Air Jordan 1 Low Taxi

Two fits. Let the yellow lead: black straight jeans, a black tee, and a grey overshirt, so the toe box is the only colour in the whole outfit. Or balance it: mid wash denim, a white tee, and a navy jacket, where the yellow reads as summer rather than statement. Lows sit best with no visible sock or a very low one, and they suit a full length hem better than Highs do. Sizing is close to true to size, roomy at the toe, snug across the midfoot. Keep the yellow away from wet ground, brush the midsole white regularly, and store them out of direct sun so the saturation holds.

The Air Jordan 1 turned sneakers into a collecting culture, and the numbers that followed are enormous: original 1985 pairs have traded around 20,000 dollars on StockX and the resale market the shoe anchors has been valued at roughly two billion dollars, with several billion more projected. Bright, non team colourways of the Low are what that market looks like at ground level, where a shoe is chosen for how it looks with an outfit rather than for what it commemorates. The Jumpman on the tongue still carries everything the line built, from Spike Lee's Mars Blackmon advertising to four decades of hip hop references, but nobody has to say it out loud.

Leather upper cut below the ankle bone, with the familiar perforated toe box, mudguard, eyestay and heel counter panels sitting on a rubber cupsole with the forefoot pivot circle. Yellow leather is the least forgiving finish on this pattern: it takes dye transfer from dark denim, shows dirt at the toe crease, and dulls in strong sun. On a Low the mudguard is even closer to the ground, so it is the first panel to suffer. Treat it with a protective spray before the first wear, brush dirt off dry before it sets, and use mild soap on a soft cloth rather than anything abrasive.