** Check out our Creative Recreation giveaway! **
Sneakers blew up in a big way about two years ago. They've always had a certain level of street appeal, but the combination of the internet and a new-school sneaker-nerd culture helped it morph from a hip-hop staple to the fashion equivalent of collecting comic books.
The downside of such trends is that imitators sprout up like weeds, and it becomes easy to get lost among the myriad of choices flooding local boutiques.
But when you can find a particular brand at Barney's, that's usually a pretty good sign it's not just another Pharrell / BAPE wannabe that you'll be embarrassed to admit owning a year down the line.
Creative Recreation takes its sneakers away from the land of Dunks and 'brand' x 'artist' collabos, and instead blends the street staple with inspiration from the more formal styles of dress shoes and high fashion. The result is a much cleaner look with a wider appeal - something that can bridge the gap from the office to the club and everything in between.
The good folks at CR sent over three samples for me to review, the Torrio Black, Luciano Black/White, and Milano Hi. I also went out and bought a pair to get a 'real world' sample of the brand, the Dicoco Lo with silver metallic accents.
The first thing to note is all the shoes look very good. If it matters to you, the packaging is nice and the higher end collections come with custom bags for storage and transport (the Luciano and Milano are from the 'Select Limited' and 'Prime' collections respectively).
Though as many on the Zappos review boards have pointed out, they run rather narrow. After breaking in the kicks the narrowness was alleviated to some degree - my Dicoco Lo and Torrio fit perfectly now. The Lucianos on the other hand remain a tad uncomfortable even after a full day break-in, though it's not unbearable. I recommend ordering at least a 1/2 size up.
My main means of transport is my trusty road bike, so all my outfits have that extra little test to contend with :-)
Biking of course makes working with white shoes a nightmare, but I must say I'm very surprised how well the Dicocos are holding up. I did a barhop around SF's Mission district on a Friday night, and even after repeated rides, three crowded bars, and a little dancefloor action, they still look pretty damn good (the picture of the Dicoco below was taken *after* all this abuse).
I have clips on my pedals which wrap around the toe, and because of the external seam-stitching on the Torrio, the toe area gets a little squished during riding. It doesn't bug my foot per se, though I do worry about it deforming the seam. This shouldn't be an issue for most people as I'm sure I'm in the minority in preferring to ride with clips.
Overall I'm very happy with Creative Recreation sneakers. The designs are slick enough to pop with the right outfit, but at the same time they don't call attention to themselves for those times when you'd rather play it clean.
Check out some 'real world' shots below. Then check out the full product line, as well as much sexier product shots, at the Creative Recreation website: www.cr8rec.com
Great review... and sweet sneakers!
yo, those are some hot shoes, but why do the girls always have the hottest colors?
i love these shoes! I'm waiting to add more to my one pair of creative recs. hea!
my man got some creative recs and i make him wear them whenever we go out. they are sexyyy.
Good stuff, I've always liked their design style.
