Spotlight: adidas Originals Running Shoes

The adidas Originals started as a way for younger people to experience the popular shoes of the 70’s and 80’s.  It’s also a way to display their history in actual form and not just pictures.  People, like myself, crave what we once had and love to cherish past innovations.  It’s no surprise that I love vintage shoes but, I really have a thing for vintage running shoes.  I think one of the big reasons I have a thing for vintage shoes, is that when these shoes came out I didn’t have the money to buy the shoes.  So now I am making up for lost time and I can afford to purchase most of these lost souls.  Check out the rest of the story after the break.

I chose 3 different running shoes that I think best represent the old school adidas feel.

adidas MEGA Torsion RSP 2.0

This was my favorite running shoe growing up.  I, like everyone else, loves a good gimmick. All brands had a gimmick to get people to buy their brand over the other; Saucony had the grid, Nike has the airbag, Asics has the gel, etc.. The Torsion was adidas’ main gimmick.  It’s acts like the stability bar in a sports car to keep you foot in the proper position and the two circular pads adding cushion.

adidas 1609ER

Every running shoe from the 70’s looked exactly like a track shoe.  A skinny, low profile shoe that doesn’t look like it would be comfortable at all.  Compared to today modern shoes these would be uncomfortable and offer no stability.  I agree on the stability part, but my Nike Cortez are just like these shoe and they have a ton of cushion.  I am not suggesting you buy these as running shoes, but they make an awesome vintage shoe.

adidas ZX503

The ZX was adidas’ premier running series in the 80’s.  They released many different levels of performance shoe.  The ZX 503 look to be a mid level running shoe.  This was the shoe everyone in the wearing in the 80’s when the jogging craze was in full swing.  You can notice the similarities with Nike’s MS78 and the New Balance 574, especially with the support bar on the heel. When I think vintage running shoe, this is the shoe that pops into my mind.

pics courtesy of adidas Originals