If there’s one thing that’s for certain about style in the last few years, it’s that there’s nothing quite as cool as a great pair of sneakers. Sneakerhead culture is all the rage, and everywhere you look you’ll find people buying, trading, and restoring sneakers of all styles and price points.
This is an era where your shoes are the crowning glory to your outfit, but that isn’t the only thing turning upside down. Sneakerhead culture has always been a bit of a boy’s club — everything from marketing to coveted styles tends to favor a more masculine look.
That’s about to change, however. Sneaker culture is all about coolness, but coolness isn’t bound by gender. Today, we’re going to take a look at how women are making sneakers their own.
The History of Sneaker Culture
Sneakerhead culture isn’t a new invention of the 21st century — it’s actually got a pretty long and interesting history. It took a while for sports footwear to start getting specialized in the way that we now understand it to be.
The Conversation traces the origins of sneakerhead culture back to the 1970s. With the emergence of hip-hop, urban, and sports fan subcultures, sneakers from companies like Adidas found themselves cemented in pop culture.
It wasn’t until Air Jordans became a brand in and of themselves in 1984-85 that sneaker culture really took off. Michael Jordan’s basketball shoe line became the epitome of cool, and sneakers became the status items we know them as today.
Fast forward to the digital age, where social media and online marketplaces have captured the hearts (and wallets) of fashion-savvy youth, and you’ll see why sneakers are the ultimate must-have.
How Women Are Breaking the Mold
Sneakers, like sports, have always been seen as a guy thing. That doesn’t mean that they have to be, though. While Air Jordans do have unisex and even women’s lines, the market is still pretty saturated with men’s styles.
That’s quickly changing, however. The emergence of pages like WNBA Kicks proves that women are more interested in sneakers than ever before. The culture is growing, too, with coveted women’s-exclusive releases like the Air Jordan 3 Retro Women’s breaking gender barriers.
As Linda Gray, President and CEO of L Gray Image Consulting, LLC outline, fashion “encompasses who you are, how you show up says everything about how people receive you. It tells your story.” Women aren’t in sneaker culture to just follow trends, but to express individuality, and maybe even start some trends of their own.
Modern Sneaker Culture
One of the advantages to modern sneaker culture is that it’s opened more doors for women to enjoy the hobby. There’s an endless array of resources available for anybody who wants to get in to the hobby, and digging out a good deal is more about timing and luck than gender.
Social media has a huge part to play in breaking gender barriers in the sneakerhead hobby, too. There are now online networks for sneakerheads of all ages, races, and genders to share what they love about the hobby and join in the fun.
This sneaker network concept is essentially being pioneered by SoleSavy, which provides a platform sneakerheads can use to connect in numerous ways. From selling, trading, and connecting with other sneakerheads, it’s one platform that really embodies the best of sneaker culture.
While the foundations of sneaker culture can definitely be found in the offline, urban corners of history, online culture has brought it to the fore. Now, if you want to see how and where women are making sneaker culture their own, all you have to do is pull up your smartphone and you’ll get a glimpse of how this hobby has broken barriers all over the world.
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