Foot Fetish

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SNEAKER

Fanyone who thinks that a sneaker is just a sneaker, consider Jam Master Jay's pallbearers tricked out in matching white Adidases as they escorted the fallen rap star to his final reward last fall. "We started in the alley / Now we chill in Cali / And I won't trade my Adidas for no beat-up Ballys," sang Jay's group, Run-DMC, in "My Adidas" in the summer of 1986, at a time when the German footwear manufacturer introduced several new models named after the Queensbased trio's favorite Cadillacs: the Eldorado, the Brougham, and the Fleetwood.

The crossover success of that song presaged today's street-chic explosion of Niketowns, starlets in yoga sneakers, and Jil Sander designing for the retrolicious label Puma. And this month comes Where'd You Get Those? New York City's Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987 (Testify), Bobbito Garcia's much-needed compendium on the trendsetting epoch.

From Kareem's Pro-Keds to Air Jordans, the book's entries include color combinations, endorsement info, and running commentary on each model. There's even a chapter on the playground legends whose on-court prowess inspired kids to adopt their brands en masse. So if you don't know the difference between Gazelles and Cazals (the former are suede, low-top Adidas, the latter are oversize eyewear favored by 80s rappers), Garcia's book is your perfect primer on the sole of pop culture.

JOHN BRODIE