One of the biggest problems that most sneakerheads face is having far too many options. Personally, I am in a dilemma of choosing between the Flyknit Magistas and the Flyknit Mercurial. There are other considerations too: A pair of black Primeknit NMD or the white Primeknit NMD? Chuck Taylor or Jack Purcell? The turtle dove or the pirate black? And on and on it goes.
The problem here – that’s not really a problem, let’s be real – is that most major footwear brands are firing on all cylinders with new releases pouring in left, right and centre. Almost every weekend there is a drop, leaving most of us buyers with far more choices than our wallets & purses can bear.
We are, simply put, spoilt for choice. Which got me thinking, “What if I could only wear 3 pairs of shoes my entire life?”
I find that question even tougher to answer over “Which pair should I cop this week?” because having to resign myself to only 3 kicks for the rest of my existence is close to nightmarish. I am a sneakerhead, you know.
That question was how the idea for #MyFinalThree came up. The idea revolves around this: Which three shoes can be versatile enough to be worn in all scenarios and all conditions of your lifestyle, and you have to stick with those choices for the rest of your life.”
After much thought – and trust me it was a really difficult one, because limiting yourself is a way tougher decision to make compared to one with options – here are my three picks:
Converse Chuck Taylor All Star 70’s Hi “White”
This is a no-brainer inclusion for me; you can’t find that many shoes sporting such a classic and timeless silhouette on par with the Chuck Taylors. You can wear them to the mall, you can throw on a tux and wear them to functions without looking like a hobo or a kid, or you can rock them to a basketball game because the Chucks were initially basketball shoes to begin with.
Also, it is a known fact that it is extremely important for a guy to have a very good, comfy and stylish pair of white shoes in their wardrobe. The best part is that they don’t cost a bomb to own and are easily available offline and online.
adidas Ultra Boost “Core Black”
I consider the Ultra Boost to be a game changer. Although the Boost technology has been around slightly over a year before the Ultra Boost came around, it is the UB that made the Boost technology look sexy. It’s a perfect marriage between form and function, so much so that it has become one of adidas’ best-selling shoes of late.
You can wear it to a sneaker meetup and not get laughed at, head to the gym for a jog right after and still not look out of place. It is extremely versatile in terms of both function and design, which is why even though the Ultra Boost is a very new silhouette, it earns its place in my top 3.
Why the Core Black in particular? Well, it’s because black shoes are generally easy to maintain, especially if you’re going to use it for jogging and the gym, and because Lord Yeezus wore it himself (pictures above) I can still stay relevant among the Hypebeasting kids of today.
Nike Air Footscape Woven Chukka Free Motion “3HC”
I remember back in 2009 I was scrolling through the LowYat.net forum looking for shit to buy, and I stumbled upon a post started by Deadmarsh. For those of you who don’t know who he is, many people call him the “Footscape King”, as he had a shit load of Footscapes in his collection, and he is the only Malaysian collector to be featured in Sneaker Freaker (you can check out the article here). He was offloading some of his shoes, a lot of them being Footscapes. That was the first time I set my eyes on a Footscape and I fell instantly in love with it and how weird it looked. Unfortunately, I didn’t jump the gun to buy a pair off of Deadmarsh, but the love for the Footscapes remained.
You must be wondering “Why Footscapes?” It was a shoe with a design that was well ahead of its time. It was first launched back in 1995, and more than 20 years later, it still looks futuristic even for our present day. It’s comfy, the shoe has a pretty long life span, and even until today, whenever I wear a pair out, people still give it a hard stare with a “What shoe is that?” look. Best part is that there aren’t a lot of these made, so rest assured that it is definitely limited, compared to a lot of all the other newer “limited edition” models of today.
Over the years, after looking through the different types of Footscape designs, and trying them on, I concluded that the Chukka Woven silhouette is my favorite, and after much hunting, I finally got the Nike Air Footscape Woven Chukka Free Motion “3HC” in Black for a steal. (Anybody got the Silver colorway (Fade Troupe) from the pack, please holler at me! Pic below)
So there ya go, my top 3 picks if I were to be ever given an ultimatum to ONLY wear 3 pairs of shoes for the rest of my life, this is it.
This is the first part of the #MyFinalThree series. Stay tune as we will be asking this question to many notable sneakerheads from around Malaysia about their final 3 pairs. In the meantime, if you have a particular sneakerhead that you want to find out what their final 3 pairs are, do comment below and we will try to make it happen.
Peace!
