The Sneakers we wear with our jeans

[oomslokop]

On 3/22/2026 at 4:17 PM, Double 0 Soul said:

What about now?  

 

a brazilian

[Double 0 Soul]

The synthetic breakdown continues this week with some sole peel..

.. as i've mentioned before, up till the 1980s sneakers used to be constructed from natural rubber and leather with glue that actually worked until it age hardened.

Alas, most sneakers now have a 20yr lifespan before the synthetics start to break down.. these Nike Elites are from 2007 so they're bang on target .. i only paid ¥8000 for them so its no biggie.. my blue / yellow flavours are from 2012 so they have a few good years yet. Vans sometimes only last a few weeks before the tape becomes detached from the canvas.

Unless you're a sneaker nerd, It's no bad thing.. regarding the above^.. the adhesive fails because back in the 90s toluene was removed from contact agents and replaced with xylene or n-hexane, which are safer chemicals to apply / inhale but they do only have a 20yr lifespan.. 

I used to see fucked up skinheads with bags of glue in the stairwell of the markets when i was a kid, that'll be the toluene.. a dude who i used to skate with back in the 90s used to sniff Briwax on a rag to get high,  again the toluene .. he was gutted when they removed it..

Rather than fk about, i just peeled the whole sole back

..applied fresh contact adhesive to both halves..

..stuck the soles back on, you only get one go at this, it has to be perfect first time or you have miss-matched soles, i register shit pefectly on the daily so i'm pretty good at this bit

Good as new..

.. but why not just buy new Nike sneaks ya'fool? ..

Nike repro sneakers are a bit like Levi jeans, most bear no resemblance to the originals.. but much like Levi's they don't have to because 99% of consumers don't know or even care that they don't look like the OGs..

If the jeans say Levis, they're made from denim, they have arcs, red tab and a two horse patch, they're Levis, that's all that matters to most consumers.. it's the same with Nike, they say Nike.. they have a swoosh.. the fact that they look nothing like the originals doesn't seem to affect sales so why change it.. very rarely do they get the shape of the shoe right when compared to a pair of vintage originals from 1978.. they're constructed on different / modern machines after all so they're constructed accordingly but occasionally the magic happens and they do get the shape right.. one year was 2007 and the other years was 2012. ..

Edited April 15 by Double 0 Soul

[redragon]

10 hours ago, Double 0 Soul said:

.stuck the soles back on, you only get one go at this, it has to be perfect first time or you have miss-matched soles, i register shit pefectly on the daily so i'm pretty good at this bit

What did you use to clamp to sole down until it dries? Will super glue get the job done?

[Double 0 Soul]

It’s contact adhesive so it bonds on contact.. you apply a thin liquid coat of adhesive to both the sole and the foam mid-sole, leave them to dry for 20mins then carefully push them together..

When I say ‘dry’ the liquid becomes tacky so you’re bonding two tacky surfaces together.. as soon as they touch, they bond so no second chances  .. I didn’t peel the sole away at the toe (it did manage to stay glued to the leather) this acted as location so i wasn’t bonding 2x entirely independent units together.. which helped.

Superglue doesn’t work.. if you look at dried superglue.. (even around the top of the bottle) it’s hard / brittle / crystallised so there is zero flex which is no good for something like a sole which needs to flex whereas contact adhesive stays flexible like a sticky gum.

Edited April 16 by Double 0 Soul

[MJF9]

35th Anniversary Superstars (2005), Ian Brown model... I don't wear much as I'm not enamoured by the red stripes

[oomslokop]

On 5/11/2026 at 12:07 AM, MJF9 said:

35th Anniversary Superstars (2005), Ian Brown model... I don't wear much as I'm not enamoured by the red stripes

they wanna be adored...

[Double 0 Soul]

Another week of deterioration 

The footbed separated from the midsole..

 

Little repair and now they’re good for another few weeks 

👍 

[oomslokop]

just dump it

[MJF9]

Fat laces ftw

[Lukenstein]

I recently realised I had these up in the cupboard.  I bought them in about 97?

Edited June 15 by Lukenstein

[reallypeacedoff]

On 6/14/2026 at 12:13 PM, MJF9 said:

Fat laces ftw

Adidas meets Rick Owens...

Are they thinned soled? Been looking for some "driving" shoes.

[MJF9]

On 6/15/2026 at 10:40 PM, reallypeacedoff said:

Adidas meets Rick Owens...

Are they thinned soled? Been looking for some "driving" shoes.

sorry I missed this... hahaha yes I see the RO imagery... they're Adidas Superstars vintage I found some fat laces for... I'd been thinking old skool hip hop...

so yeah 'normal' Superstar sole thickness mate... they're marketed as vintage.  However the sole is far more flexible / bendy so not vintage as I recollect.  I don't really know what you look for in driving shoes... but I'd be happy to do some driving in these, they're comfy  

[NilsLW]

New to me: Adidas Stan Smith 1980s repro!

[bod]

Ordered a pair of Moonstar Deck Shoes, let’s see what these are like when they arrive

[redragon]

@bod at first glance I thought those are RoF from the sole print lol

[mlwdp]

Tale of two NB.  Both from Japan, Challenger and Coverchord.  
 

I wear the white one more often as the indigo from denim bleeding onto it is a nice touch.

 

[Double 0 Soul]

Just been to the barbers.. he was wearing these plastic covers to keep the little hairs from ruining his running shoes ❤️ 

The other barber couldn’t stop laughing.. 

[bod]

Asahi vs Moonstar Deck Shoes

Both are size 27cm

[Muddy]

Great looking shoes @bod but which is which? If I'm not mistaken, the paler of the two looks wider and higher in the instep

[Broark]

Just a guess, but I think the brighter colored one on the left foot is Asahi.
And speaking of Asahi, they have another color of their Athletic shoe launching this fall. Can't decide if I like the black contrast toecap or not.

[bod]

@Muddy yes the white shoe is Asahi

Edited October 1 by bod

[smoothsailor]

Sold my engineer boots a few yrs back.

[Thanks_M8]

Been thinking the same. Living in sneakers recently, only pulling out the fancy shoes once per month.

[Double 0 Soul]

How does your foxing tape stay stuck @smoothsailor ?

Every pair of Vans I’ve had over the last 20yrs.. end up like this after a few months wear

 

The tape comes unstuck all round the shoe so it acts like a bucket collecting rainwater..

[smoothsailor]

Wow , all the way around. On some pairs they come loose at the fold. The quality isn’t the best, but I like them so much I keep wearing them. 
its a mix of how they look and what they  represent. Being it skater(I’m not) or preppy or whatever it represents.

plus I don’t like many other sneakers

[LazyS]

@Double 0 Soul I’m pretty sure it’s from walking through wet grass, it used to always happen when I wore Converse all the time. Doesn't happen with my Pumas

@smoothsailor growing up when those vans were really popular I was never a fan,  someone gave me a second hand navy pair recently and I’ve been enjoying them because they remind me of my friends who had them back then

Same with most New Balance, got the 573 last summer after @mlwdp was talking about NB. I think they only look good with jeans that have a narrower leg opening. I had a pair of the 420 a while ago but I never seem to see them in navy anymore.

 

Edited October 25 by LazyS

[Double 0 Soul]

I've never had it with Converse @LazyS these are ancient / beat to shit but the tape is fully attached

..more sneaker death

Edited October 25 by Double 0 Soul