This weekend was a really productive weekend for me as far as shopping. I checked off an item from my yearly “Things to purchase” list and I only bought 1 full price item. Everything else was on sale. The story behind this blog post starts about 3 weeks ago when I paid a visit to probably the best sneaker store a far as variety goes in Baltimore, SportSmart. I can’t remember what sneaker dropped on that Saturday but I was going to chop it up with one of the salesman there that I’m pretty cool with and to browse to see what I can pick up for my collection. They have an incredible Adidas footwear selection that really rivals the actual Adidas Originals store. Like many, I never find it a problem to add a pair of fresh Adidas Shelltoes for the Spring. The pair that caught my eye were the vintage Superstars. The ones with the off-white sole that Run-DMC made famous. I was pressed for time so I didn’t cop that day. I planned to go back and get them this weekend but then I decided to take a trip to Georgetown this weekend and swung pass the Adidas Originals store. I didn’t see the Adidas from SportsSmart until I began to exit the store. Lucky for me I spotted them behind another shoe and they were ON SALE. I was totally prepared to pay full price but the young lady behind counter said to me with the surprised face, “Um Sir, you’re in luck these are on sale. Shoot I may have to buy a pair myself”(right here is where I normally hit my Dougie). This is one of the cases where I begin to think I was meant to have these shoes. Once I got home I realized there is no space available in the ‘Adidas’ section of my closet then I had an idea…I should do a comparision between the Superstar 80 I just purchased and the modern day Superstar 2 that I have already. So here’s a breakdown. Let’s see which pair wins… *note: My SuperStar 2′s have been worn as many times as you can wear them before you just don’t wear them anymore
Overall Shoe construction
The 80′s – Flatter, a little more narrow, sturdier leather, more durable
Superstar 2 – Sparkling white leather upper, softer leather, ankle and heel cushioning,
My Vote: Slight nod to the 80′s
Heel Tab
The 80′s: Sturdy leather black leather up with “all rights reserved” logo (Adidas was really building the brand with lifestyle/leisure apparel in the 80′s and maybe felt the need to show that it’s trademarked)
SuperStar 2: Synthetic Suede uppper, plain Adidas logo, heel cushioning
My Vote: Superstar 2 for the cushioning
Sneaker Tongue
The 80′s: Flat leather (improved from the originals that were produce in the 80′s. Those used to cut like cardboard) Gold and Black name and logo printing
SuperStar 2: Padded leather tongue. Black and white logo print
My Vote: The 80′s. At first site I would favor the padded tongue but that gold logo label is saying something
The 3 Stripe signature on the Side panel
The 80′s: The 3 stripes are cut from some type of felt material similar to that which varsity patches are cut from
Superstar 2: Synthetic suede upper
My Vote: The 80s
The “shell toe” cap (only the most important component)
The 80′s: Cream rubber identical to the outsole. Hair-like indented grooves between the toe cap
Superstar 2: White rubber identical to the outsole. Embossed ‘X’ pattern between the toe cap
My Vote: The 80′s. As a kid I never understood why the toebox and outsole weren’t white and I still don’t but its just better. Not to mention the embossed ‘x’ pattern captures dirt easy and ruins the shoe.
And the winner is….
THE ADIDAS SUPERSTAR 80!!! They were originally released as a low top version of the Adidas Pro-Model in 1969 and they are most definitely classics. Like Sade said “it’s never as good as the first time”
