Top Ten Shoes 2012 (2)

In at number 2 we have the Air Jordan 11 in Black / Red

Since the announcement in January 2012 that these would release the weekend before christmas it was always a must buy. Here we have a classic. Worn by Michael in a championship winning season in the iconic Bulls colourway of black and red.

This was one of the first performance shoes to use patent leather, and did it in style. The upper consists of a thick cotton fabric and the patent material.

The upper sits on an all white midsole with a translucent red bottom. Pictures dont do the shoe justice, in person the materials stand out from both affar and up close.

The heel contains a stitched jumpman and the number 23, just incase you weren't aware who wore these originally and what he did in them.

The overall package comes complete with plastic shoe trees (a great touch) and a plastic cover with the XI roman numerals and the words "Tinker made them shine, Mike made them fly, you made them iconic" However the last three release's from the 11 collection have all released with a slide out box, these didn't, just the regular 2012 box (poor touch).

Not too much drama getting hold of these, a mad dash to add the desired size to the cart on nike.com at 12:01 while all the other sites crashed. These arrived on December 24 2012 and you cant get yourself a much better christmas present......well unless any one has a spare yeezy 2?

                           

Top Ten Shoes 2012 (2.5)

In at number 2.5 (you try buying 29 pairs and making a top ten) we have the Lunar Force One in White / White

A brand new shoe, well an evolution of the classic Air Force One. After 30 years Nike decided to really switch up the Air Force One and prepare it for the next 30 years. A hyperfuse upper on top of a lunarlon sole in the classic white on white makeup. Simple yet refreshing.

First of all these are lightweight, almost half the weight of the comfort pack and a really noticeable feature. The insole contained the AF1-XXX branding seen across the 30th anniversary releases along with the XXX dubre.

The tongue consisted of a mesh like material that resembles the fit of the Huarache design, very comfortable. This was topped off by a leather tongue tap with the usual Nike Air logo and Lunar Force One branding as seen below.

An all new logo was created for the heeltab, an embossed leather logo with a 1 numeral infused with the swoosh surrounded by Lunar Force One lettering. The midsole had the visible lunarlon cushioning from heel to toe but managed to keep the embossed air logo.

These are a sure fire winner in the summer months. Very comfortable, great looking and really simple. The model itself is a great addition to the air force one line up and i'm sure there will be many interesting  colour ways over the coming months, years and anniversaries.

These came in at £125, so the normal amount these days. Another must have purchase really from the AF1-XXX collection.

I took the day off work for these and went down to the official launch at 1948, they had changed the space to coincide with the release and all in all did a great job, not like the yeezy 2. Controlling a crowd of 20 is an easier task than 300 savages so i'm not holding my breath for the yeezy 3. Below are some pictures of how the space looked.

Top Ten Shoes 2012 (3)

In at number 3 we have the Nike Air Force One 'Year of the Dragon' in Black / White

My first purchase of the year and they dont come much better than this. There were altogether 3 year of the dragon tie in's released on the air force one model and while all could of easily made the top ten, I went with just the one as this was my favourite.

To start with the upper has subtle embroidery across a silken material. This is a case of from affar these could pass as a plain black and white affair, upon closer insepection however these are filled with immense subtle detail.

The upper has dragon embroidery etched across it, while the swoosh is finished with a leather dragon scale effect. The tongue gets rid of the usual Nike Air logo in favour of a colourful dragon design.

The midsole was the first release last year to feature it covered in leather, this was included on all three YOTD releases and is a quality detail. The heel tabs are also finished in leather and contain a stitched chinese symbol.

The insoles were not left untouched and although nobody will ever see them it's details like this that warrant this shoe in the top three of the year. The colourful graphic above containing a Chinese sea image provides a great contrast against the surrounding black of the shoe.

                     

The shoe retailed at £155, and this set the bar for premium Air Force One pricing across the year. Anything bearing the AF1-XXX box in 2012 were priced anywhere between £100 and £210. However when they look this good, who cares. I missed the boat when they dropped, called up 2 weeks later and 1948 said they had one pair left and it was my size, so i hopped on the central line after work and managed to get them just in time. Then 28 pairs followed in the following 48 weeks of the year.

                    

Top Ten Shoes 2012 (4)

In at number 4 we have the Nike Air Force One 'Black History Month' in Midnight Fog / Black

Every year across many Nike silo's the brand celebrate Black History Month. In 2012 the Lebron 9, Kobe VII, KD 4, Blazer, Air Max 1, Huarache and Air Force One all got this treatment. From the moment I saw this shoe I had to have it. I called around and nobody had any UK release info, the day of release passed by and I considered all hope lost.

Three weeks later I took a trip to London with the Mrs, as usual a stop at Nike Town London was in order. I browsed around and didn't see anything that caught my eye, I had literally began my descent through the store to the exit when I glanced at the NSW section in the middle of the 2nd floor. There they were. Shock, panic (please have an 11), Surprise all at once. NTL had recievied them that morning, biggest slice of luck all year.

Detail. Detail. Detail. The upper consists of an all nubuck finish in charcoal grey and a deep brown. The Nike swoosh is a black nubuck one with cross stitching surrounding it, something seen on many bespokes.

A black plastic midsole sits above the icy sole that has the Black History Month tribal pattern underneath it.

The tongue tab has the abbreviation BHM and lies above some great tribal laces that are very unique.

Finally the insole contains both the BHM logo and the word Uplift that was seen across the range on various clothing garments. These came in at £110 i seem to recall, for all the detail and the fact I haven't seen a pair since these are well worth it. They are my biggest surprise purchase and i'm still waiting for the right time to wear them....maybe to pick up the 2013 version?

Top Ten Shoes 2012 (5)

In at number 5 we have the Dover Street Market Air Force One White / White

From affar this could be seen as a very simple, plain all white affair. On closer inspection however this shoe screams quality and subtle detail. First of all this is a collaboration with Dover Street Market and features their logo on a leather footbed above the AF1 XXX logo.

The upper consists of a total all white look using a material called Ventile. This is the first Nike shoe to ever use this material. Its properties consist of being lightweight, water, fire and wind proof.

The heel tab consists of the standard Nike Air logo in black while the tongue features the Dover Street Market address numbers from their flagship London store.

Overall this is a classy, summer shoe that has a timeless look about it. These retailed at £130 and were sold in limited quantities from Dover Street Market in the UK along with a few international stores.