can assume there will be more Dunks coming because what a sad series it would be if there were only two sneakers in it. That gets me wondering what box will be the next design inspiration?  And of course you know I could not stop at wondering, and since I often do not save my sneaker boxes (sneakerheads around the world cringe)  I jumped right to google.  I googled Nike outlets since they generally have all the boxes out on the floor for the customers to help themselves.  Where else could you see a multitude of different boxes in one shot. 

   

I hope the next release is the Baby Blue/White/Black.

Halloween Sneakers 2016 - Battle of the Brands

Battle of the Brands- 2016 Halloween Battle

What brand takes Halloween more seriously is the questions here.  To help determine the answer to this question, we have the top 10 Halloween themed sneaker releases of 2016 below.

10)  Puma Blaze - This colorway is Vampire inspired with the dark black and deep blood red color way.  A nice effort made by Puma to participate in the Battle of the Brands Halloween competition

9) The next sneakers were not Halloween inspired and due to be released soon Oct 22nd, the Pinnacle Air Jordan 1 Lows, which are part of the Champion Pack.  I'd like to vote to rename these the "Tin man" as that is what came to mind when I saw them, the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.

8) This one is a little PG, but still heading in a More Halloween direction.  The Vans - Toy Story series. Bringing a costume element into their designs these are some kid friendly sneakers that bring that Halloween spirit we are looking for

7) Jordan "Shattered Back" Pack are accidentally Halloween, or were they?  With the typically Black/Orange Halloween colorway and October release, they have made the list even if they were not intended for Halloween.

6) Ewing's Halloween colorway.   For the same reason as number 6, this purposeful Halloween inspired colorway and October release makes these perfect for Halloween

5) Next the design gets a little more on purpose with the Converse All Star Werewolf.  The design is reminiscent of how you would imagine a scary story starting with a cloudy spooky night.  The bottom of the sneaker features an animated looking werewolf design.. Hence the name.

4)  Nike Kobe 11 Elite "Pale Horse" Due to release Oct 28th, they make it just in time for Halloween.  The subtle yet on purpose design was inspired by a skull and the Day of the Dead.  If you look you will see the subtle looking bones beneath the white exterior along with the Skull inside the sneaker as well.  

3) Nike Mag 2016 - These were not technically Halloween inspired.  However, they were inspired by the movie Back to the Future, so why not use them as part of your Halloween costume?  Less than 100 pairs were released and the majority of those could only be won through a raffle with all proceeds going to the Michael J Fox Foundation.  So, if you were not one of those lucky winners, tough luck getting a hold of a pair.

2)  This choice is technically a cleat, but had to be voted in as the design screams Halloween.  The design is a 3-D looking skeleton of the foot bones.  Due to release Oct 22nd, Part of what Adidas is calling the "Unearthed Pack", the Adidas 2017 Adizero 5-Star 6.0 x Kevlar comes in at 2nd place.

1) The number one and pretty much a no brainier is the Nike Lil Posite.  From the side, the sneaker can appear to be a regular Foamposite but from the back it is anything but.  Clearly some thought went into making these an epic Halloween sneaker.  Not only is it an image of a spooky Jack-o-lantern, it also glows at night, which makes it the perfect sneaker for Halloween.  A holiday that is known to be celebrated into the night.

So what I thought would be a battle really turned out to be a crushing.  Nike wins this Battle of the brands by a landslide.  (Considering Converse and Jordan are both Subsidiaries of Nike).  This makes sense when you think about it.  Halloween themed would be a Niche market with most likely minimal profit.  Nike being the giant that they are can take that gamble and get creative with this holiday.

Weekend Sneaker Releases 10/15/2016

Weekend Releases 10/15/2016

1)  Jordan Retro 3 - Black/Black/White.  Retail Price $190.

        I love the Retro 3s.  One of my top favorite Jordan's, but they seem lacking without that signature print on the toe and heal.  At least a different color or texture is what I would want to see there.  The all black leather almost take a cool looking sneaker and make it a little orthopedic looking.  Still a great release, but not the 3s for me.

2)  Jordan Westbrook 0.2  Multiple colorways  Retail Price $140.

3) Nike Kobe 11 Low - Bright Mango/Black/Bright Crimson.  Retail $189.99

   Perfect colorway for Autumn.  

4)  Nike Lil'Posite One

These sneakers get even better from the back with their Halloween inspired theme.

5) Nike LeBron Soldier 10 - Team Red/Metallic Gold/Off White

6) adidas Yeezy Boost 750

What Sneakers would Super Mario Wear?

5)  Nike Hyperdunk 2008  - This new colorway release coming out this fall just screams Super Mario.  For a character with such Hops he should be rocking a basketball sneaker.  Especially, in this bright red/photo blue colorway.

4) Mario is a little old school, so it just makes sense that he would wear something classic.  Reebok Classics to be precise.  He could rock the all whites or even this Red/Blue colorway below.

3)  Mario's perfession outside of being a video game character is a plumber.  So these Waterproof High Top Converse would make a good match for any plumber.

2)  Another old school sneaker pick.   Nike Cortez in white/Blue/Red colorway.  These would give Mario more cushion on all his adventures, but still something I could see him rocking.

1)  This is really a boot, but looking at Super Mario's character, it does look like that is what he is wearing... and who am I to change a classic.. That is why the number one shoe Mario would wear, is Timberland boots.    

 Some other Sneakers that were considered: