By LESLIE KOREN
STAFF WRITER, NorthJersey.com
If you're looking for plain, boring white sneakers, stop reading right now - go try the mall.
The rest of you? Think color. Think fabrics, from tweed to denim to shiny patent leather. Prepare yourself, basically, for some of the coolest sneakers you've ever seen.
A growing number of people seem to be interested in just that, and where there's demand, there's supply - in this case, at a host of new sneaker boutiques, both brick-and-mortar and online. They focus on quality, not quantity, and on fashion, not function. Details on the where, why and what below.
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Packer Shoes
941 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ
(201) 837-2022
packershoes.com
Look and feel: It's modeled after similar Japanese stores: Wood floors, cork and silver walls, and benches filled with old sneakers set the tone. A veritable museum of Nikes runs along the wall just below the ceiling. Overhead lights shine through the soles of sneakers.
What it has: Lots of Nikes, as well as limited releases, imports and other hard-to-find items - though there is plenty for the non-collector as well.
A visit turned up Air 180s in white, ultramarine and a splash of pink ($90); Puma Xevisu denim high-tops ($120); and a pair of Jordan 5s in black and silver ($400).
Packer also offers hyper-hip brands like aNYthing and Japanese import A Bathing Ape. Oh, and it's not unusual to see sneakerheads lined up outside waiting for an exclusive sneaker drop.
The story behind the store: Way back when Nike was a baby company, Michael Packer's family stocked the brand in its Yonkers store. When Packer, a former lawyer, opened the Teaneck shop, Nike gave him its elite accounts.
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Classickicks
298 Elizabeth St., Manhattan
(212) 979-9514
classickicks.com
Look and feel: A red couch provides a great place to lounge in this super-stylish store near Soho - a favorite of Will Ferrell's. Red and white shelves hold colorful sneakers. The graphic art adorning the walls is for sale.
What it has: More than 100 styles of limited-edition sneakers (Michael Chang Reebok pumps in the original colors, $125) and fashion-forward options: shearling Vans in low ($110) and high ($130) top and patent leather and mesh Pumas designed by Mihara ($160).
Classickicks has a larger selection of clothing than most other sneaker boutiques. Staples include Lacoste, Fred Perry and Puma.
The story behind the store: Sneaker lover Nicholas Santora and his girlfriend, Jennifer Haiken, opened it after Sept. 11 left one laid off and the other looking for a change. The duo, who grew up one town apart in Essex County, stock the store as they would their closet - and they have good taste.
The store was originally Def Jam Records' recording studio and office.
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Dave's Quality Meat
7 E. Third St., Manhattan
(212) 505-7551
davesqualitymeat.com
Look and feel: The innovative interior design may fool you into thinking you're actually walking into a renovated butcher shop, but for the record, this place has never cut and served real meat.
Still, the feel is authentic: The walls are white tile, a meat case holds T-shirts in plastic-wrapped Styrofoam trays, fake meat hangs from hooks, and Dave wears a white butcher jacket. The dressing rooms are even designed to look like meat lockers.
What it has: Some great sneaker choices, especially for women: black and cream snakeskin Adidas Titans ($85), Nike Blazers in a tiger-striped pony hair ($75) or Harris Tweed ($95). Skater-style clothes for girls by Japanese and U.K. designers.
The story behind the store: The Dave in question - former skateboard marketer Dave Ortiz -opened Dave's Quality Meats with former pro skater Chris Keeffe a year ago. So if it feels a little bit like a skate shop, now you know why. Ortiz conceptualized everything, while Keeffe's general-contractor dad came in handy when putting the place together.
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instyleshoes.com
Look and feel: More informative than flashy. Clicking on a sneaker produces a variety of views and often an explanation of the shoe's history, its design and its appeal. Sneakers are separated into four categories: basketball, running, cross-training and rare finds.
What it has: Because sneaker counterfeiting is so pervasive, the site sticks to what it knows best: Nikes and Jordans. There are extremely rare finds, including Paris Dunks for $1,850 (in men's 7 and 8) and $9,000 Jordan Lows. On the other end of the scale are the Cortez Laser, in a rare Japanese design, available in most men's sizes for $99.
The story behind the store: Sneaker devotee and instyleshoes.com owner Steve Mullholand is also the publisher of Sole Collector (solecollector.com), a magazine devoted to sneakers and collectors. He started the Web site on eBay six years ago with two pairs and now stocks hundreds.
His company scours the world for merchandise, buying entire collections as well as sneakers released in Europe and Asia.
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