Air Jordan 3

Once I got into suiting, I thought there was no way to dress my suits down with Air Jordans. If I did, the sneaker would look too bulky against the suit. I was somewhat convinced that a suit looked better with a cleaner, more minimal style sneaker, but let’s be real, that’s only because the fashion industry had taught us to think of suiting and, more specifically, sartorial suiting as one dimensional! However, I think that I’ve proven time and time again that patriarchal ideologies and traditions can evolve and are oftentimes meant to be broken.

Why be a conformist when you were created to stand out and drive on your own path?

The weather is dropping, kicking Fall into full effect which means it’s time to push the boundaries on those warm weather/transitional pieces.

When you’re starting to dust off your shoes, jackets, coats, and clothing that have been sitting in your closet for months I challenge y’all to start exploring more openly and freely the many combinations and options you have in front of you!

Reconnect with those pieces you feel most inspired by and adjoined with so as to reimagine ways to style them!

Air Jordans

As a basketball player who was fortunate enough to grow up during the Jordan era, it’s a no brainer that Air Jordans are a staple in my wardrobe. As my style evolved, I had to figure out which Air Jordans I could pair with my suited pieces vs. those sneaker silhouettes that looked better with casual clothing or streetwear.

Since I wear extra-slim fitted suits, I have to be mindful of how bulky my ‘kicks’ are so that the portions are fluid, flow well, and compliment rather than detract from the suit look and style that I’m going for.

Air Jordan 3

Mainly, due to the bulkier design I think there are very few Air Jordans, from the Jordan 1-14 collection, that work well with a full suit or even with classic suit trousers. It’s simply easier to pair Jordans with jeans and casual pants than it is with a more formal looking trouser.

However, while the infamous elephant print is what captured the eyes of Tinker Hatfield’s iconic Jordan 3, it’s actually Tinker’s minimalist mid-rise silhouette that makes the Air Jordan 3 the ‘almost perfect’ basketball sneaker to wear with a suit.

Typically, I wear my suit pants right at or above my ankle, leaving a little room to show off my socks. Since the Air Jordan 3 sit right at my ankle, I opted for no-show socks and cuffed my pants so that they didn’t look baggy when falling just over the sneakers. I did this to also keep the focus on the sneakers.

The temperature was dropping but it wasn’t cold enough for a proper jacket and so a turtleneck sufficed. Had I chosen to wear this on a more crisp/colder day then I would’ve kept the color palette the same by layering in a textured navy blazer over the turtleneck. I might have to wear this ensemble again or something similar to show y’all how to layer when wearing Jordans. Thoughts?