Valentine's AF-1s

This shoe compliments another shoe that Kitty Kat already owns, being the Nike Dunk Valentines. This shoe is the Nike Womens Air Force 1 Premium '07.

While I have not personally worn these sneakers, I do have my own pair of Air Force Is, and I know they are comfortable and durable shoes. After much complaining with lines like:

• "They make my feet look big."
• "They look bulky."
• "They make me look like a boy."
• "They don't suit me."

Kitty Kat finally tried them on. They look sensational on her feet. She no longer has an argument against the shoe. Even Pappa-P thought they looked good on her.

Going back to this concept, I believe these were released at the same time as Nike released the Valentine Dunks. The box is about the same, and there is even a "gift card", along side the certificate of authenticity that comes with each Air Force 1 made. You will get the idea from the images:

These shoes were obtained from the Nike Factory Outlet, on Smith Street, Collingwood, in Victoria, Australia. From my understanding, they came out around 4 years ago, but you should be able to find them on ebay.com.

Zoom Kobe Vs

This shoe make me uneasy for a few reasons. It's the Zoom Kobe V X. The feelings are easily explained if you know me:

• I'm a Boston Celtics fan, not a LA Lakers fan.
• Kobe Bryant is playing on the wrong team.
• These shoes are what Kobe wore when he led the LA Lakers to win the 2010 championship against the Boston Celtics.
  

I don't hate the Lakers, but I do enjoy the rivalry. I believe that Magic Johnson (one of their most celebrated players) is one of the most entertaining and intense players I have ever seen play the game of basketball, and his off-court presence was that of a likable (but flawed) person. If you don't believe me, you should see him in the Larry Bird retirement video.

Unfortunately, Kobe is similar to Magic. He is an intense competitor, and also has an off-court presence that is of a likable (but flawed) person. His shoes reflect that aspect of Kobe. They have a very good foot holding feel, and provide great feedback form the floor, but I believe they are flawed when it comes to the traction. This should not be noticed by the majority of people that end up buying this shoe, as it would most likely be worn casually, or in my case, not worn at all (my observations before was based on trying the shoe on at the shop). The shoe is light, and very responsive. It is a great performance shoe - even though it represents a team I dislike.

Visually, the shoe is a great representation of the Lakers colours - the purple and the yellow. The detail incorporated pays tribute to Kobe in different ways, from his initials, to his signature, to his number "24". There is also a dot-matrix code near the outrigger near the toebox of the shoe that spells out the word "HEART". There is an electric / lightning looking pattern surrounding the toebox, as well as clear indication of the use of Flywire on the shoe's upper. The sole has a strange pattern on it, which as I mentioned before I do not think aids traction, but through it, the carbon fiber shank can be clearly seen. Kitty Kat's father Pappa-P told me he does not like flashy shoes, but found these acceptable.

This shoe was purchased at the Nike Factory Outlet, on Smith Street, Collingwood, in Victoria, Australia. I do not know why this shoe would be in the sale section at a reduced price, but it was, and I benefited from that. It can also be found in limited supplies on ebay.com.

Metallic AJ 1s

This is the shoe that started one of the enduring series of shoes in the sporting world - the Air Jordan Is - in this case, the Air Jordan I Retro High. The original shoe of this design started in 1985, when a young Michael Jordan (after wearing shoes from other manufacturers in his high school and college career) signed up with Nike, and the first steps to the Jordan Brand were taken. It was to later spawn off one of the most recognizable images in modern sports - the Jumpman logo. The reason I make mention of the Jumpman logo, is that they never appeared on the original shoe (it first appears on the Air Jordan III), even though they appear on the box I have, as well as the shoe itself.

The original Air Jordan I shoe did not meet with the allowable shoe colour standards of the day in the NBA. Each time Michael Jordan wore them, he would incur a fine. This was nothing in comparison to the hype associated with the shoe, and the eventual sales it generated. Nike was associating wearing the shoe with the athletic ability of Michael Jordan, and then putting their spin on the ban as the shoe being able to provide an underlying physical advantage. The hype sold the shoe, and as of this year, there are now 26 main iterations of this shoe - along side the other "Team Jordan" shoes.

The shoe itself appears to be a re-branded Nike Dunk - similar to the patchwork Nike Dunks that KittyKat has. I do not think this shoe actually contains an Air component in it - but I may be mistaken. I base this theory on the fact that she shoe is solid and stable, and does not provide the floaty feel that are sometimes associated with wearing Nike shoes with Air in them. The shoe is a good fit, but not tight as some modern shoes are.

As you will see from the images, the shoe I have is not in the original colours that were released in 1985, but have come out in a metallic looking, plastic feeling material.

This shoe was another surprise purchase from the Nike Factory Outlet, in Smith Street, Collingwood, Victoria, in Australia. I was surprised to find it there. I was surprised to find it at a discounted price. Ultimately, I was happy to not purchase them, but KittyKat insisted I get them as an interesting shoe that is connected with the start of one of the most recognised shoe lines in the world.