Like New York fashion boutiques, after a while New York sneaker stores all seem to carry the same brands and styles of sneakers. Individuality is lost as all the boutiques try to have the “right” label in their collection. What is the point of “Limited Edition” if every sneaker store you go to is offering the same Limited Edition line? Where do the sneaker freaks go when the stores let them down? They go online of-course.

The shoes pictured belong to Phil, a fashion designer in New York. Everytime we meet him outside a pub (this time it was the Mucky Ape), he has a new pair of sneakers and we always ask – where did you get them. And he always says, I got them online.

One of Phil’s favorite places to shop is eBay where he can truly seek out rare editions from around the world. However, these shoes he bought from the UK. Well, he tried to. “They wouldn’t take my American card,” he said about the online store where he bought the lime green soles. “It’s really hard to get things shipped to America from the UK which is a shame. So I had to get my 18 year old niece to buy ‘em with her debit card. She kept telling me off: ‘Stop calling them sneakers, uncle – they’re trainers!’”

Like New York fashion boutiques, after a while New York sneaker stores all seem to carry the same brands and styles of sneakers. Individuality is lost as all the boutiques try to have the “right” label in their collection. What is the point of “Limited Edition” if every sneaker store you go to is offering the same Limited Edition line? Where do the sneaker freaks go when the stores let them down?

They go online.

The shoes pictured belong to Phil, a fashion designer in New York. Everytime we meet him outside a pub (this time it was the Mucky Ape), he has a new pair of sneakers and we always ask – where did you get them. And he always says, I got them online.

One of Phil’s favorite places to shop is eBay where he can truly seek out rare editions from around the world. However, these shoes he bought from the UK. Well, he tried to. “They wouldn’t take my American card,” he said about the online store where he bought the lime green soles. “It’s really hard to get things shipped to America from the UK which is a shame. So I had to get my 18 year old niece to buy ‘em with her debit card. She kept telling me off: ‘Stop calling them sneakers, uncle – they’re trainers!’”