Retro summer kicks

Retro/ Old school style sneakers tend to become all the rave most summers with their washed-put, plain and typically suede or leather design. The thing about these types of trainers is that they are typically used a ‘beaters’. Shoes that look good but you don’t mind roughing up and ruining and are therefore used for everyday life. This is because typically they are very cheap. No shoe that I am about to talk about sells at retail for £100 so you are less bothered about what happens to them as you go about your day. Of course, this is not the case for everybody. We’ve all seen some rich kid on Instagram with their messed-up Jordan’s or battered Yeezy’s that they are able to call their beaters. For the rest of us however, here are my favourite retro styled trainers.

The Nike Blazer 77 mid perfectly highlights a common theme that all retro trainers seem to have. It’s quite bland. It is however incredibly clean and crisp. You also get a 90s Nike logo on the top of the tongue and a shoe box with 90s branding. If these are too plain for you however, the blazer has been given the Off-White collaboration treatment with a few more bells and whistles. They’ll cost you around £600 on StockX but personally I don’t see the reason why when the basic version is so nice on its own. These will cost you around £90 depending where you go and personally I would say it is worth it. I really like these and hope to buy some in the future.

Old School Vans (pictured below) have been around for ages and pretty much everyone I know owns a pair. They are also the perfect ‘beater’ trainer because they look just as good ruined as they do brand new. I myself have had the same pair for 3 years now and have worn them against all the elements. Despite being made from just suede they are still in one piece and only appear lightly washed out. You will blend in however. As I previously said they are incredibly popular I assume because of the versatility of a black and white shoe. If you do want to look like everybody else it’s going to cost you around £60. The price does seem to vary however depending on where you look. I assume this is be assume this is because Vans make a collaborative pair with another brand every 5 minutes meaning the website or something similar receives more clicks and attention.

The latest version of Nike Cortez, just like all previous versions, is a modernised version of the first ever Cortez that was produced by Phil Knight (the creator of Nike) in the 70s. This is the first ever shoe made by a company that today is worth millions. If this isn’t classed as a ‘retro’ shoe then nothing is. Obviously, every single element has been adapted for modern times but this still remains a classic and should have a place in all sneaker collection. Arguably if this sneaker did not take off in the 70s then we wouldn’t have the same variety of Nike products that we do today. I personally think it is very interesting that this is still a popular sneaker today. And has inspired so many products and collaborations by Nike to make it what it is today 50 years on.