I’m gonna go seriously self-indulgent for this one. This shoe is a blast from my own personal past.
I’m thinking early 90s, when hoarding boxfresh footwear wasn’t a thing, at least for me, and all my trainers seemed to come from the bargain bin. This isn’t a tale of hardship and financial woe, though my Dad shared plenty of them with me from his own upbringing. I guess his own make-do-and-mend take on things came from his own parents who had lived through the war, when luxuries weren’t expensive sports footwear, but things like food and drink. I digress.
I’d always be hunting for something different, shopping at the outlets before outlets were really a thing. The nearby adidas factory shop got a lot of my custom as a result, but occasionally I’d divert off the path and head to a Tommy Balls or a Wynsors, as well as heading to the usual suspects of the time, Allsports, JD Sports and the like.
That’s how I ended up with the most enduring shoe of my early teens, a pair of baby blue suede Puma GV Special. I can’t be sure they were exactly the same as the ones they’ve just re-released, but it was definitely a predecessor. They got a lot more wear than any suede shoe should have to endure, such was my appreciation for them.
I even persisted with them after our dog used them as a territory marker one night. My own fault for leaving them in his domain. Eventually, despite washing them in the washing machine, sink and loads of dettol, I admitted defeat and moved on to inferior footwear.
Seeing these brings back misty memories of a pretty happy childhood, one I’d go back to in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t leave my Puma’s where the dog would make a toilet on them for a start.
Get a fresh pair here
