17 Comments
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Jeff's avatar

This tb piece made me sub 🕶️ classic analysis

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Greg Foster-Rice's avatar

BBSP readin’ like Roland Barthes, that “timeless” MF. Nice piece. Also reminds me of that other OG style watcher, Dick Hebdidge (Subculture: The Meaning of Style), which greatly influenced my understanding of punk and then grunge styles.

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AJ's avatar

This is beautiful--and I think where this is really headed is not simply questions of trends but status. How am I perceived in the hierarchy?

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patrickheij's avatar

This is an essential breakdown; if it was mathematically sound to do so I would agree with it more than 100%. As a self ID'd trend-resister who is also nonetheless an unbridled clothes-horse, my policy has been to hold the line during trend cycles that violate my core values — even at my own expense, as during the skinny jeans era, during which I was willing to accept getting significantly less ass on the LES as the price of maintaining my comfort and integrity — and to flourish in times when my 90's-honed taste bundle once again becomes an asset in the social marketplace.

I am very much enjoying the current salience of garments that are highly functional, sartorially timeless and physically durable (even if you often only get to "choose two"). But I'm also not at all sure that outside of my particular milieu of *squirms* big-city pre-millennial fashion/music/media types that those things are considered popping at all. Girls in the Midwest are wearing Athleta leggings, dudes in the hood (to my never-ending surprise) are wearing some straight nut-huggers; do any of them give a care about my HTF blue & purple Grammici hiking shorts? Nein!

But I like them, though. I think if you're feeling what you're wearing, you at least have one fan, vs. the potential zero admirers you might have if you're rocking some wack trend ensemble that even YOU don't like that much.

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Blackbird Spyplane's avatar

Ha ha true

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grammatikov's avatar

Love my Hanwag hiking boots. Greetings from Germany!

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Blackbird Spyplane's avatar

Haha amazing

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Jonny Hughes's avatar

That’s it, I’m bringing tye die back! 🫠

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Nicholas Tester's avatar

There is something uncomfortable about minimalist branding and colors growing in popularity within sneaker trends and jjjjound is a perpetrator, no doubt. I do enjoy some of the jjjjound releases - and I have to sit with that discomfort and hypocrisy as I make another purchase that is coded with minimalism yet is a hotly anticipated consumer event.

To me, In the grand scheme of offenses within the sneaker trend landscape this niche deserves critique - but I’m picking up on some anti-jjjjound radicalization going on within this piece.

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Blackbird Spyplane's avatar

Ha ha we critique because we respect

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CL's avatar

Some shackles drip harder, just perfect 🙌

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T2's avatar

Whewwww, Master Spyplane took out the longform (mf)pen and blessed us all 😮‍💨

P.S. I will be taking some time to reassess my life as someone who has a pair of wave rider 9s and the cursed jjjjasics…is this a punishable offense or merely a yin-yang of good and evil (wack)? 🤔

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Blackbird Spyplane's avatar

The contemporary jawns-rocker contains multitudes and lives in a state of constant contradiction!

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Evan's avatar

BBSP marrying philosophy and clothes

Jawn Jacques Rousseau

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Scott's avatar

“Jawncques Derrida” Is a hall of famer

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RJ's avatar

Thank you for putting out this kind of wisdom so consistently!! The breadth of your knowledge and understanding of swag is incredible. Prayer-hands emojis all around, my treat.

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Blackbird Spyplane's avatar

Appreciate these kind words RJ

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