If you’d told me that 10 years ago, I would never have believed you. Buying new sneakers was such a thrill. The more colorful, the more unique—the better.
But when 2020 came ‘round, buying stuff felt really insignificant.
Making a fashion statement felt otherworldly.
In light of a worldwide pandemic, I didn’t want to chase trends or junk up my life.
So I challenged myself to only buy one pair of sneakers.
Here are the Air Max 97s I went with. I love them, but they aren’t very practical, so I don’t wear them that often.
It was so shockingly easy for me to do, in 2021 I thought I’d do the same—only this time—trying to buy a more eco-friendly shoe. I went with Allbirds. At first I really liked them, but they aged quickly and I found myself eager to recycle them within the year.
Then in 2022, I didn’t even buy a pair of sneakers.
If you haven’t noticed by my own personal sneaker commandments, I’ve become disillusioned with sneaker culture. It’s always about MORE, MORE, MORE or NEW, NEW, NEW. And that just doesn’t fit who I am anymore.
When Nike released the latest Tom Sachs’ collaboration (you might remember him from his Mars Yard Collection), I was finally interested again. But to be honest, I didn’t find the shoes every day enough. I guess they weren’t boring enough. And honestly—they were aimed at men. No boring shoes with female energy?
So it’s 2023.
And I’m ready for some new SIMPLE sneakers.
So I just put in an order for these:
Nike Air Force 1 PLT.AF.ORM
Nike Air Force 1 Premium
Nike Blazer Mid Victory
Not sure which ones I’ll keep…what do you think?
for the love of nike 
Growing up in the US, we’re raised to think we always need to be buying stuff. My addiction was vinyl. A while ago I realized I didn’t really need 2,000+ records. These days I’m trying to downsize by trading stuff in. Small is beautiful.
I totally agree. Not buying stuff is underrated. and it’s honestly a relief!