Before I can talk about these shoes and how important they were to me, I have to first talk about shirts.
Around the time I graduated high school I discovered “cool” t-shirts. In college I purchased an Edward Scissorhands shirt and a yellow shirt with a black zig-zagging line that resembled Charlie Brown’s. One of my favorites was a white shirt with a can of Spam on the front. (This was a couple of years before the term would become associated with email; I just liked Spam!) Within a few years, that fun went away. I outgrew XL t-shirts, and back then none of those local t-shirt shops carried 2X sizes. Eventually I started buying shirts at big and tall stores, which mostly carried button-down shirts, polos, and plain t-shirts.
After wearing plain t-shirts with blue jeans or shorts for a couple of years I started buying colorful tennis shoes. If I couldn’t find cool shirts, I’d wear cool shoes instead — and often, a baseball cap to match. I got rid of my plain black and plain white shoes and replaced them with shoes from Converse, Vans, and Airwalk.
The problem with those brands is that they’re not super comfortable, especially for bigger guys. They look cool but don’t have much support and don’t last long. I finally figured out more expensive shoes felt better and lasted longer and so in the late 2000s I bought the red Nike shoes pictured above. They reminded me of Nikes from the 80s, and they went great with black, white, or red shirts.
Shortly after buying them, a couple of employees from Microsoft visited our office and one of them noticed my shoes immediately. We struck up a conversation and he told me all about “shoe culture,” something I knew nothing about and to be honest am not a part of. This guy was a serious “sneakerhead” who told me he would stand in line at midnight and pay hundreds of dollars for new shoe models when they were released. Long story short the guy really liked my shoes, and that reenforced my decision. Save for a single pair of black shoes I keep around for work trips, all of my shoes are colorful and fun.
Today cool plus-sized t-shirts are not hard to find and my closet is filled with them, but I never quit buying fun shoes. Those red Nikes were probably the oldest ones in my closet and well over ten years old (closer to fifteen). Recently one of the soles collapsed and it now makes a popping noise every time I take a step, so it was time to retire them. I set them out to donate to Goodwill and was informed Morgan snatched them up before they made it out the door.
I just ordered a red and white pair of Adidas to replace them.
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