Okay, at some point the fashion industry is going to have to realize that functionality is the real purpose of tennis shoes. If you have seen Bathing Ape Tennis Shoes at your local retailer you will know what I mean. $200 for tennis shoes that aren’t shoes that aren’t tennis shoes is too much. Bathing Ape tennis shoes are a byproduct of the hip hop craze that continues among today’s children. Many of us probably remember earlier versions of this face there were the Chuck Taylors for one group of kids growing up, Air Jordan’s for other groups, and Jellies for others. Okay, well maybe the jellies don’t quite fit in with the other shoes listed in this list, but you can get an idea of how these new Bathing Ape shoes fit in with previous fads.
If you have been living under a rock and have not heard of Bathing Ape shoes, commonly referred to as “bape’s”, your kids will be sure to introduce you to them during the coming school year. They are basically tennis shoes. Unlike traditional tennis shoes though they really are not designed for athletic activity. These are “tennis shoes” for the “dress shoe crowd. They are made of higher quality leather, and designed with extremely loud colors and much more complex designs than you would see on classic tennis shoes. The more active you are in your Bape’s the lower value you actually get out of these shoes as strenuous use is not what these shoes are designed for.
At close to $200 a pair at most retailers, parents will be seeing red this school year, not just on the Bape’s designs themselves, but in their checking accounts as they try to dress their children in the new fashionable trend. Think of Bape’s as a shoe that kids want to be seen in, not as a type of shoe that children want for their functionality. Do you remember “Zips” when you grew up? Every kid wanted these because they thought they would make them run faster after watching the commercials. How about the shoes that used to have a key and have roller skates come out of the bottom? Those shoes have seen a rebirth with the new roller skate shoes on the market these days. Yet, Bape’s are the complete opposite of these styles of shoes. Think of Bape’s as dress shoes masquerading as tennis shoes so the manufacturers can convince kids to want to wear them.
Regardless of how you view Bape’s, one thing is for sure. You will be seeing more and more of these over the coming months as your children get ready to go back to school and start the school year. Be prepared for the onslaught of requests from your children, and realize that the days of the $100 Air Jordan’s seeming expensive are long gone. We are now paying $200 for tennis shoes that aren’t meant to be used as tennis shoes.
