...but how long will the Air Jordan XI be ICEY?

This weekend people are just getting geared up for the release of the Air Jordan XI Anniversary Edition, the shoe looks nice and white, many just describe it as ICEY! Now I think the shoe looks great and it's pretty cool to see people getting ready for a Saturday release, getting to the mall early just to cop a pair.

My question is how long before all the excitement for the release is eclipsed by people being down right upset, looking for a solution to clear up the yellowing that will come? I'm not talking about the soles of the shoes I'm talking about that nice crispy bright patent leather? Younger sneakerheads may not remember the Air Jordan XI Columbia (pictured on the right below), when they released they looked GREAT but over time and not a long time either they began to yellow in the wrong place. So as you get excited and start counting down the hours to the midnight release of this sneaker just remember you might not be so excited about them in a few months.

Chicago Sneaker Spot: Vol. Kuts & Kicks

Heat! Heat in the sneaker culture means that the shoes are extra nice and in most cases rare & highly sought after. If you are at all into Air Jordan's, Air Force One's, Nike SB's, Air Penny's and the like then Born with Soul / Kuts & Kicks Boutique is most certainly the place for you. It's a full service salon and sneaker boutique in one. And believe me you will not be disappointed by the selection and if your unable to find what you want just ask owner Melo to help you find it.



As you can see the shop itself breaths Hip Hop/Sneaker Culture from the fresh paintings on the wall to the sneakers on display this is a MUST visit for any Jordan head out there.



As Melo says: "You can come in and get the freshest kuts and leave with the dopest kicks. So come in and check us out! We're located at 2092 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL."




Location: 2092 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago IL
Phone: 773 252-4743
Website: Friend up on MySpace

Selection: Very nice wide selection of Jordan's, SB's and Retro Nike's
Prices: Supply and demand prices.
Atmosphere: Urban look and feel with plenty to look at.

Chicago Sneaker Spot: Vol. UpRise

Uprise is a skater-owned shop run by people that are passionate about skateboarding and the City of Chicago. If you at all into the skateboarding scene this is the place you MUST visit. Located in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago on 1820 N Milwaukee Ave (between Bloomingdale Ave & Moffat St) this shop has the Nike SB's you may be looking for. As seen in the picture below they had on display the quickstrike Nike SB Dunk High Skunk 4/20 which is available today and Uprise has them and their doors open at noon.



The shop itself has a real personal touch on it, makes you feel like you walked right into the deep in of a pool of skater culture. The staff is very knowledgeable and easy to talk to, they treated us very nicely even though I know nothing about the Skater world. There was even a young kid just getting into skateboarding and they treated him very well.



I'd say if you are at all into Nike SB's then this is your place.




Location: 1820 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago IL
Phone: 773.342.7763
Website: www.UpriseSkateShop.com

Selection: Very nice wide selection of skateboarding sneakers
Prices: Very fair market prices.
Atmosphere: Skater friendly urban look and feel.

Chicago Sneaker Spot: Vol. St. Alfreds

Fresh. Slang Excellent; first-rate. That's pretty much all I need to say about one of Chicago's hot spots for sneaker heads. A very slick and stylish boutique located at 1531 North Milwaukee, the atmosphere is very chill the staff has always been excellent and personable. Although it has that upscale look and feel it does not have the upscale attitudes that often make a person feel under-classed or out of place, that couldn't be further from the truth with St. Alfreds. The staff is always willing to help and know a thing or two about the sneaker culture. If you are a Chicagoan or are coming out to Chicago anytime St. Alfreds is a good place to visit.






Location: 1531 North Milwaukee Chicago IL
Phone: 773.486.7159
Website: www.StAlfreds.com

Selection: Mostly current items, if you see it grab it cause it may not be there next time.
Prices: Very fair market prices.
Atmosphere: Very Nice.

Air Jordan VI Pistons

Detroit Pistons inspired Air Jordan 6 comes out tomorrow the 17th of April. The Pistons Air Jordan 6 is made up of a mixture of suede, patent leather, and speckled detailing. Some of you may still be on the fence about this release, because I know I am, really why in the world would Jordan make a shoe inspired at all by the Pistons? I guess it is what it is but makes me scratch my head. You can scoop a pair up Saturday, April 17th for $150 at Jordan Brand dealers.





If you are copping or not post a quick comment and let me know your opinion of this release?

Nike x St. Alfred open new temp spot in Chicago

Nike x St. Alfred 1529 N. Milwaukee Ave. The temporary shop (expect it to be around at least through July) is all about the World Cup, stocking soccer-centric clothing and shoes from Nike, as well as soccer jerseys that St. Alfred designed. In an effort to mash-up art with sports, the store will also feature artwork by local artists. For this month, Cody Hudson created a funky geometric mural that covers the gymnasium-style bleachers along one wall. He also created five graphic designs that you can customize the colors of and have printed on a T-shirt with the help of a staffer.

The next big signature shoe line? Who got next?

Over the weekend I started to think about the prestige behind the Air Jordan sneaker and of course we all know what they are today, highly regarded, sought after sneakers. If you don't know the story of the NBA banning the Air Jordan I which resulted in controversy which made Nike and the Air Jordan transcend the sneaker culture into what we all know it as today, you should read up that to get a better understanding of why it is what it is today. But this isn't about that it's about who's got next? Jordan has had the sneaker game in a head lock for 25 years, who's going to take the torch and have people lined up on Saturday mornings or camping out for days on end to cop their signature line? Some of you may not remember but when Shaq enter the league ReeBok did all it could to steal some of Nike's share of teh market with Shaq's signature line commercial below:



Of course Reebok didn't get quite reach the level of success that Nike already had. Then came Grant Hill and Fila made an attempt, ReeBok later came back with Allen Iverson and the Answer, Adidas gave us a few releases of the Kobe and it just seems that no was able to really contend with the Air Jordan. Is the legacy just to tall a mountain to climb, I mean Jordan has passed the torch to a new generation in Melo and Wade will it continue to be the bench mark? My real question today is, if Lebron can secure a title/s and put the league on lock down for a few years like MJ did will it be safe to say Lebron's got next?



Comment with who you believe has next?

Air Jordan XI Anniversary Edition Release May 1st 2010

So what are your plans for Saturday morning May 1st? What ever they are you might want to change them up a little bit because the Air Jordan XI 25 Anniversary Edition will be released and get this, they will be a GENERAL RELEASE price tag is $150.00 for them and they will also be released in grade school sizes.

Air Jordan BIN23 Collection II

The first offering from the exclusive Bin 23 collection will be available for purchase on April 10th. The Air Jordan 2 Retro Premio features supple chocolate brown leather and crocodile print, paying homage to the exquisite craftsmanship of the original Air Jordan II. Each pair of the Air Jordan 2 Retro Premio, like all Bin 23 releases, will be individually numbered and carry the Bin 23 seal. Only a few retailers will carry this ultra-exclusive shoe, so call around to see who will have these special kicks! -Jordan Brand



As I have come to understand it initially people were hating on these as most SneakerHeads hate on everything Jordan related, until release day gets near and then everyone jumps through hoops to get their hands on anything label rare, limited etc. In two days the BIN23 release of the Air Jordan II will happen and "sources" have said the stores that will get them will only be receiving 18 pairs with a total release number of 1097 pairs. Not really worth doing the math on how many stores will get them because we all know wheeling and dealing happens since some folks have already secured a pair. None the less the question today remains: If you plan on purchasing a pair, do you like the shoe or do you like the idea of the resale value on the shoe?

Air Jordan BIN23 Collection IX

The Jordan Brand BIN23 Collection features classic Air Jordan silhouettes constructed with high quality materials and placed in premium packaging. Here's a peek at what could be the next addition to the BIN23 Collection.

Personally I'm really liking this color combination and would like to see it in person but for now we can only wait.

Sneaker Culture - Your all time favorite sneaker?

The sneaker culture is always evolving and growing and some people aren't quite sneaker heads but when they purchase a pair they want to get a fresh pair that identifies with them. Other are SneakerHeads and think about their next pair while in line purchasing a current pair. Then you run into those that are so immersed in the culture that they are almost identified by a particular brand or particular release. I stumbled upon this image and was taken back a bit as to what I was seeing, of course is picture is worth a thousand words and in my mind I think the person has become so seduced by the Nike Foamposite design and mystic that they had to have it tattooed on their arm. Really how many times have you bought a pair never could bring yourself to wear it, you go through all the obstacles of plastic bagging, silica packs etc to keep your sneakers fresh, and from time to time you just pull them out to look at them, just peak at them and think to yourself these ARE the freshest pair. Well this person took that to another level and tattooed what I hope is his favorite sneaker of all time on their arm. My question today is what is your ALL TIME favorite that you would ever consider tattooing on your arm?

ScAIR Jordan's, why are you even asking me if those are real?

What's up everyone? First let me give thanks to all of you that stay tuned in to my blog postings I really do appreciate it. As you all know I never turn anyone away when they come to me with sneaker questions I always give the person as much good information as I can whether they are 12 years old and brand new to the culture or 30 years old and been around long enough to teach me a thing or two.

Today I'm caught off guard by a message asking me if the below sneaker is in fact an Authentic pair of Air Jordan XI's. Sometimes I can understand if a colorway is right but the shoe itself is wrong like carbon fiber wrong or space on the 23 is wrong etc. But seriously how can a person look at these and say "dang those must be legit" is it wrong for me to tell them yeah those are legit? LOL I wouldn't do that but sometimes I just feel like saying if you can't even try why should I. These are obvious and painfully some what I call ScAIR Jordan's, I mean really could anyone be convinced these are some exclusive, limited, rare air whatever J's? Anyway just thought I'd share some insight into my mailbag.

How to remove the yellowing from the AJKOS (from: Johnny Bananas)

If your coped a pair of AJKO'S saturday(3-27-10) and don't want that yellowing on the midsoles that the shoe already comes with here are a few things Johnny Bananas has been hearing to help remove it. TRY THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! If you use soap and water and baby wipes over and over on the midsole it will remove that yellowing affect.I've also heard you can use nail polish remover on the midsole to remove that yellowing affect.





This is via SneakerheadsUnite.blogspot.com by Johnny Bananas.