“Remastered” is reframing the way we tell sneakers stories and giving new characters from the sneaker world a place to shine outside of the main characters. The industry has rapidly changed, but a lot of the stories stay the same. “Remastered” shares real stories and perspectives about the past, present, and future true to the sneaker community, verified by SoleSavy.
California native Sarah Nguyen’s early sneakers consisted primarily of pairs passed down from an older sibling, but once she moved to Los Angeles and got hooked on sneakers, she found herself in all Dunks, all the time.
The nail artist was named NAHA’s nail professional of the year and is credited with extremely intricate and ornate designs for her dedicated client base, commercial work with brands like Pat McGrath, editorial for Vogue and for Keke Palmer on the cover of Fault magazine, and she was featured in New York’s MoMa in 2017 and with Nike for Air Max Day.
Since she relocated from LA to New York City at the end of 2013, she keeps around 70ish pairs of sneakers and finds herself primarily wearing Converse as of late.
We talked to her about finding joy in shopping in outer markets and how her obsession with Dunks started.
SoleSavy: What’s the story behind your most meaningful or memorable pick up?
Sarah Nguyen: I was never really pursuing a pair younger. Technically, I’m a twin, but I’m one of three kids, so I’m a middle child. That means, a lot of times, my sneakers were hand-me-downs. I grew up wearing Adidas.
When I really got into sneakers, I’d just moved to LA. I was working on Melrose, and there was a shop called Brooklyn Projects. I used to walk by the store all the time. There was a guy who used to work there that – you know– there was a little, heavy flirting going on. I would see lines there all the time, and I just never understood it. He was like, “Yes, it’s for this new sneaker drop.” I asked, “Can I cut the line just to see?”
I walked in, and they were releasing the Nike SB “Dinosaur Jr.,” which is like an all silver metallic Dunk with purple lining and a purple soul. I was like, “Wait. What?!” He asked for my size, and he held me down. He was like, “I’ll set them aside, and you can just grab them afterward.”
And I did.
That was kind of the introduction to me really looking for sneakers. I was a huge Dunk kid when I started wearing more Nikes — probably around 19 or 20 years old. That was probably my most exciting pickup.
After that, I got the Mork and Mindy’s, the Takashis, and I had Tiffany Dunks. I just slowly started collecting them, and they fell into my lap almost every time. It was never like I was searching for them or going out of my way. I would just walk into a sneaker store when they were getting a shipment in, and because I worked on Melrose, everyone knew everyone and it just worked out like that.
SS: What’s your worst personal sneaker story?
SN: I don’t think I have one in terms of taking an L or losing out on a pair, but the only time I can think of is going to get Forces – just all white. They never have my size at any Nike store, and I always have to go online and wait. I’m a women’s 9 or men’s 7, and it’s a hard size.
I think that’s the only shoe that’s been such a frustration because it’s something that’s such a staple for me. It’s always hard to get that size, in the men’s fit at least.
SS: Do you always keep a fresh pair of Uptowns?
SN: Generally. I try to, but then they just sit, and I bring them out in the summertime. So funny, when I moved to New York, I was like, “What the fuck is an Uptown?” In Cali, we always just called them Forces. [Laughs.]
SS: Is there anything you miss about buying sneakers, shopping for sneakers, or styling your sneakers from before the resale marketplace boom?
SN: Honestly, I feel like culturally, the resale market is its own thing, right? And I feel like you kind of have to respect what comes with it, but what I think has made it a little corny is like the face-fighting that comes with it. You know, that hypebeast, questioning look that people give you?
For example, if I go and I pick up a cute shoe that I like – let’s say Nike brings Dunks back full throttle as they did in the early 2000s – I miss just being able to wear a shoe without someone having to look you up and down and face-fight you. It’s that kind of stuff. I wish it did not come with it.
I feel like you can’t really appreciate things anymore without people being like, “Oh, those are fire. Where did you get those?” Because they want to go cop it. I feel like actually wearing the shoes isn’t appreciated in the same way.
I can appreciate that certain sneakers are more accessible, but I think the cost to get them is fucking ridiculous. Like it’s crazy when you go to Flight Club, and sometimes a shoe is $650 because of your size, even though it was $125 when it came out.
I also appreciate walking into a Nike store in a small town in Tennessee or in Arkansas or whatever. I feel like they actually offer more colorways and different shoe options that are now becoming more accessible as opposed to having to be in a larger city to get certain things. When I travel to Tennessee to visit my parents, I’ll hit the mall and get some cute colorways in running shoes. Then I come back to New York and friends ask, “Yo, where’d you get those?” And, that’s why I like to shop outside of New York.
SS: You’re not directly in the industry with your nails but I’m sure you’d had opportunities with some of the sneaker brands, and you worked in retail on Melrose in LA. What’s some advice you’d give working in or adjacent to the space?
SN: I think with retail in general, it’s also contingent on you and how personable you are. You know, When I was working on Melrose, when they used to have Fashion Night Out events or after the recession, a lot of brands and people that worked in the neighboring streets or on Melrose all just wanted to look out for one another and helped build each other’s client base.
Especially during the recession, we had to because we’re all trying to make money. We were all trying to survive. A lot of retail shops took a heavy hit like restaurants. It’s kind of like when COVID hit. It almost felt like another recession because everyone was affected, you know?
We had to create ways where different stores could collaborate with one another and do block parties and all that kind of shit and I lowkey wish they would bring that back. Now with online shopping, I feel like people don’t necessarily go into stores the way that they used to. And that’s probably why people need more experiential shit now. It’s like definitely missing that essence of those connections.
You walk up and down these blocks and neighborhoods by your store because you have to see what other people are buying, especially if you’re in sales, but you’re walking around because you’re also making friends with people. I feel like these natural connections happen if you’re open to putting yourself out there and making these relationships organically.
SS: So, the last question is just for you. What’s something you want to sound off about or something you really want to show love to or bring attention to?
SN: I have several things. Certain brands create a platform for different cultures and different heritages. I can always appreciate when people are getting some shine, especially they weren’t before. You can never have enough women being the face of a brand; you can never have enough diversity, but I definitely feel like behind the scenes can still use more diversity. I’m still going on jobs where they have a variety of people on the forefront whether that’s the models or the cast and all that stuff, but when you actually see the people in charge, where’s the diversity there?
I would love to see Dunks come back in a heavy way. Look at Crocs for example – killing the collaboration! Nike should do that with Dunks and get more of the underground artists and tastemakers and not just high profile celebrities where that shit’s gonna sell for like $2k at Flight Club or StockX and be unattainable.
Finally, beauty is so connected to all of these industries because you need beauty in your campaigns. They need to definitely increase the rates and show more respect to nail artists. It’s a whole other category where people just still look at us as if we’re at the bottom of the scale. They still would rather cut our budget from an entire campaign or expect us to work for free when there’s definitely money to go around.
Some of the rates they’re offering nail artists for a full day’s work are disgusting. It’s like, you’re joking, right? That’s enough to cover my Uber to and from this job. I’ve had to actually turn down a lot of jobs because I refuse to lower my rate. I’ve worked my ass off for too long. Nails are not cheap, they’ve got to stop treating it like it’s cheap.
SoleSavy’s Women’s Community provides a safe and inclusive space for women to connect with other women who share a passion for sneakers. Learn more here.
