Who Told Me to Buy More Sneakers?!
The year was 1998 and I was just laid off from my first post-college job designing kitchens and bathrooms at Builders Square and I had to find a job and quickly because rent was due soon. One of my neighbors had a cousin that was the manager at Champs Sports in St Louis Center and he gave him a call to help me get a job as a cashier. I had my interview and I was hired on the spot (something you cannot do much these days) and I started soon after that. While working there I got to see all the new in sneakers at the time like the Air Jordan XI low in the red and black colorway, the Fila Grant Hill II, and the more. I remember loving all of the shoes but couldn't afford any due to the low pay and the bills that needed to be paid. The job was short-lived due to my wanting to get back into my desired field of interior design. I went on to work other jobs but in the back of my mind was my love of sneakers. Fast forward to Christmas of 2016 and my sister gave me a pair of Nike Free Connect sneakers in the purple and pink colorway and when I put them on my feet and I was off to the races. I ended purchasing nine more pairs and that following April I posted my first sneaker haul video.
New in sneakers before they go up to join the rest of the collection.
Over the past few years, I have accumulated several and as I shopped I found the styles that I prefer and ones that I do not. I can say that I love Jordan 1’s and Air Force Ones (yes the most popular shoes) and every time there are pairs of each shoe drop I have to try to buy them. There are moments when I walk into the room and I see all the boxes stacked up almost to the ceiling and I wonder who told me to buy all these shoes. I love my collection just like my album collection and my handbag collection. Sneakers weren’t something that I never thought would become a thing for me but here I am an over 40 black woman that loves a cool ass pair of sneakers.
(from L to R) Nike Free Connect, Nike Air Jordan 1 High (Neutral Gray) and Adidas x Ivy Park Sleek Boot in White
At times I find myself looking at other people's sneakers and giving compliments or asking where did they get them. I thought with the pandemic I would slow down with the buying but nope I was still trying to get the most coveted sneakers of the moment like every other sneaker head across the globe. I get some wins but I take a lot of L’s. I just did a count and I have 104 pairs of sneaker at the current moment and that is pretty crazy to go from having maybe 4 just a few years ago to 104. I know I will have to slow down eventually because I have bigger plans for this year and if all goes well I will get them accomplished and still get to buy more sneakers.