The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 369 — This one is for the crib 🌸

This is a big sneaker week for the DMV

Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Appreciate you giving me a bit of your time today. I hope you’ve had an excellent week.

I also hope you enjoyed Monday’s Back to School guide!

I always enjoy putting that one together. If you’ve got any ideas or requests for other guides you’re itching to see, submit them here via DM or leave them in the comment section.

Let’s rock out.

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Giving flowers where they’re due

Photo by Andy Feliciotti on Unsplash

There’s nothing quite like that feeling of recognition. I’d go as far as calling it vindication, honestly. That moment when, finally, the world acknowledges you.

That’s the best way to describe what I felt on Monday when I saw this.

What you’re watching: That’s Wale in a Nike commercial for the DMV Cherry Blossom Foamposites dropping today.

Hopefully, I’ll have secured my pair by the time you read this. Regardless of whether I do or don’t, though, I’m basking in this moment. It’s nice to see my city take center stage for once.

We’ll talk more about that in a second. But first, let’s talk a little bit about this pair.

The history: This shoe combines two things D.C. is synonymous for: Cherry blossoms and Foamposites. Heck of a combination, right? Oddly enough, both have a deep, rich history in the area, though the cherry blossoms date back more than a century.

• Cherry blossom trees are planted along the Potomac River in the city, an area we call the Tidal Basin.

• The trees were a gift from Japan to the United States. The first trees were planted in 1912 and have been here ever since.

Every year there’s a cherry blossom festival that brings people worldwide to the city. The trees are essentially a rite of passage in the spring. When the cherry blossoms finally hit peak bloom, the city is up. It’s a massive part of the culture here.

You’ve seen the cherry blossom inspiration everywhere: Sneakers, jerseys, clothes. When people think of D.C., they think of cherry blossoms.

They should also think of Foamposites. Sometimes, they don’t.

Why this matters: For so long, I’ve felt like Washington, D.C. and the surrounding areas have contributed so much to sneaker culture and haven’t gotten nearly enough credit for it. That’s our story.

We didn’t make Nike Boots cool. We didn’t make Foamposites cool. Some people even debate whether the New Balance trend started here (which, yes, it absolutely did, btw).

So much of the history behind these isn’t recorded, so things become subjective. People will tell you that folks around here started wearing Foamposites in the 2010s. I’m here to tell you that it was long before that.

People in this area have been wearing Foams for decades. It’s been the staple shoe for folks in this area for as long as I can remember. You can catch it anywhere, from the basketball court to the grocery store. Birthday parties. Nights on the town. You might even see them in a Go-Go doing some Saturday night sinning before seeing that same pair in your church’s pews on a sweet Sunday morning.

That shoe is D.C. Pairing it with Solbiato and sweats is like pairing French fries with a burger. It just works — and it always will, no matter how much time passes.

That’s why it’s so lovely to be validated by Nike here. It’s settled. The debate is over. It wasn’t New York. It wasn’t Philly. It was us.

That’s all we’ve ever wanted — just a bit of credit. Not only did we get it, but it was done perfectly.

• The spot featured Wale, who, for my money, is the best sneakerhead in hip-hop. Talk about Fat Joe, Travis Scott, or whoever else you want until you’re blue. Our guy clears, the way I see it. And Nike should’ve made this happen a long time ago.

The big picture: Regionality is something sneakers doesn’t have anymore, but desperately needs again.

Everything has become so homogenized because we’re all on the internet. We’re all just wearing the same pairs of Dunks, Jordans and whatever else these days. It’s stale. It’s boring.

I don’t think one pair of Foamposites shifts that here, but it is nice to see it acknowledged — especially since it’s where I’m from.

By the way: It’s not just Foams this week for the DMV. Under Armour is launching a collaboration with The Museum on three pairs of Apparitions on Sunday.

This is a fantastic week for the DMV all around. Give us our flowers, people.

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What happened with the AMM 3?

I knew the A-Ma Maniére Air Jordan 3 release this week wouldn’t be a hit like the 2021 pair was. What I didn’t expect, though, was for so many pairs to be sitting hours after the drop at 10 a.m. ET.

Don’t get it twisted: Plenty of folks wanted and got these shoes. They’re good! But the enthusiasm around them wasn’t the typical A Ma Maniére hype we’re used to.

I thought it would be. Here’s why:

• This was the first shoe the brand released celebrating its 10th anniversary, so I thought people would be more hyped about that.

• I also (foolishly) thought this shoe might catch a tailwind from the last AMM Jordan 3 drop.

So what happened: I think A Ma Maniêre got in its own way with this one.

• First, The shoe was already $225. The brand also added another $20 for shipping. Add in taxes, which can be another $20 or so, depending on your state. Plus, an extra $5 for the EQL run-fair fee, and we’re talking nearly a $300 shoe. Do people have that sort of money sitting around?

• That’s the other thing. These sneakers were not as good as the old joints. The “Raised by Women” AJ3 is still a classic. Though this shoe is good, it will always live in its predecessor’s shadow.

• Finally, the state of sneakers isn’t what it used to be. People aren’t as excited about collabs anymore. It’s not just AMM — it’s everywhere. We don’t see the same fervor years ago for sneakers like this one.

Remember: Every shoe isn’t going to be an instant sellout. They don’t need to be. That’s unhealthy and, honestly, the fact that these weren’t is a positive to me. Nature is healing. Sneakerheads have time to make choices again.

Yes, but: I do think AMM and Nike expected this to go fast. Since it didn’t, I do wonder what it means for the rest of this collection and other potential collections moving forward.

The bottom line: This is just one part of a seven-part drop. It’s not a big deal. Before we judge this collection, we should wait and see how the rest unfolds.

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In today’s “What are we doing here?” news

Sara Blakely, the founder of the women’s shapewear brand Spanx, is entering sneaker culture with hybrid sneaker-stilettos.

Yes, you’re reading that correctly.

The details: Blakely’s Sneex company has developed what they call a “hy-heel.”

• The shoes are made of premium materials and built in Spain. Straps that replace laces are made from Napa leather and the upper is Italian mesh, per CBS News.

• The shoe is built to hug the foot at the arch while also providing ample room in the toe box and stabilization through the heel.

• Prices range from as low (LOL) as $395 to as much as $595.

Here’s what one looks like:

My take: Look, I don’t wear heels. These were not made for me, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. But I find these to be a bit confounding. I’ve known women to want to wear sneakers. I’ve known women to want to wear heels. But is there a market for women out there in sneaker-heels? I genuinely don’t know.

Are we into these? Let me know.

If you guys like these, I’ll dig a bit deeper into them.

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What giving back looks like

You’ve probably seen this photo floating around the internet over the last few days.

That’s McKayla Nash — a restorative specialist counselor at John Early Middle School in Tennessee. Behind her, you see hundreds of boxes with pairs of Air Force 1s in them. She helps students who’ve had their struggles get back into class.

She did that through sneakers this school year by gifting her kids with AF1s. Complex’s Brendan Dunne has more:

“This month, Nash put on another Drip Drive, this time at Pearl-Cohn High School. The event served a handful of schools on Nashville’s north side, an area that Nash says suffers from low household income and high rates of incarceration.

At the back-to-school event, Finish Line provided Drip Drive with another 100 pairs of Air Force 1s for students, with the Nike socks to match. Nash went viral on social media this week when sneaker blogs started reposting a photo of hers from two weeks ago that shows her sitting in the back of a truck full of sneakers for the drive. She is certain that her students, who are tapped in with sneaker culture on the internet, will see the photo soon enough.”

This is such a moving gesture.

First, kudos to Nash, who genuinely cares about the kids in her community. She moved mountains to make this happen and we’ve got to salute that.

Second, this goes to show you how big of a connector sneakers are. A good pair for someone in need can go a long way.

Amazing work.

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#TheKicksWeWear

Y’ALL KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!!!

First, my dog Young Choi popped out in the Gyakusou Zoom Flys and I MISS MY PAIR SO MUCH.

My guy Jed came through in the Wotherspoon Gazelles. I can’t believe people slept on these. They’re so good.

The homie Nate came through with an absolute GRAIL in the Oregon Duck Air Max 1. Ain’t too many of these out there, y’all.

The homie Josh came through with the 06 AJ5s! What. A. Pull. Wow. They look so good.

The homie Mark popped out in the JJJJound 992s! This shoe looks amazing, man.

Then my dog Heel took us home with the Gold Medal Kobe 4s. Man. It don’t get no better than this. Wow.

Y’all DID that, fam. Whew.

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That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading. Appreciate you giving me a bit of your time today. Have an excellent weekend!

Hit me with questions, comments, concerns or otherwise via email at mikedsykes@gmail.com or shoot me a message here on Substack.

Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.

-Sykes 💯