Nike 360

A very great human sent me two pairs of shoes last week. A pair of Jordans for my son and a pair of Nike 360s for me. At first I was like, damn, I want to the Jordans! I'd seen the 360 and my feelings on it were kind of mixed though in fairness, I'd lately been feeling more positive about it than negative.

Then I put them on and fell in love. So much so, you'll see from the image, that I left the laces tied just as they arrived in the box. Suddenly I understood why kids leave tags on their hats. Or at least for me, leaving them unaltered preserves that first thrill I got when I put them on my feet a little longer. It's a sort of euphoria--a fresh new fly pair of kicks!--that you want to experience over and over again every time you put them on. (I also recently purchased my first NEW piece of significiant furniture--a couch--and the tags are still on that too--yes I am a loon.)

I give Nike a lot of shit on this site, but I have to give them credit. Nike doesn't design scared. Sure it may copy here and there from other brands and it's had its share of flops (the current women's low-profile line is a good example of that), but it's one of the only athletic footwear brands that consistently designs bold new profiles that challenge its customers. I remember back in the early nineties shopping in a sneaker store and these two guys were slamming the latest Jordan design, just flat out hating it. Eventually, I have a feeling, they came around.