Comment by Der_Einzige | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Der_Einzige | Hacker News Reader

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Trust me, the moment I started taking shoes seriously, large swaths of men (of all ages) started giving me compliments for my Jordans (and I'm talking about black friday deals from nike, not the custom bidding war stuff)

I mostly started doing this because I noticed that at least when on sale, Jordans/Air shoes seem to be both economical and of elevated durability and quality compared to traditional running shoes. I also like high-tops and find the comfort and support that they give my ankle to be nice.

That said, I do live in Nike's back yard and that may have something to do with the seeming obsession I've seen among men for sneakers.

re: all the other people claiming it's entirely "status" - where is the status of shoes who normally retail for ~100-150$ USD when not on sale? That's like two levels above bottom of the barrel. I claim there are other reasons for the success and admiration of those shoes.

This is wild. I don't think I have once even looked at someone's shoes. Much less identified them. This is so alien to me.

I'm a member of an auto enthusiast forum, and it always surprises me when someone comments on wheels on a car. I simply never look at them.

But, just because I don't care about wheels, doesn't mean it's not a valid aesthetic and functional choice.

(I don't care about shoes, either.)

It definitely seems to matter on an almost jewelry-level to some people, footwear.

Even if I doubt they spend more time intentionally looking at other people's shoes day to day, but I guess "louder" designs may change that a bit.

I have been a runner for many years, and I do habitually glance at running shoes.

Yeah, I can relate to this. Not Jordans, but still Nike; it wasn't a stylistic choice at first, but I habitually wear AF1s because they're the most comfortable I've found and I can walk ~5 miles a day in them for 2-3 years for about $100 a pop. (I've got dogs, I walk that much even in the winter. My running shoes are Jordans, though, because my wife bought me "Air somethings".) It helps that I go with pretty eye-catching colors, but folks even at my Extremely Business Casual employer speak positively of them and I don't feel self-conscious wearing them when most of the team are in dress shoes or boring brown whatevers. People just like Nike/Jordan.

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