What do a service station McDonald’s and adidas have in common?
They’re both timeless, albeit for slightly different reasons.
The service station Maccies because time ceases to exist as soon as you pass through its wretched automated doors, and adidas because we can never spend enough time looking at shoes with three stripes down the side of them. So yeah, very different reasons actually.
Ever since Adi Dassler fell out with his brother Rudolf and walked away from The Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory, adidas has been a true frontrunner in the footwear game, gracing us with an abundance of three striped delights for our feet.
Very, very few brands have a history as rich and intriguing as adidas – how many brands do you know that purchased their most identifiable asset with two bottles of whiskey and €1,600?
Anyway, we’re preaching to the choir with all of this, but we just wanted to let it be known for the 657th time that adidas will forever be one of the all-time greats.
Recently, you’ve probably noticed that the brand has had somewhat of a resurgence, seeing a typically younger & less bald crowd reaching for the trefoil – certain people seem to be bitter about this, but we’d like to be very clear – we’re not.
As a way of showing our unwavering love for the brand, we’re looking at Six of the Best three striped trabs on the market right now, courtesy of our friends at EQVVS.
Gazelle – Light Blue / Off White
For many, the Gazelle is the quintessential adi silhouette and needs little to no introduction. Originally designed as a training shoe for handball, the Gazelle has become one of the brand’s most iconic models, and for good reason – it’s a very classy pump. This light blue rendition is one of the best colourways we’ve seen in a while, even if it is slightly Citeh.
SL72 RS – Black / White
We think the SL72 is a slightly overlooked model in the present era of Samba-mania, and that’s not fair. It was originally introduced as part of the brand’s Super Light line for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and was the first to feature the famed trefoil logo. We reckon the SL72 is one of the cool cousins of the adi family – when they turn up to family occasions, you know you’re in for a right good time.
Gazelle Indoor – Navy/Cloud
If the SL72 is the cool cousin of the general adi family, the Gazelle Indoor is the cool cousin of the Gazelle. There are few things in the world better than a translucent sole, and very few models carry it off as well as the Gazelle Indoor. We think that pound-for-pound this is one of the best colourways of it too.
Campus 00s – Dark Green/Off White
Probably not one for the traditionalists this, but that doesn’t detract from it being a great shoe. The Campus 00s is a modern reinterpretation of a classic adidas silhouette, coming complete with a doubly chunky sole, tongue and general exterior. We think adidas have done an excellent job of repackaging the Campus, succinctly capturing the early 2000s #vibe without even reaching for the sequins.
Gazelle Indoor – Green/Hazy Green
Okay, we’ve put the same shoe on here twice, but this colourway is too good not to mention, a gum sole & green upper might just be one of the best combo’s ever, right up there with Sichuan food & Tsingtao .
Handball Spezial – Yellow/Cream
Closing out our list with a ray of sunshine. These Handball’s are a bit special, or more fittingly a bit Spezial. If you ask anyone about the best Handball Spezial colourway they’re likely to talk about the navy with light blue stripes, but we reckon this yellow pair might just outdo them…
