Buying for a sneakerhead feels like a trap, and usually it is. The obvious move is to chase a hyped release, and the obvious result is paying resale prices for a pair in the wrong size, or one they already own. People who care about shoes have wants lists measured in style codes. Guessing at them is a losing game.
The better approach is to buy around the shoes rather than the shoes themselves, or to pick the handful of classics that every collection has room for. Below are the care products serious collectors actually use, the books that explain how sneakers became culture, and a few pairs and pieces that never go out of rotation. Nothing here requires waking up for a drop.
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Jason Markk Essential Kit: the cleaner
Jason Markk started in Los Angeles in 2007 with a single bottle of biodegradable shoe cleaner, and it has become the default for people who would rather clean a pair than replace it. The Essential Kit is the simple version: four ounces of concentrated Deep Cleaning Solution and a stiff Durables brush for midsoles and outsoles. A few drops in a bowl of water does a pair, so a bottle lasts a long time. It is safe on leather, canvas and knit, which covers most of what anyone wears. Around $18.
See the Jason Markk Essential Kit on Amazon
Crep Protect Spray: the prevention
Cleaning is the cure. Protecting a new pair before the first wear is the smarter move, especially for suede and light colors. Crep Protect is a London-born spray that leaves an invisible water and stain repelling layer on uppers, so rain beads off and coffee wipes away instead of soaking in. It is the cheapest gift on this list and the one most collectors run out of first. Pair it with the cleaner above and the recipient has a full care routine. Around $16.
See Crep Protect Spray on Amazon
Woodlore cedar shoe trees: the shape keeper
Shoe trees are usually filed under dress shoes, which is a mistake. A cedar tree in a pair of leather sneakers keeps the toe box from creasing as deeply, pulls moisture out of the lining after a long day and leaves the inside smelling of wood instead of feet. Woodlore's trees are made in the USA from aromatic cedar and adjust to fit. This two-pack covers a pair of daily wearers. It is the gift that makes a $100 pair last as long as a $300 one. Around $55.
See Woodlore cedar shoe trees on Amazon
Converse Chuck 70: the first classic
The regular Chuck Taylor is fine. The Chuck 70 is what it used to be. Converse based it on the 1970s version of the All Star, with heavier 12-ounce canvas, thicker laces, taller rubber foxing, a glossy off-white sole and a cushioned OrthoLite insole. The vintage heel patch completes it. It costs a little more than the standard Chuck and is worth every cent, because it holds its shape and wears in instead of falling apart. It is also the rare classic that works for nearly anyone. Collaborations keep coming back to the Converse canvas, most recently Brooks Brothers x Converse. Around $95.
See the Converse Chuck 70 on Amazon
adidas Samba OG: the second classic
Adi Dassler designed the Samba in 1949 as a football boot for frozen pitches, with a gum sole that gripped icy ground. It went low in the 1960s and spent decades as a terrace and five-a-side staple before fashion rediscovered it. The hype has cooled a little, which is the best time to buy a pair. The white leather upper, black stripes, suede T-toe and gum sole remain one of the cleanest designs in footwear, and the OG version keeps the slim shape that made it work. The football roots run deep enough that adidas now makes club jerseys for dogs and cats. Around $85.
See the adidas Samba OG on Amazon
Dr. Martens 1460: the boot in the rotation
Every sneaker collection eventually needs a boot for the days when canvas will not do, and the 1460 is the one with the most cultural weight. It takes its name from its first production date, April 1, 1960, and it has been worn by factory workers, punks, skinheads, ska fans and fashion designers since. Eight eyelets, smooth leather, the air-cushioned sole and the yellow welt stitching are unchanged. It takes a while to break in, and then it lasts years. Our piece on the 1460 tells the full story. Around $180.
See the Dr. Martens 1460 on Amazon
Carhartt A18 watch hat: the beanie
Carhartt introduced the A18 acrylic watch hat in 1987 as workwear for people outdoors in the cold. It moved from construction sites into 1990s hip-hop and skate culture, and it has never left. It is a rib-knit acrylic beanie with a fold-up cuff and the square Carhartt patch, nothing more, and that is why it works with everything from a parka to a Carhartt WIP jacket. It is one size fits most, so there is no guessing. Around $30.
See the Carhartt A18 watch hat on Amazon
Stance Icon crew socks: the stocking stuffer
Socks are the default bad gift, but sneakers live or die by what is under them. Stance was founded in 2009 on the idea that socks deserved the same design attention as shoes, and the Icon crew is its plainest and best: a combed cotton blend with targeted cushioning, arch support and a seamless toe. They sit at the right height above a high-top and look right with a Samba. A three-pack is an easy add-on to anything else here. Around $28.
See Stance Icon crew socks on Amazon
Out of the Box: the history book
In 2015, Elizabeth Semmelhack of Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum curated Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture, which opened at the Brooklyn Museum and then toured. The Rizzoli catalogue is the best serious history of the sneaker in print, tracing the shoe from 19th century rubber plimsolls through basketball, hip-hop and the collaboration economy. It treats sneakers as design objects worth studying, which is exactly how the recipient already sees them. Around $32.
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight: the origin story
Phil Knight's 2016 memoir covers the years when Nike was nearly broke, from importing Japanese running shoes out of the trunk of a car in the 1960s to the company going public in 1980. It is less a business book than a story about stubbornness, and it is honest about how close the whole thing came to failing. Even people who never read business memoirs tend to finish this one. Around $16.
The size problem
If you buy shoes, get the size right or include a gift receipt, and check fit reviews first, since both the Samba and the 1460 have sizing quirks. Otherwise, stick to care products, books and one-size pieces, which are impossible to get wrong. For more on what is worth wearing, see our takes on the Air Jordan 15 23RE and the best heritage boots.
The brands tell their own stories at Jason Markk, Carhartt and Stance, and the Brooklyn Museum still has its page for The Rise of Sneaker Culture. Everything here is available on Amazon at the links above.
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