To Those Who Remember, What was the Sneaker Game like in the early to mid 1990s?

Copped OG bordeaux 7s and aqua 8s when they dropped.
I'd assume that Jordan becoming a household name was the reason I wanted a pair.
I always wore Bulls starter outfits too.

I didn't ball and no one cared, I was in the hood and everyone wanted a pair.
 
i remember going to the Nike Outlet out here in WA.

i bought black/red 12s, white/red 12s , for $59.99 each also cop the Air darwins for $19.99

Nobody was really buying kicks back then, A lot of them went on sale. Ross had pretty much all the Old school Fila(hills,stacks,mash burn), Reeboks(kamikaze) scattered around the store. Sports Authority and BIG 5 also had a lot of jordans on sale for the dirt.

Also bought the black/red 13s for $79.99 on Sale at Just for Feet when i went to Vegas

I had 2 pair of shoes per year. pretty much enjoyed the kicks and beat them to death. lol

Damn how i miss the old days.
 
As late at 2001 you could get Jordans on clearance. I still have some OG XIV's I picked up at the mall for $100 on clearance and used those as my summer/practice shoes. Still have them too and last time I wore them, they were still some of the most comfortable shoes I've played in. Too bad they're falling apart or else I would still play in them.

Although by the end of my Senior year, I tried to see how many days I could go without wearing the same pair of shoes. I think I could easily go about 3-4 weeks.
 
Last edited:
senor chang said:
i don't really think Celebrities TV actors really influence me to buy kick. I only wanted them cuz some of my favorite players were wearing them at the time on tv or cards/magazine. Air Jordans, Grant hills,, Pennys, Pippens, Griffey, zoom turf, foamposite, Silver Total Foamposite, Air max upempo, Flightposite, etc were all purchase because of it

Buying Shoes was so much easier back then lol..Just about everythang was on sale, the rack, or outlet.

My first pair of Air Jordan were the shadow X pass down to me by my aunt after she bought the 11. I still remember the size. It was a 7.5. She got it on sale at Florin Mall for 55 bucks.

My first pair as a kid that I bought with my own money was one of these shoes. Can't remember which came out first.
View media item 1172506or
View media item 1172596

What I did to to help me finance these shoes were cut grass for my neighborhood to finance these shoes, saved up money by not eating at lunch, and money from like birthdays and new years cuz momz wasn't spending 150 on no kicks. Gave me an ear full.

Eastbay/ Slam Magazine were my main source to know what shoes were coming out. Alot of times I was buying the on sale shoes while other kids were wearing the newest models :\...Like kids were wearing the newest Jordan 19 model while I order a pair of 12 for 49.99. Had to get my uncles and aunt to order it for me since i didn't have a credit card/bank account. I sure as hell am not asking my mom lol...I don't know if any of you guys remember but when the XI black/red originally release news outlets were calling them gang affiliate shoes. I had given my money to my uncle to buy and when he showed up with them my mom try to make him return it :smh:....but he didn't. Just kept it for me until I was able to sneak it in my house.

Around the first retro 11, thing started to get crazy. Spacejam, Columbia, and Concord copped without any problem or line up. When the Cool Grey released it was mayhem. Never seen anything like it. Dudes were getting shot/killed/robbed at gun point. Me and my uncle was at Florin Mall and was scared to death. If NTers were at that release they will tell you it was crazy. If I remember correctly, @GetHigh420 was there also. He'll tell you
View media item 1172586Then when the Black/red 11 retro, that was the first time I see dudes camping out for shoes. The hype was crazy too. Bringing tents and camping gear and camping outside of Arden Fair Mall :lol:
Around this time, I found NT. NT and Air-Jordans.com became my source of info....Peep the sign :wink:


Even though I have much more to see, I'll end it here...didn't mean for my comment to go this long.
Click to expand...
RIP to the florin mall..
 
The majority of kicks back then came in the box unlaced, and the shop assistant would ask if you wanted them to lace them up for you 
smokin.gif


I always refused though because they would lace them in the standard zig-zag... I wanted my own style so I'd take them out into the mall and do them straight/wash-board.
 
ME: WEARING "DC's"
BARBER: Is them some DOSHIN GUHBAWNaS????? (Dolce & Gabbana's)
Me: WHAT??
BARBER:YOU HAD ME "EFFED" UP with some $1000 shoes
 
I remember intentionally popping a pair of yellow/blue am 96 tailwinds to get store credit at NT for the foams in 97 :lol:
 
I was born in 1978 and distinctly remember my first pair of Sky Jordan 1's white/grey..Those got me hooked..Remember getting the white/red/blk 4's (You kids call 'em Mars 4s) and the inner liner got a hole in them and took em back to Foot Locker..They exchanged them in the store (No sending stuff back to Nike back then) and I got the Military 4 in a size 4 or 4 1/2 and was so geeked cause now my Jordans had Nike Air on the back..Then Barkleys/Agassis started to drop and I had to have those too..

The only way back then to find out what was the new shoe was to watch the All Star Game or through magazine ads..I always wanted whatever my favorite athlete was wearing..I couldn't care less what a celeb was wearing..And I remember that I could go into any shoe store and buy whatever I wanted a week or two after they released..The very first time I went to the store and wasn't able to buy a shoe because it sold out was the White/Black Jordan 13 (He Got Games)..After that things started to change..When retros dropped they NEVER sold out..I still kick myself for passing on Mocha 3s for 39.99 and Olympic 6's for 54.99..Once I started having to have someone hold pairs and then start lining up in winter for 6-7 hours before the mall opened I knew I was just about done with shoes..Now that I have a son I only get 1 or 2 pair a year..But I sell at least 5 pair out of the collection in the same year..Sneakers are a young man's game and I'm too old to play it..

But dem Air Command Force will be mine when they drop..:nthat:
 
Born in 81 here didn't really get into basketball sneakers until 6th grade I'd say. My parents weren't down with dropping $100 on sneakers so I was wearing some Payless junk until 6th grade I would come home with blisters on my feet from all the running and walking I did. First bball shoe I got were the dee brown reebok pumps. Back then no one cared what celebrities were wearing, jordans weren't really that popular in the LA area, I remember some kids hating on me for wearing a jordan shirt to school after he beat Magic in 91. Hot shoes back then (91-94) huaraches, Bo Jackson's, reebok pumps, Larry johnson converse, la gear haha British knights! High school was when the sneaker "culture" kinda started (95-99). East bay was the bible if you had an eastbay catalog you were the man! I only payed attention to what my favorite players were wearing at the time so whatever eddie jones, Jason Kidd, iverson had on were hot to me. Wasn't a big jordan fan at all back then but everyone else at school was. These were the 2 shoes I rocked thru high school
View media item 1172741View media item 1172742
I remember jordans released on the weekdays (tues? Or wed?) one of the those days I can't remember everyone back then wore jordan 11-12-13 or penny hardaways the only way to stand out for me was to wear something different. "Celebs" out here in the west coast only wore chucks lol snoop death row etc ha or wutang biggie nas wore timbs that's the most celeb sneaker/shoe knowledge I had back then it was strictly what the good players were wearing during games

You could even find jordans that were on clearance in the eastbay catalogs! I think I have an issue were 11s were marked down because the style was "discontinued".
 
Last edited:
There was no retros besides AF1s really. A few trickled in here and there from 94 onward but besides that nothing. There was no eBay, no re-selling so nobody copped based off what the potential future value was. No collabs. It was just trying to look fly. You copped Jordans and stuff cause they were the upper echelon of sneakers then, but there was also more of an open-minded was where you just wanted to rock something different or flip a pair a certain way that looked different that nobody thought of.

That's part if why sneakers with straps became so huge for a while cause it was like, who could do some ill different **** with the straps.

I remember I just loved seeing how many different joints id see in the course of a day. Summertime in the early to mid nineties, you'd see your regular Js, but then every type of huarache in every color, especially the trainers, you'd see Fila Grant Hills with the laces looped around each insert, Adidas EQTs with the little small strap that attached to the tongue. Don't know the name but those things were good classics and I've never seen then since.

Reebok Rafters, mostly the black Nubuck and white ones, Barkleys of every description, Air Max BWs, New Balance out the *** and of course every AF1 you could think of. If you lived in NYC and new all the mom and pop stores you could find most forces in an NYC version.

Only retros otherwise was like when they did the SC trainers in the auburn and the raiders colorways. The quality was insane but we didn't know what an inferior quality retro was back then it was just... This is what the shoe is supposed to look like.

I think from like 92-98 was the golden era, especially for Nike. I think seeing other brands come correct lately has been refreshing and it's making Nike try to step their game up a little bit. Maybe not in every area and it'll never be what it once was but I think it's good that we have other options now.
 
That first SLAM KICKS issue and Nike's SOLE PROVIDER book was my "internet" when it came to Nike basketball sneaker history. :lol:
 
the 'retros' that people line up for now sat on the shelves for, seriously, years at a time. i distinctly remember grape V's sitting on the shelves of my local footlocker for years at $39.99...my second pair of Jordans, Burgundy VI's, I picked up off the sales racks for $59.99 a few months after they released...

i went to a small school, only around 750 ppl...but....that being said, there was usually only ONE or TWO people in the whole school that had any version of a particular jordan.
 
We weren't as stunned and shocked as we are now when see celebs wearing dope kicks. Like somebody said, it wasn't a game like it turned into the past couple of years. Shoes would be readily available weeks after release. Plus we had so many options it wasn't that big of a deal. My only issue was my parents only bought me kicks twice a year. Once for the start of the school year, and then again on easter. So I'm one of those dudes who kept my joints immaculate.

When I couldn't get the carnivores, I had to settle for these. Very similar because of color, but there always options

View media item 1172962


I remember my firs pair of Js were the blk/infrared VIs, I got them from bargain center on pitkin avenue. They had it on discount, my parents budget for me was $70-$80 the price tag was $69.99 if remember correct. Our influence came from school, the streets and the eastbay catalogues. We saw what we liked and if we could afford it we bought it. Until I started working, I was negotiating with pops. Saving up birthday or chirstmas money and putting down half on kicks. And we rocked everything, not just jordans. I had Bos, Diamond turfs, air max, rebok pumps, grandmamas all that. I remember 8th grade mom dukes got me the rebok black tops. One pops got me Ewings, with that basketball chain on it.

Good times :smokin
 
Last edited:
Damn....hardly post but this thread is a must.

-Born 76....yup (look far from it too)

-Loved kicks since grade school (Roos wit the pocket)

-"stepped up" to plain *** nike runners (moms wouldnt get me the fila joints, they werent durable enough)

-nike revolution campaign with the am1, revolution & aj3 (air bubbles) had me zapped......pops sent me a pair of grey wht blk revoluitons (ahhhhhh)

- like others mentioned dudes in my bldg had joints like diadoras, spot-bilts, brooks, avias (most of those dudes were aau ' ing it (with the pull string bags lol) webster p.a.l. baby!

-only "celebrity" influences came from watching the all-star game

-playing aau baseball i had the nike cleats with the 18 on the flap (strawberry fan) buster brown ftw                                                                                                       

-started getting my own bread by j.h.s. random pick ups from jewman, franks sporting goods, olympic town, jeans plus etc.  asics, dunks (jewman had a ton) reebok classics             

-picking up kicks for the low in basement spots (nike carnivores in franks for 30, bo jacksons blk/silver 34 in hermans for less than 30 bucks)

-in h.s. hit up tent and trails, dwntwn bk, bway sneakers or any army navy store in bx or bk or harlem

-later h.s. years had THEE hook up at jeans plus for early releases (dude would show me the book tell me to come back 2-3 weeks before release) crazy

-the original black and red 11 releases to me started all the madness. columbias were sold out same week (even tho when mike got ripped by nick anderson i was rewinding and pausing to get better looks at those concords like "wtf are those?"

-through all that no line waiting, no rushing, just walk in and whatever is there .........is there.  damn i do miss that

...........i also remember that time i got my kicks snatched off my feet by 2 dudes with a knife to my neck....for some damn blk/purple air flight lites
58310530_1.jpg
 
Last edited:
@DEXTERWIGGLE

:lol: at rewinding the tape to see MJ shoes. That was something I'm sure we all did back then. Just waiting for the camera to get a close up of the shoe.
 
It truly was a beautiful time.

Seeing ball players wear certain shoes and then walking by your local spots everyday after school hoping to see them in the window. No months of hype building, no lines, no hassles. You wanted a pair of shoes, you bought them and that was that.

If you grew up in places like NYC, Footlockers were pretty much nonexistent. The beauty of mom and pop shops is that the owners and/or family members ran the shop. You develope relationships with these ppl. I don't think I paid retail or tax on a pair of shoes throughout the entire 90's. Not to mention the discos and freebies you could talk yourself into if you were spending g's at a time.

Another fun part was the hunt. No internet updates to give you a heads up on where to find certain shoes. If you were into a shoe like the AF1 that had so many c/w's it seemed like some colors were exclusive to certain boroughs, traveling to BK, Uptown etc just to come back around the way with a shoe no one had seen before was priceless.

I truly feel sorry for young ppl who genuinely love shoes now a days. Damn near 20 different c/w's of every sig dropping every other week. Too many hoops and hurdles just for a pair of shoes.
 
DEXTERWIGGLE just reminded me of the Revolution campaign with the Beatles song.

**** was dope.

I remember a spot called Choi's on the Upper West Side. Like 103 + Bway. That's where I got everything pretty much.

Jordan 1's were already out and I remember seeing a poster for the Jordan 2's and thinking they looked insane. And not wanting them at all.

I remember seeing Orange AF1 lows with the white swoosh. Or Powder Blue AF1 lows with the white swoosh and loving them and my mother being like "what are you going to wear those with?"

I lived in Manhattan and had cable, and watched a lot of Video Music Box. Most people will tell you this was the precursor to MTV Raps, Rap City etc.

So in addition to seeing the dudes with money around the way with fly sneakers, seeing Rakim in Delta Force ACs in different colors, seeing KRS One on Black Cement IIIs etc in videos and interviews had an effect on me.

It was one thing to see it on guys in your neighborhood. It was another thing to see it on guys just like those guys who were on TV. Seeing the rappers meant more to me than actors, or even rock musicians who wore Forces, J's etc.

Again, I know I'm dating back to the late 80's here but these are moments I reflect upon fondly when I think of sneakers from back in the day.
 
Born '86. Always loved shoes. weill tell my 'story'

First pair of Nike's that i asked for nike air force max CB with the straps. My teacher would be pissed when i came back from recess and unstrapped them making all kinds of noise. cant believe Nike wouldnt release in the original colorway. very disapointing

I remember back in that summer, my brother use to gamble on 1on1 bball games for money and such. He "SAYS" he won these shoes Jordan VIII's and gave them to me casue they fit me. I was dumb exited.

Parents split and we had money issues. I didnt care about payless shoes, or didnt register that they were "looked up as wack", just knew i wish i had got the Voit's my brother got. he never wore them, so i took'em and rocked them.

Moved to Hawaii in 96 or so and my best friends brother let me see an EASTBAY MAG. I was like W T F !!!!!???? is this ? the shoes with the colorful straps you could take off and switch out, i was amazed.

by then, my oldest bro was in 9th/10th grade, and straight up, think my mom's went in to debt supporting his PENNY Habit. the day he convinced my moms to spend $172 at the Navy exchange for his only bday gift. CRAZY.

You could go to the store, i know i would, and just sit there as my mom shopped just staring at shoes. Besides Pennys, and Jordans, i liked the air max's and such a lot..

Damn down memory lane lol.

As far as people sayin things were different back then, i dont think so as far styles go, We always was trying to look fly and turn heads. One of my most vivid memories of shoes and folks rocking the same shoe was the Penny 2's folks was rockin the black joints, 3 folks in a row sitting on a bench, and my bro wear 2 diff colors and the gym we was at going crazy. lolol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

The ultimate sneaker enthusiast community.

NikeTalk was created as a way of giving back to both the sneaker enthusiast community and to the greater global community of which we are all a part.

NikeTalk is NOT affiliated with Nike Inc. in any way, shape, or form. All opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Nike, Inc.

© 1999-2024 NikeTalk.com

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom