Nike Air Assault Retro in White, Yellow & Black

Here is a shoe known as the Nike Air Assault. I had about 3 pairs of these in different colorways. At the present time I have only one of them and I feature a post on them in the future. But for now this is one of the other 2 I owned for a time. For the most part I like the design on these but they do tend to look like robot boots or perhaps even Frankenstein shoes. And for whatever reason it was just this colorway. The others looked fine. Don't get me wrong, overall the Air Assault still has a very bulky look to them and they do not look too good with skinny jeans. But this pair was over the top for me and I ended up not keeping them very long.

By the way, I should mention that these were retros, not originals.

Nike ID Dunk High

I'm a huge fan of Nike Dunks, both high tops and low, but I don't like some of the subtle changes they've been making to them recently. I never really got into the mids though I owned a few pairs here and there. This is a custom pair I had made from Nike ID. I don't know what I was thinking when I designed these because I was never really into them and didn't wear them much. Also, the leather was very vinyl-ish which means it was stiff and resisted creasing. As I wrote before, I like soft leather that creases on my sneakers. I have nothing against creased leather on kicks. It's just more natural looking. Anyway, a few years later I ordered another custom pair from Nike ID that I still have and wear to this day. I definitely intend to have at least another made because the stock versions available are just not my cup of tea. I like to keep it simple and classy, not gaudy and attention-seeking. The pair I currently have is the only pair of Dunks I have at the moment. Dunks are a classic design that will hopefully never go away. The only thing I would change on Dunks is the number of perforations on the toe box. I think there's way too many. In fact, I would also like to have the option at least on the ID pairs to not have any perforations at all.

These photos are of the custom pair I no longer own:

Nike Air Flight 89 in Black / Zen Grey / Cool Grey

I imagine that most true fans of Air Jordan 4's are also fans of the Air Flight '89 which came out at the same time the 4's did. There were clear similarities between the two, particularly the sole & midsole design, the plastic lace tabs and the fact that both shoes were the mid-top variety. I don't know how much the Air Flight 89's cost when they came out, but they were surely considered the poor man's AJ4. Even to this day the AF89 is a relatively affordable high quality sneaker with timeless good looks. I have owned many pairs of these shoes and at the moment I am down just to one pair, which was a Nike ID shoe I had customized in white/grey. I really liked the original colorways and of course the original leather they used was very supple and would easily get creased. I don't know about you guys but I don't mind the creasing. Just give me the high quality leather they used back in the day. The leather they use nowadays--and I may be generous by calling it leather--is so stiff and vinyl-like that the shoes have fake look to them. And for whatever reason, Nike ID is no longer offering the AF89 as a customizable shoe.

But here is a pair I once had. These came out in the late 2000's or early 2010's. All black smooth leather with some grey highlights. I never wore these. I was saving them for a rainy day. Eventually they too ended up leaving my collection. Another decision I regret to this day. These are impossible to find now. I like black sneakers but not all black. The only sneaker I'll wear in 100% black is Vans Authentic. (I must admit I once had an all-black pair of AF89's that were not bad at all). Everything else I gotta have some highlights in other colors, preferably white. This was a kickass pair of shoes and I can only hope that Nike will make these again in this colorway. Air Flight 89 is definitely in my top 10 of all-time best sneakers.

2004 Nike Air Jordan IV Retro in White, Chrome, Classic Green

Here is another Air Jordan IV retro that came out in 2004. This was was nearly all white, with some green and chrome highlights. I bought a few pairs of these and only wore one but I was never really into them either. I don't think they were ever as popular as the originals. Below are photos of the pair I never wore and kept stored in its box. As you can see, the mesh 'net' areas turned yellow.

These also were fillers for me until I would be able to get one of the original colorways I wanted so bad. Having a pair of AJ4's that I could wear was better than not having any even if it wasn't exactly what I wanted.

1989 Nike Air Jordan IV in White, Red & Black

I believe I only bought three pairs of Jordans from Vintage USA auction. Make that four. And the first one I ever got was a pair of original 1989 Air Jordan IV in white/red/black. The shoes did not have their original laces or any laces for that matter and I was bummed out by that because, as you can see in the photos, bright new laces on old beat up sneakers is not a great look. At least not to me it isn't. But I was thrilled to be getting my very first pair of Jordan IVs. And these were a size that I could definitely wear.

As far as the condition of these, well, the pictures speak for themselves. Heavily creased, lots of sole wear, ripping inside lining, air pockets shot, etc. As you can see, the soles seemed to be pretty curved especially on the instep sides. But despite all this, the shoes were very comfortable and I was even able to wear them, unlike the cement AJ IV I wrote about before which just came apart after one wearing. Even though these were virtually trashed and the air pockets were popped, the foam midsoles were pretty much intact and I could wear them without causing additional damage. I do remember wearing them just one time and that was to Dominick's grocery store.

Eventually I parted ways with this pair of Jordans as well. I don't remember getting much for them, even though I think I paid a pretty penny for them on Vintage USA. I might have held onto them if they had their original laces. But I still intend to get a pair of these whenever they shall be released again. I know, they will cost $220 or more. But I don't care. If I can I will.

Nike Air Jordan IV Retro in White & Military Blue

As I wrote before, the Air Jordan IV is one of my all-time favorite sneaker and I've had many over the years albeit mainly all retro releases. Of the original 4 colorways the only one I never happened to get a retro pair of was the white/red/black which was my 2nd favorite color scheme. I still plan to someday but since I got my beloved 'cements' it's not really high on my list of priorities.

Another of the colorways I bought during the retro years was the white & military blue. I had about 3 or 4 pairs of these but I was never all that into them. I wore one for a while and eventually sold it. Yeah, they're nice but let's face it--AJ aficionados have never been all that big on this pair. It might be because Michael Jordan himself never wore this color during his Chicago Bulls days. I'm not completely sure on that so don't quote me. But for me that wasn't an issue as I did not watch basketball in those days. For me it was a matter of these being more seldom seen than the other colors. In fact, during high I can really only remember one guy who wore these. So since I didn't see them much I didn't long for them much. You know what they say: out of sight, out of mind. Plus I never cared for the grey areas on these and those missing black areas that were present on the cement's and the red's were essential. At the time though I was pretty content with having a white pair of AJ 4's that I could rock until something better came along.

These photos are of a pair that I never wore.

This is a pair I will not be picking up if they ever retro it again. They are cool but I'm just a lot more selective about what I have and wear now. Instead of having one pair of every kind of cool sneaker I'd rather have 2 or 3 pairs of the ones I really like. But I will say these AJ 4's looked a lot better after some wearing, as the next photo will testify:

NEXT POST: More Air Jordan IV!!

Nike Air Jordan IV Retro (1999) in White / Black / Cement

One of my all time favorite sneakers--I'm talking top 3 here--is the Nike Air Jordan IV. I first saw these in 9th grade and fell instantly in love. They were to be seen everywhere--school, church, stores, the streets. I had no idea what they were but they looked really cool to me. On my way home from school one day I happened to encounter one of my grade school friends who ended up at another high school and he was wearing a pair of these. His were really beat up and worn but looked great. I don't know if by that point I knew what they were called but I do remember asking him how much they cost. He told me $100. I was like 'holy crap!' There was no way I was going to get $100 sneakers. The most expensive sneakers I had up to that point were like $45 and those were considered pretty expensive. Anyway, I'm sure this dude ended up throwing his away after that school year and I do regret not asking him to let me have them. He probably would have given them to me as no one at that time was anticipating that these would have been worth plenty of money nowadays.

I didn't get my own pair of AJ IV's until many years later and they happened to be from an online place called Vintage USA. That may have been the first online sneaker auction website and I was able to get a pair that was a bit worn down but looked really good. I really wanted to wear them eventually and I ended up destroying the foam midsoles which had broken down due to their age and condition.

Finally in 1999 I got my chance to get a brand new pair of these when they were being retro'ed. I ordered directly from Nike and the price surprisingly was still $100. This time money was not an issue. The issue was that they mistakenly sent me a size smaller than I had ordered. I tried to return it but they no longer had the size I had ordered. So I kept them and wore them not too many times since they were smaller than I needed and they hurt my feet. Afterwards I put them permanently away in their box and eventually sold them for over $400. This is how they looked before I sold them:

I had no idea that these were ever going to be reissued again. When they came out in 2012 I tried to get a pair but totally missed out. Then earlier this year my dream came true. Finally I had a chance once again to have them and I don't know how I managed but I was able to get through the Nike website on the Saturday they debuted and ordered the size I needed. Of course there is a huge difference in price as these cost $220, the most any AJ IV retro has ever cost. But now I am the happy owner of a sneaker that I have wanted ever since high school. And every time I go out wearing these shoes there is always someone who compliments them.

NOTE: ALL PHOTOS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE AUTHOR OF THIS BLOG & ARE NOT ALLOWED FOR REPRODUCTION OR USE ON OTHER WEBSITES WITHOUT THE EXPRESSED CONSENT OF THE OWNER.