Chasing Ghosts: My L.A. Gear Hunt
So, outta nowhere the other day, I got L.A. Gear stuck in my head. Yeah, remember them? The flashy sneakers, sometimes with the lights? Crazy nostalgia hit me like a ton of bricks. Don’t know why, maybe saw something online, maybe just my brain digging up old junk. Anyway, I decided I had to find a pair. Just had to.
Started the hunt where everyone does now, online. Scrolled through eBay for what felt like hours. Then Depop. Then Etsy. Man, it’s a jungle out there. Lots of stuff listed as “vintage” that’s clearly not, or prices that are just nuts. Found a few pairs, but they were either the wrong size, looked completely trashed in the photos, or were models I didn’t even recognize.
The Search Drags On…
Honestly, I almost gave up. It felt like digging for treasure in a landfill. You see glimmers of hope, then realize it’s just junk. I wasn’t looking for mint condition, you know? Just something that screamed late 80s/early 90s cheese. Something tangible.
- Checked saved searches daily.
- Refined my keywords like fifty times.
- Even tried searching for specific models I vaguely remembered.
Then, bam. Saw a pair. Not the light-up ones, sadly, but some high-tops. The seller’s pics weren’t great, kinda blurry, but the shape looked right. Price wasn’t terrible either, considering. Took a gamble and hit the buy button. Felt like a minor victory after all that scrolling.
Getting Them In Hand
Package arrived a week later. Ripped it open. And yeah, reality check time. They looked… well, old. Way more worn than the photos hinted at. The white leather was yellowed, scuffed all over. The soles felt kinda stiff, almost brittle. And they had that distinct old-shoe smell, you know the one? Musty basement vibes.
Okay, Let’s See What We Can Do
Wasn’t gonna let them just sit there looking sad, though. This was supposed to be a hands-on thing, right? So, I gathered some basic stuff:
- Soap and water
- An old toothbrush
- Some leather cleaner I had lying around
- Magic eraser for the soles
Spent a good hour scrubbing. Got a lot of surface grime off, which was satisfying. The toothbrush helped get into the crevices. Tried the magic eraser on the midsoles, which cleaned them up a bit, but the yellowing was deep in the plastic. No fixing that, really. The leather cleaner helped soften them up slightly, but the scuffs and age marks? They’re staying. Part of the charm, I guess? Or just part of the decay.
The Verdict?
So, after all that? They’re cleaner, yeah. They look okay from a distance. But wearable? Nah, probably not. I’d be worried about the soles cracking right open the second I put any real pressure on them. It happens with old sneakers, the glue dries out, the plastic gets brittle.
Now they’re sitting on a shelf in my office. A piece of nostalgia, sure. A reminder of the hunt. But also a reminder that sometimes, old stuff is just… old. Was it worth it? I dunno. Kinda cool to have them, but the whole process was more of a slog than I expected, and the end result isn’t exactly mind-blowing. It’s just a pair of worn-out vintage L.A. Gear shoes. That’s the story.
