Ah, 2019. This year we saw the return of many shoes for the first time including these long forgotten gems. Originally released in 1988 the Troop Cobra has had a die hard following for decades but with most OG pairs unwearable fans have been chanting for this shoes re-release and wishes were granted. Not only did Troop bring the back in high top form but also as lows and in OG color way’s. If you haven’t picked up a pair yet then don’t sleep you never know how long they’ll be available.
#49 NIKE AIR MAX PLUS GRADIENT PACK X DEFY NEW YORK
Ah Nike you sly dog you. You see DeFY. New York came up with this pack 8 years ago (exhibit a) (exhibit b) (exhibit c) and while one of your employees obviously used the cheat code on this drop its all gravy because we took the initiative and put our name in pack ;). Ultimately they translated just like we thought, they came out dope and one of the best Air Max Plus drops in a while.
#48 NIKE X OFF WHITE WAFFLE RACER
Real talk, I don’t know how anyone could walk in these things but the consensus is that these are comfortable so go figure. From a design standpoint these weren’t really my thing but people couldn’t get enough of them and thus the community love couldn’t keep them out of the top 50 and thus at the number 48 spot.
#47 REEBOK PUMP FURY OG ‘HELLO KITTY’
There is no denying the Pump Fury and no denying Hello Kitty. While the bow tie on the forefoot of the shoe may be a bit much these were still a dope release.
#46 NIKE X STRANGER THINGS AIR TAILWIND 79
Remember when everyone was sweating this pack? Yea, didn’t think so but truth be told this shoe in this colorway didn’t need anything -including the Stranger Things tie in- to really push it. Fans of the show however were treated to a classic shoe in a great colorway and these come in at 46.
#45 NIKE AIR MAX PLUS ‘BATTLE BLUE’
While these were very similar to the OG colorway Nike blew it with some key color blocking misfires. Still, that didn’t keep these from selling really well and it doesn’t take away from this color way’s dope factor and that brought them in at 45.
#44 NIKE CORTEZ 72 SHOE DOG PACK ‘FALCON’
The shoe dog pack referenced Phil Knight‘s memoir Shoe Dog, which details three design options Knight had to pick for the Cortez, all whilst working out the name of the company including “Nike,” “Falcon” and “Dimension Six.” Of the variations this was by far the best and a super slept on gem.
#43 NEW BALANCE 997 X REDWING
Two companies known for their high quality footwear came together like Voltron and created an understated masterpiece. Proper shape, proper Redwing details and materials and overall just PROPER.
#42 EWING WRAP LOW BLACK/BALTIC/ORANGE
Ewing Athletics quietly re-re released some of its earlier retro’s this year including these gems. If you missed out on the first drop then hopefully you didn’t sleep this year.
#41 NIKE AIR TECH CHALLENGE II ‘LAVA’
Back, again and once again with grey eyelets no one asked for. Materials were ok, splatter was still not proportionate like the OG (none of the retro’s have been) and the color’s are still off. Still, with very little love shown to Nike retro tennis most of us just continue to grin and bear it.
#40
Ewing Athletics surprised everyone this year by bringing back -once again- this 92 Olympics classic. If you missed out and or passed the first time, don’t do it the second go.
#39 NIKE AIR MAX TRIAX 96
This was a random one -and I could have came up with a dozen or more sneakers better deserving of a retro- but, we were still happy to see them return. Of course the shape was off among some other minor differences but as time goes on those that passed will be wishing they hadn’t.
#38 NIKE SB DUNK LOW STAPLE PANDA PIGEON
Previously unreleased how can you really go wrong with a white and black SB dunk low with Staples iconic pigeon logo? Trick question, you can’t.
#37 NIKE AIR MAX2 LIGHT
Yup. Yet another gem back for the first time. While the air bubble was on the smaller side -no surprise- Nike otherwise killed it and gave us one of the best of 2019.
#36 ADIDAS YEEZY BOOST 700 ‘INERTIA’
The 700 is one of the best models in the Yeezy lineup and this colorway showcases that. Its clean, luxe, understated and just quality. If you were on the fence about this model this made you a believer.
#35 NIKE AIR MAX 90 ‘BE TRUE’
There were several models that celebrated the LGBTQ community but this was the most popular by far. The multi colored Swoosh with a 3 dimensional look made these a must have for Air Max heads.
#34 NIKE BLAZER MID 77
The Nike Blazer is an iconic model that hasn’t seen much love so when news broke that Nike would drop this 77 pack they had our attention. Shape fit and finish were on point making and at a decent price point keeping these on everyone’s radar.
#33 EWING FOCUS X JOHN STARKS ‘THE DUNK’
The Dunk heard round the world. When John Starks dunked over Horace Grant with a sprinkle of Michael Jordan during the 1993 playoffs it immediately became one of the most famous -or infamous depending on who you’re talking to- dunks of all time. Ewing Athletics has previously celebrated former Knick and fellow teammate Anthony Mason with some great collab shoes and this ones another notch on the old dope Ewing shoe belt.
#32 NEW BALANCE 850 OG
New Balance has lots of gems in the vault that haven’t seen a return so when news broke that they’d be bringing back this 1996 gem running shoe fans got excited . With functional comfort and timeless styling New Balance did – to no surprise- a great job on these.
#31 REEBOK X ADIDAS PUMP FURY BOOST
Remember when Nike put a Lunar sole on Cole Haan shoes? Yea, well that plays second fiddle to this Reebok Pump Fury Boost. If you didn’t know by now Reebok is owned by adidas but in 1994 -during the Pump Fury’s initial release- this collab was inconceivable. Utilizing the ground breaking design of the Pump Fury in combination with cushioning of the adidas’s boost and you have one of this years best releases.
#30 NIKE AIR BARRAGE WHITE/BLACK/RED
The Air Barrage has had a cult like following with fans petitioning and begging Nike to re-release them for over a decade, so when photo’s of this colorway finally surfaced fans rejoiced.
#29 JAZERAI ALLEN-LORD x REEBOK ‘ITS A MAN’S WORLD’ CLUB C
Jazerai is an OG in the footwear game so its no surprise that when it came time to put her spin on a classic that the focus would be on quality materials, details that tell an important story and gender neutral color’s so both men and women would feel comfortable wearing them and thats exactly what we got with the ‘It’s A Man’s World Club C’. If you were looking for a nicely priced luxe shoe you could rock casually or dress up then these should definitely have been on your to cop list for 2019.
#28 NIKE AIR JORDAN 1 ‘LA TO CHICAGO’S
Oh look, its another Jordan 1………….Yay. While we’ve seen an increase in Jordan 1’s -some great, some good and some not so good- this was a really good drop. With enough wear these Jordan 1’s go from white purple and gold to white black and red an ode to one of the rarest Jordan 1’s ever, the most famous colorway of the 1 and the 1’s history in skate culture. Well done Nike and JB, well done.
#27 EWING ROGUE X CAPONE N NOREAGA ‘THE WAR REPORT’
New York legends Capone n Noreaga and Ewing Athletics celebrated 22 years of the war report with this special Rogue. Complete with hits of camo this was a must for fans of CNN.
#26 NIKE DUNK VIOTECH
With prices in the 1,000 and up range for the 2002 drop there was no question that this years re release would be in demand and in demand it was. If you love dunks then you aimed and probably scored. While they are on the affordable side now don’t wait too long.
#25 NIKE AIR ZOOM GP
If you were a fan of late 90’s early 2000’s kicks then this was a great year for you especially if you are a Gary Payton fan. This year Nike brought back the Air Zoom GP in all its OG glory filling in a much needed void in the stash.
#24 PUMA PALACE GUARD WHITE/ RED
As a kid I admired these but with so many gems to choose from in 89 they weren’t exactly high on the want list. Fast forward 30 years later and the sneaker community was excited that they would finally be able to add these to their rotation. Complete in its OG colorway and with a proper shape and materials PUMA retro basketball created some buzz this year with these gems.
#23 adidas YEEZY 700 V3
One of the best designs to come out of the adidas Yeezy camp thus far complete with adidas Intimidation vibes. Remove the hype and these were still dope.
#22 NIKE AIR MAX PLUS 3
At $190.00 the Air Max Plus 3 is one if not thee most expensive Air Max Plus models to ever be retro’d. While not my personal favorite of the lineup the 3rd model in the series is still a beautiful specimen that looks just as good today as it did in 2001.
#21 NIKE AIR JORDAN XI LOW ‘SNAKESKIN’ BLUE
The earliest part of the 2000’s was in full effect this year including these the Jordan XI low snakeskin. First released back in 2001 this was always one of those shoes you wanted to hate but couldn’t. The blue snakeskin of the 2001 drop looked a tad more luxe but it goes back to Nike’s usage of faux snake skin on some of its earliest gems including the Nike Python which borrowed its silhouette from the Jordan 2. If you didn’t pick these up this year you’ll definitely want to add these to your -to cop list- for next year when the XI hype cools down a bit.
#20 NIKE AIR MAX PLUS NEUTRAL GREY/ VARSITY RED ‘GRID’
Another classic colorway of the Air Max Plus was welcomed with open arms this year this time with the OG grid print. Quality was on point and if you held out long enough you were able to score one of this years best on discount.
#19 NIKE SHOX BB4 BLACK/SILVER/BLUE LAPIS
When Vince Carter dropped PUMA like a bad habit and ultimately breached his contract with them to go to Nike the end result was this masterpiece, the Shoe BB4. It was Y2k futuristic design at its finest but pretty heavy. While there were several color way’s that dropped this year this is the one to own.
If the Hyper adapt was out of your price range then the Adapt BB was worth a second look. Featuring auto lacing technology that we’ve all been sweating for years this BB version was -atleast for me- better looking than its Hyper adapt counterpart. Whether auto lacing is anything outside of a cool gimmick for the casual wearer with no disability or the dawn of technological advances we will continue to see in shoes is yet to be seen but it doesn’t take away from the fact that if you picked up this shoe in 2019 you might have just picked up the most technologically advanced shoe ever created (at least for now).
#17 NIKE AIR FORCE 1 LOW GORE TEX ‘KHAKI’
Seinfeld approved these Gore Tex Air Force 1’s were just what the doctor ordered and specifically in this khaki colorway. If you were looking for a shoe that was classic, well built, good for the elements and went with most of your gear then this was the shoe for you this winter.
#16 REEBOK PUMP FURY OG NEON YELLOW FIRE CRACKER RED & SAXE BLUE (TIE)
Celebrating the shoes 25th anniversary of Steven Smith’s masterpiece we were blessed with both OG color way’s (there were only two) in a wider scale release. While the collar opening on this retro was for some reason made smaller than the previous retro, they were otherwise beautiful and a must pick up for those that missed out previously or wanted to re-up.
#15 NIKE AIR TERRA HUMARA OG BLACK/SPIRIT TEAL-NIGHTSHADE
This color way of the Terra Humara is one of the more notable as it was featured in the original advertisement for the model back in the late 90’s and is reminiscent of the era when grey and blues had become a staple in Nike’s lineup (think the Presto and Air Max Plus). Hopefully you waited these out on discount and if so picked up one this years best for a steal.
#14 NIKE AIR WILDWOOD ACG PURE PLATINUM RED MIST & BLACK/HYPER-VIOLET/ DARK GREY ELECTRIC GREEN
If you were a fan of this shoe before this retro then this was the one to own. Arguably the best retro of the Wildwood to date and in two amazing OG color way’s they fit in nice a long with other shoes returning from 1989. Comfort and quality were on point but watch the leather around the collar as its prone to flaking.
#13 ASICS GEL LYTE III OG CITRUS /LIME
While many argued that the Lime wasn’t quite as bright as the OG the consensus has been that this is an overall must have retro with an improved shape. Now, if we can get the white purple orange color way…………….
#12 NIKE LDWAFFLE X SACAI
When it comes down to it if I had a choice between the OG and these I’m going OG all day but the SACAI release put a clever twist on a historical classic. Great color choices on a reworked classic the Sacai LDWaffle not only re-invented a classic shoe which is really hard to do but it simultaneously introduced an entirely new customer to Nike’s earliest models which drove more interest shoes that were only previously thirsted over by OG collectors. Put that all together and you had the number 11 shoe of 2019.
#11 NIKE AIR FORCE 1 LOW SNAKESKIN
Not much explaining needs to be done for these. Nike brought them back and did them right. If you had trouble tracking down your OG pair then these were a no brainer.
#10 NIKE AIR JORDAN 1 DIOR
Ok. Take the fake influencer and johnny come lately sneaker head hype out of the equation and pretend sneakers haven’t become a commodity. Pretend its 1998 and everyone thinks your sneaker habit is moronic and there is no social media to “stunt” on. Would you still rock these? Ok don’t lie to yourself, I’ll answer for you;YES. Dior’s collab with Jordan Brand was huge and while the Swoosh on these is a tad questionable the overall look and quality of them is pretty nuts. It harkens back to the days (at least for me) when dudes were cutting up Louis bags and customizing their shoes and gear only this time it’s an official shoe -one with some Nom De Guerre Flavor- that brought these in at the 10 spot.
#9 ADIDAS TORSION EDBERG COMP CRAYON WHITE/ BRIGHT BLUE
- If you’re like me and you think old school tennis shoes and gear just don’t get the love they deserve then this retro from adidas was welcomed with open arms. A direct competitor to the Nike Air Tech Challenge II of the day, 1990’s Edberg Comp in the OG crayon bright blue colorway was a must have for 2019. In typical adidas fashion they got everything right with this retro including shape, comfort and color which led this one in at number 9.
#8 PUMA MAJESTY HIGH AND LOW RALPH SAMPSON WHITE/BLUE
If you were looking to fill voids of your 80’s sneaker collection then 2019 was a really good year especially if the OG Puma Sampson was on your list (which it probably was) and PUMA did not disappoint. Complete with a proper shape, cushioning, quality materials and OG color way’s this was definitely in someone’s top five for 2019 and thanks to Jay-Z and team we were blessed with this years 8th best drop.
#7 CONVERSE ERX 260 HIGH WHITE BLACK GREY AND MID WHITE BLUE (TIE)
For 2019 we saw a lot of first time returns including this surprise drop. For the first time ever Converse brought back 1989’s ERX Mid and High and in OG Colorway’s. While the toe box has that dreaded boot like toe cap and energy wave logo’s were omitted the overall consensus was that this was a good unexpected retro -and with a little customization these could be made to look just like the OG-. This shoe also renewed hope that if Converse could bring these back then there is no reason the Nike Air Flight 89 and Solo Flights couldn’t make a return.
#6 NIKE ZOOM PEGASUS TURBO 2 ELECTRIC GREEN
Lets face it. A lot of retro shoes just aren’t that comfortable right out of the box and In the middle of all the retro hysteria there may have come a point during the year where you thought to yourself; damn, I need a dope COMFY pair of sneakers. Welp, there were few -if any- better than the Nike Zoom Pegasus Turbo. For this years release they ditched the strip down the middle that tended to press on your toe and gave us a thicker cushioning system than the Pegasus turbo 1 which led these in at number 6.
#5 NIKE AIR JORDAN I HIGH AND LOW OG (TIE) X TRAVIS SCOTT SAIL/BLACK-DARK MOCHA-UNIVERSITY RED
Travis Scott’s Jordan IV from 2018 was ok, but it was 2019’s Jordan 1 that was his coming of age collab shoe. While Jordan Brand didn’t exactly perfect the shape of the Jordan 1 just yet (hopefully thats going to change for 2020) Scott hit the 1 with an Escape color combination that turned out amazing. Materials were on point and on one of the hottest silhouettes ever got these in at number 5. Now, if Travis can convince Nike to bring back the Escape line…………….
#4 NIKE AIR JORDAN VI X TRAVIS SCOTT SP OLIVE
Travis Scott has solidified himself as one of the best collaborators in the game -maybe even all time- and so its no surprise that his take on the Jordan VI became one of this years must haves. With tasteful upgrades and color blocking along with a glow in the dark sole this Jordan VI brought even some of the most die hard purists out to cop. Limited availability aside, if these had been a GR they still would have made it to the top 5 spot and thats exactly where they are in at number 4.
#3 NIKE AIR JORDAN XI BLACK RED (BRED)
Close to the original as possible, thats the promise that Jordan Brand made back in 2016 as far as retro releases and they delivered on 2019’s Black/Red XI. While the OG black red color way has seen several retro’s dating back to 2001, this years retro complete with the higher patent leather cut and white edges made these hands down the closest to the OG look and feel and that brought them in at the number 3 spot.
#2 NIKE AIR JORDAN IV BLACK/RED & NIKE AIR JORDAN VI BLACK/INFRARED (TIE)
Chances are if you picked up one you definitely picked up the other and well, why not? 2019 marked the first time in 20 years Nike Air branding returned to the Black/Red Jordan IV and 19 years for the Black Infrared Jordan VI. Not only did they get the heel right but the overall shape, fit, color and materials was really good. While it would have helped if Nike had given us the white edges on the 4 like the OG it didn’t keep both from ending up at the number 2 spot.
#1 ADIDAS RIVALRY OG WHITE ORANGE BLUE & ADIDAS RIVALRY ERIC EMMANUEL VERSION
