Initial Impressions

Here at 100wears there are a few recurring themes on shoes we like. Generally, they are made with higher end materials, are assembled in the United States, and often have a hit of 90’s nostalgia to them. When I heard that there was a pair of sneakers coming that met all these criteria – and from a local sneaker store no less – I knew that I had to pick up a pair. Is YCMC’s New Balance 992 Rewind worth it?

For a sneaker as storied as the Air Max 90, there really isn’t that many famous colorways. Sure, the Lunar90 might go for a lot of money, but outside of the small overlap of sneakerheads and NASA enthusiasts, most people don’t really know about it. In fact, when it comes to collabs that people know about, I think there is only one clear winner: the Nike Air Max 90 Bacon.

The J Crew Kenton Boots line is designed much like their Ludlow line. In other words, offer a more affordable alternative to higher end footwear, while keeping some of the key features such as goodyear welting, higher end leather and more.

The Jordan 1 Low can sometimes feel like Rodney Dangerfield in 2021. It can’t get no respect. It’s high counterpart is consistently rated one of the best – if not the best – sneaker of all time. We’ve taken a look at several. The Dunk Low, which is a very similar shoe check out our comparison here, is on a tear right now. Even the most out there colorways immediately sell out. Even the Jordan 1 mid, the typical butt of sneakerhead jokes, had the fearless pack with some hyped-up options.

Out of the box, these are far better presented than any other J Crew Shoe I’ve received. Each shoe was individually wrapped in plastic, held in place with a plastic strap, and covered with an individual shoe tree. On a suede shoe, this goes a long way in keeping the suede from rubbing in shipping. I guess these shoes are regularly bought and returned after people have taken these items, but it’s certainly a better unboxing experience if you’re the first one in there.

Historically, White’s Boots doesn’t really like to change the way they do things. While some others in the Pacific Northwest, most notably Viberg, have very distinct lifestyle and work lines, White’s makes all of their boots to the same standards on the same lines. The difference this makes can probably be seen most clearly on this: The White’s MP Service Boot.

If you had asked me a few months what I thought of the J Crew Ludlow line of shoes, I would have responded with the same way I think about the Ludlow line of clothes. That is, a mall brand that sells affordable options. Great for most people, but not the enthusiast’s choice. However, then rumors began to fly that same factory that makes Grant Stone makes these. With the nearly ubiquitous sales, the possibility of getting Grant Stone quality for mall brand money was too tempting to pass up, and I placed an order for these J Crew Ludlow Tassel Loafers.

If I told you to picture a Peter Moore-designed shoe that came out to the public in 1985, the Nike Dunk Low is probably not the first one that comes to mind. Of course, the Jordan 1 is likely the first, but the Dunk High and others are more often thought of as the retro sneakers from that year. However, looking at the releases over the past year or so, Nike has sold far more Dunk Lows than just about any other hyped sneaker. And every time they’ve sold out, including this Nike Dunk Low Hyper Cobalt pair.

Jordan Brand and Edison Chen’s Clot have quite a lot of history already, so it makes sense that they are continuing this with another history-focused collaboration: the Air Jordan 14 Terracotta. Building on Chen’s Chinese history, these shoes are designed to resemble the Terracotta Army. This was a set of stone soldiers, who would watch over the emperor in death.

Most people would put the Jordan 11 among the best Jordans ever released, right up there with the 1s, 3s, and 4s. However, while we typically get 5 or more releases of those models every year (and in the case of the 1s that many in a month) the Jordan 11 is much rarer. Typically only releasing around the holiday season, this gets one colorway per year in the high. This year, the single Jordan 11 release was the 25th anniversary edition: The Jordan 11 Jubilee.