Jordan III vs. Jordan IV

With all of the color combinations and numbers of Air Jordans out there, it is always hard to have a favorite pair. I just snagged both the "Do The Right Thing" edition Jordan III's and the Black and Yellow Jordan IV's from my man Julius in D.C. These old school looking Jordans are some of the best retro shoes His Airness released. I normally prefer classic colorways on my J's, but the loud royal blue and yellow Do The Right Things (inspired by the Spike Lee Joint of the same name) caught my attention. Growing up in Shaker Heights, you would normally never catch me wearing the black and yellow colors of our rivals, but as a sneakerhead I can justify going with these colors with the fact that the Jordan IVs are some of the coolest looking kicks out there.


During my winter break from school. NEXT at Beachwood mall held a great sale on t-shirts and other Mens apparel. I grabbed this t-shirt by The Hundreds from the sales rack, and little did i know it would match both of my J's perfectly. I needed to recruit a twin so that they could both be worn at the same time. The jeans are slim straight-leg 514 Levi's, an American classic. I tried on the 501 jean, but felt extremely uncomfortable until they were off. I can remember going to the Levi outlets as a kid and stocking up for school. Looks like nothing has changed in the past decade, has it?? Ralph Lauren and Levi's are probably two things I will end up wearing forever.

Greatest Athlete Ever

This is a Chalk Line jacket created in the early 90s. Definitely one of my favorites. They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore, literally. The jacket is surprisingly warm and well insulated, and still looks great. When the Cool Kids came out a couple years ago, it was their retro look and rapping style that had me looking to obtain old school sports memorabilia (check out this track, which contains a smooth Chalk line reference). 90s basketball was the Golden Age of the NBA, with players like Jordan, Pippen, Barkley, Olajuwon and other old school legends dominating the game. With inspiration coming from the Cool Kids' constant rhymes about their old school starter caps and jackets and my love for 90’s hoops, I grabbed three or four old school jackets and about 10 snap-back hats from my favorite teams growing up. Below is some of my collection-


The colorful, larger than life Jordan prints and old school Bulls logo on the sleeves is what really made me fall in love with this jacket. After trying for years to land it on ebay, I finally got my hands on it a couple months back. All black Seven jeans help to complete the look. I haven't gotten into the whole skinny jeans look, but I definitely wear jeans that fit my waist now. Back in high school, you could catch me with my size 38 Miskeen jeans on my lean size 32 waist.
Once I received the jacket, I knew I had to go retro with whatever I threw on my feet. I copped these red and white Jordan I’s a few weeks back, and they have become one of the cleanest pairs of Jordan’s that I own. The mixture of patent leather and leather works great on the shoe, and even with the modifications it still retains its old school look and feel.


For those of you who say Kobe or LeBron are even in the same realm of Jordan (or Bird and Magic too for that matter), take a look at what this guy used to do to jog your memory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8M2NgjvicA
Michael Jordan is one of my childhood idols, so when I got a chance to visit Chicago last year, I made sure that I went to worship the Greatest while I was there (this was taken at 6 a.m before I played in a basketball tournament game at 10 a.m)

Air Flight Condors

This outfit is one I had been trying to put together for a while. When I got the shoes, they instantly became one of my favorite pairs. They are re-released versions of the 1989 Nike Air Flight Condors in a funky 2010 color way. Beautiful, but hard to match up.

Luckily, I was working at Nordstrom and decided to visit Nordstrom Rack before work one day. I came across this nice, brown polyester vest, which was $20 with my discount. Originally I thought about rocking a flannel underneath it, but that seemed a bit cliché to me (all of a sudden everyone has got a flannel one these days) so I went on a search for a hoody. I came across this random, colorful hoodie (by the way, is it hoodie, or hoody? I say either one) in an Orange discount store, and snatched it up for $20. My favorite pair of pants, some golden Ralph Lauren corduroys (got ‘em for $30 on Black Friday sale at Dillards) compliments it all.

My mother said I looked like an “Athens kid” with the fit on, so I guess this is the Athens influence coming out in me. Living in Athens, Ohio and meeting different kinds of people at college with diverse types of style has definitely affected the way I dress. Back home at Shaker Hts, a lot of people dress well, but focus on the same labels, and eventually everyone begins to look like a clone. It’s been nice to get away to a completely different realm of Ohio with a different demographic as well, and feed off the vibe that emanates in this college town.

808s and Heartbreak

This is definitely the best eight dollars I have ever spent. I bought this sweater at the local vintage store up the street from my apartment. As soon as I walked in, I saw it on the shelf and immediately thought of the 808s and Heartbreak cover (Kaws -- Great cover art). I bought it, and also remembered a picture my roommate had showed me of Kanye rocking a Lego creation by two young twins, Dee & Ricky Jackson (for examples of their work, as well as how my roommate and I created the heart ourselves, click here ). I figured a red heart would go great with the sweater and decided to order the pieces online for like two dollars and make my own. Although it is certainly an old trend in the fashion world, people give me a lot of positive feedback when I wear it out.

I decided to rock some brown corduroy pants with the sweater to provide some contrast. My inspiration for these came in the winter of 07 when Kid Cudi came to the Grog Shop for his first ever performance in Cleveland. He rocked some dope Jordan XIII’s with these brown corduroy pants. (For proof of this, click here to check out this flick on Complex’s website. I am in the left of the photo with my little sister and a few friends) At the time I thought it was more different then it was cool, but this past year I got really bored with denim and decided to grab a couple pairs of corduroy pants. They are really comfortable, and I wear them more often than not when I do go out.


On my feet are a pair of limited edition, G.I Joe Nike Vandals. The Vandals were first released as a basketball shoe in the mid 1980s. The G.I Joe pack is limited edition pack, and is one of my favorite pairs. The sweater and shoes are both very abstract, and go together well.

This song and video definitely expresses my mood when I go out in this sweater, as it is by the two rappers who inspired this outfit. Kanye rocks a pretty cool sweater in the video as well.