The 10 Best “Sleeper” Sneakers of 2021, All $250 or Less
By
By Stadium Goods |The 10 Best “Sleeper” Sneakers of 2021, All $250 or Less
The best sneakers of the year that didn't get the hype they deserved. Don’t sleep on these any longer!
Matt DeSciora
Despite what your local old head will lead you to believe, sneaker culture has never been healthier than it is today. Just this year alone, brands like Nike, adidas, Jordan, New Balance, and more, collaborated with up-and-coming talent in the art, fashion, and music worlds, reduced their carbon footprint with shoes made from recycled materials, and brought back iconic styles from yesteryear.
It can be hard to keep up with every sneaker release with so much excitement happening on what seems like a near-daily basis. Yes, every so often, a great sneaker release slips through the cracks and gets overlooked by collectors. It’s just that the brain can only retain so much information. Who can keep track of sneaker release dates when you can barely remember your anniversary or to feed your dog? That’s just the way of the world in 2021.
Now that we’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s impossible to remember everything, let’s take the opportunity to circle back and give these 10 Sleeper Sneakers of 2021 the praise and appreciation they deserve.
What’s even better? All of these are available at Stadium Goods for $250 or less. (Prices are subject to market fluctuation.)
Not to be confused with the buttery, monochromatic brown leather Nike Dunk High “Curry” from the early 2000s, the “Dark Curry” colorway that was released in March put a premium lifestyle spin on the vintage basketball shoe with a two-tone, Velvet Brown and Dark Russet suede construction meant to put the finishing touches on any rustic, autumnal outfit.
Sacai x Nike Blazer Low “Iron Grey”
It’s likely you remember Sacai’s first two Nike Blazer Low colorways of Summer 2021, the “Magma Orange” and “Classic Green,” but slept on the Japanese fashion brands next batch of Blazers, which included this “Iron Grey” vibe. That’s OK. Consider this your second chance to get reacquainted with a colorway that has all the requisite traits of a rotation-anchoring shoe.
Air Jordan 1 High OG “Bordeaux”
Every once in a while, an Air Jordan 1 will fly over people’s heads. Such was the case when the “Bordeaux” colorway debuted at the end of November. The clean look is built in a very similar construction to the acclaimed Jordan 1 High Co.Jp “Midnight Navy,” but hasn’t received nearly as much love—at least not so far. Grab your pair, which is available now for less than $250 in many sizes, before everybody else catches on to how good they are.
Casablanca and New Balance released its first collaboration in March 2020, and would go on to work on several colorways of 327 and 237 thereafter. One design that deserved more attention than it initially received was the “Munsell” colorway that features the Parisian fashion house’s flavorful monogram print on the toe and heel.
Supreme x Nike Air Force 1 Low “Wheat”
Supreme is a clothing brand that sells streetwear that caters to a specific era in fashion that was popular in the early years of its existence, back in the ‘90s when its lone retail location was at 274 Lafayette St. in New York City. Items like baggy cargo pants, hoodies, flannels, and beanies are endemic to the brand’s seasonal offerings, as they were en vogue with the skaters, rappers, and graffiti artists, who hung around the shop back in the day. Like most New Yorkers, these kids were also rocking rugged footwear like the Timberland 6” Boot and Nike Air Force 1. Supreme’s collaboration with Nike on the “Wheat” Air Force 1 combines the two distinct aesthetics in one as an homage to the period that Supreme holds close to its heart.
A lot has changed since Dave Ortiz operated Dave’s Quality Meat out of its former Lower East Side outpost. But appreciation for Ortiz and DQM’s greatest work of art, the Nike Air Max 90 “Bacon,” has never subsided. Earlier this year, Nike brought back the “Bacon,” albeit with a few small tweaks, as part of its Air Max Day 2021 celebration, giving both veteran sneaker collectors and newcomers to the game a chance to relive the bygone days of New York City’s early-to-mid 2000s streetwear scene
An Air Jordan 1 designed in a color block reminiscent of a Nike Dunk (both retro basketball shoes were designed by Nike footwear designer Peter Moore in 1985) will always have a place in this world. The Jordan 1 Low’s “Pollen” colorway quietly released earlier this year, and is reminiscent of the Dunk’s Women’s-exclusive “Laser Orange” style that drew attention in 2020. So if you missed out on the “Laser Orange,” rest assured that you can still grab the summer-inspired look with the “Pollen” Jordan 1 Low.
Stussy x Nike Air Huarache “Desert Oak”
Revisionist history will have you believe that Stussy’s first Nike collaboration was on the Nike SB Dunk Low “Cherry,” and that’s simply untrue. The first-ever Stussy x Nike partnership occurred not in 2005 with the “Cherry,” but in 2000 on the Air Huarache “Desert Oak.” It was a groundbreaking release that effectively set in motion Nike’s decades long run with Stussy, and to a lesser extent, opened the door to Nike working in collaboration with other prominent streetwear brands. The “Desert Oak” also brought a then-new “lifestyle” element to a performance shoe, a move that was unheard of during those days.
Supreme x Vans Skate Era “Monogram S Pack”
When Supreme and Vans team up, like they so often do, the results are always favorable. This summer the duo dropped the “Monogram S” pack featuring a new monogram design of the “S” from Supreme’s iconic logo covering the canvas upper of the Skate Era and Skate Grosso Mid in three colorways each: red, black, and blue. We’re a bit partial to the Era, but you can’t go wrong with either model, especially since all six are available at Stadium Goods for less than $250.
We tabbed the Air Jordan 1 Mid as our pick for Sneaker Trend of 2021, so it’s inclusion on this list of “sleepers” may be a bit perplexing. But even a shoe of the Jordan 1 Mid’s cache has a few overlooked colorways, like the “Racer Blue.” The sneaker’s simple white, black, and blue color scheme doesn’t immediately jump out at you like, say, the Air Jordan 1 Mid’s “Brushstroke” design does, but the “Racer Blue” is nonetheless a classically understated number that wouldn’t look out of place in any Air Jordan era.