Hey girls… Today is your day, at least as far as Nike is concerned. While your man may be planted in front of the tube watching LOST, or worse, the Miami Heat, someone out there hasn’t forgotten about you*. Ever since Brand Jordan started fucking mostly with black and whites, the best red nikes for the last few years have been the valentines, shoes in women’s sizes released a week before Himself’s birthday. Mostly air forces, mostly air force lows, with court forces as of late (I do not approve) and air max 95s and others hence**.Women’s nikes are generally better than men’s: they’re wider (I’m not sure why***), cheaper, and have flyer colors. More room for your dogs, $10 less, pastels on the 360s, blue swooshes on the 97s, and patent on the air forces. Thanks to our boy Rasheed, who I love, hasn’t dropped a dime on the game since the red patents in ‘04, these are the closest we’re going to get to good freaking patent air forces.

Let me break it down:

These came out in 2005. They are air forces, they are low, and they are nubuck. I am listening to Anthrax and I wish I had a pair of these - I do not. The heart on the heel is tiny, and the sole might have a bunch of candy hearts on the inside, etc. The seller is also selling a Sixers jersey for girls. I couldn’t be bothered to check, but I assume it’s a Kerry Kittles swingman.

These came out in 2006. They’re pretty similiar to the red pair in that they’re both low air forces that aren’t patent, but these ones have a weird back tab (like the Chinese New Year ones) and no little heart. If it makes you feel better though, the candy hearts remain to be trampled under foot. Yum.

These came out last year and are a hefty departure from the other valentine air forces, mainly because they are at this point adhering to other nikes, instead of circling in their own valentine heat orbit. These were real similar to those Japanese air forces that came out in early 04, they were japanese exclusives but I copped them at Clientele, they were yellow and black, and white. Every time I wore them I would get props, not sometimes, but every time I put them on my feet, I’d get a commendation by someone who also had their afternoons free. I’ve never to this day had a pair of shoes that’s given me that, or known anyone else who has, so go figure. I sold them shits. These are the exact same shoe, but with a heart outline on the corner. Kind of feels like a put-on to me, to be honest. It’s not like during the Clinton administration they stuck a rose on an air force and called them Valentine’s; they didn’t, they wouldn’t think to do it. These aren’t Valentines, they don’t even have a heart. They shouldn’t have done this transparent a Valentine’s day shoe.

These came out a long time ago and are great. They’re mids, which are harder to wear, but they’re definitely the better of the cretaceous period of valentine air forces.

Click there, take notes, and cop some similar, or better yet, relisted heat! Happy valentines day to all the girls and skinheads out there! Who loves you

*Phil Knight.

**As always, my favorites are what they were last year, the year before, before, etc.

*** Could be because the women who rock a 12 have some strong feet