Kicks! Little Pieces Of Who You Are

Having a penchant for wine, cheese, running and shoes there's no doubt Tranq Jones and I have a lot in common. A man with over 50 pairs of shoes, and he swears he wears each pair, is the perfect commentator for the uncanny obsession with sneakers. Mr. Jones I thank you as I leave the rest to you.

With so many styles, colors, and textures to choose from kicks are one of the easiest ways to express who you are by what you put on your feet. In some ways, sneakers have become an art form, transcending shoes in many ways, often at a fraction of the price. Limited edition art kicks though, do sometimes, get pricey.

For example, this rare, coveted, limited edition pair of De La Soul Nikes:
image © Tranq Jones
My eye caught these in the NYC streetwear store 'Stackhouse' about five years ago, causing the impulse removal of $300 from my wallet. But, De La Soul's '3 Feet High and Rising' was my first rap album and the disc played nonstop for months. Emotions kicked in, and boom, on my feet they migrated.

Wearing them around NYC, especially the subway, got a lot of... "Dude, where'd you get those? Awesome!". If you were ever a De La Soul fan you got it, simply by catching a glimpse of my feet. Sneakers are where your, 'personal rubber meets the road'. If you can't afford the limited edition styles though you've got other options.

I also possess quite a few pairs of sneakers I've personalized at the NIKEid website. Here are a few examples:
image © Tranq Jones
image © Tranq Jones

If you've never been to the NIKEid site go play around with designing your own pair. The navigation and tools on the site are brilliant, and you can easily make your own style statement. Puma, Converse, and most recently Adidas, all have their own design-your-own models as well. Most are around $100-$125, which is infinitely more affordable than many ridiculously priced high end shoes.

I posted a major portion of my kicks collection (keywords: shoe fetish) on my blog a few months ago. If you're looking for additional inspiration feel free to check that out as well (ed: my faves are his French Foreign Legion boots):
http://tranquilityjones.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-shoe-fetish-revealed.html

Thanks for giving me a guest spot on your blog today, Stacy. I'll leave you with my signature shoes, sprawled out on my back lawn, in the shadows of the Montana mountains.