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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (265464)	10/31/2003 9:24:35 AM
From: Pogeu Mahone	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

you have sneaker futures?<VBG> October 31, 2003 Get 'Em While They're Cool: Footwear for the Few By ANNA BAHNEY ust after midnight yesterday, almost 100 young men were lined up in stocking caps and heavy coats, lying on sleeping bags and reclining in camp chairs on a SoHo sidewalk. As passers-by asked what the line was for, the men gave flip answers like "coke" and "Justin Timberlake tickets." The real object was at once more benign and nearly as addictive: sneakers. Behind the window at Supreme, a skateboarding store on Lafayette Street where the line began, was a glass case where three athletic shoes — with red, orange and blue trims — were backlit by white light. The Nike Supreme Dunk High is the latest rare limited-edition sneaker to be released. When the store opened at noon yesterday, those in line could buy one pair for $178 plus tax. Timed right, those in line said, a resale could bring $400 to $700. But not everyone is selling. Hugo Santillan, 18, a student at Pace University, was 10th in line. "I have 45 Jordans," he said. "Over all I'm approaching 70 pairs of sneakers. But I'm just starting." Another person in line, Alex Butler, 19, who works for Reebok, said: "When one company creates such mass hysteria over one sneaker, you have to find out exactly why. What's really the secret?" The secret seems to be inaccessibility. Although Supreme would not say how many shoes would be sold in this edition, cultivating a feeling of exclusivity seems to be what these shoe companies are trying to do. Last Friday, for example, a line at the Adidas Originals store in SoHo began forming for Bathing Ape Super Skate shoes — even though the store did not begin releasing them until Saturday. Black and green suede versions were sold on Saturday and Sunday respectively, for $190. A snakeskin-style version went on sale Monday for the same price. (Some are now available on eBay for $300.) "It is just special," Mr. Santillan said of his habit of buying limited-edition shoes. "There are so many people who want them. For you to be one of those people is so cool." Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company \| Home \| Privacy Policy \| Search \| Corrections \| Help \| Back to Top