Current Events > Shoemaker cuts open Common Projects sneakers to see the actual build quality

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnZSyDaTwZs

TL:DW - low quality leather, low quality materials, sheen on top to make it look premium and worth the $425 price tag that CP fans say it is worth.

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Isnt this the case with all "premium" shoes? The mark up is always redonk.

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SH_expert44 posted...

Isnt this the case with all "premium" shoes? The mark up is always redonk.

There's a sort of sweet spot that's usually around the $400 mark, where you can get the most in terms of build quality before the diminishing returns starts to increase exponentially. And CPs are marketed as the most premium sneaker, where all the other minimalist white sneakers are supposed to be of cheaper build quality.

For reference, you can get pretty much apocalypse proof boots for that amount of money.

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I think some CP stuff looks good but have never bought any and definitely wouldn't unless on sale (which I hear is what most people online do lol).

The dude actually says he likes the shoes in the comments but that they're just too expensive. Feel like that nuance gets lost when people start ragging on x or y thing though.

Malfunction posted...

I think some CP stuff looks good but have never bought any and definitely wouldn't unless on sale (which I hear is what most people online do lol).

The dude actually says he likes the shoes in the comments but that they're just too expensive. Feel like that nuance gets lost when people start ragging on x or y thing though.

Yeah there's an important point there tbh. If all we cared about was d u r a b i l i t y then we'd all be walking around in $500 nick's workboots looking like absolute clowns

if I'm honest, I don't think any of the CP knockoff brands look as good

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@No_U_L7

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If you think about it. most things arent "worth" how much they cost. Its just perceived/intrinsic worth and whether you are willing to part with however much it cost and feel satisfied with it. Like yall telling me those rolex that cost 10s of thousands have material/quality worth that much? rolex fakes have gotten so good that the only difference is pretty much that someone in asia assembled it instead of someone in europe

But im guessing the people who buy or shill those particular shoes use material 'quality' and all sorts of bs to justify their purchase rather than just admitting they are buying it more because of simply that they like how it looks and maybe the 'exclusivity' it gives them. Its exactly the same thing that people who shill automatic watches do, they do all sorts of mental gymnastics to justify spending significantly more on automatic watches, they go on about their 'connection' with the watch and all sorts of nonsense. They even go as far as going on about acting like they are bothered that a watch ticks than have a sweep when you literally look at the watch for like 2 seconds a few times a day to check the time rather than stare at it. Then they spend even more on watches with more 'accurate' movements yet are no where near as accurate as a $10 casio lol. Like bro, just admit you bought the watch cos you liked how it looks.

Btw I spent nearly $1000 on a quartz watch which seems to bother people because it isnt an automatic and doesnt have a saphire glass lmao. Like tbh I just really love how it looks (I think it looks very ugly in a good way) and would have bought it regardless if it was $10, $100, $500 or even $5000 and would have felt satisfied with my purchase.
https://www.seiyajapan.com/collections/seiko/products/seiko-marine-master-professional-300m-diver-quartz-sbbn033

toyota posted...

If you think about it. most things arent "worth" how much they cost. Its just perceived/intrinsic worth and whether you are willing to part with however much it cost and feel satisfied with it. Like yall telling me those rolex that cost 10s of thousands have material/quality worth that much? rolex fakes have gotten so good that the only difference is pretty much that someone in asia assembled it instead of someone in europe

But im guessing the people who buy or shill those particular shoes use material 'quality' and all sorts of bs to justify their purchase rather than just admitting they are buying it more because of simply that they like how it looks and maybe the 'exclusivity' it gives them. Its exactly the same thing that people who shill automatic watches do, they do all sorts of mental gymnastics to justify spending significantly more on automatic watches, they go on about their 'connection' with the watch and all sorts of nonsense. They even go as far as going on about acting like they are bothered that a watch ticks than have a sweep when you literally look at the watch for like 2 seconds a few times a day to check the time rather than stare at it. Then they spend even more on watches with more 'accurate' movements yet are no where near as accurate as a $10 casio lol. Like bro, just admit you bought the watch cos you liked how it looks.

Btw I spent nearly $1000 on a quartz watch which seems to bother people because it isnt an automatic and doesnt have a saphire glass lmao. Like tbh I just really love how it looks (I think it looks very ugly in a good way) and would have bought it regardless if it was $10, $100, $500 or even $5000 and would have felt satisfied with my purchase.
https://www.seiyajapan.com/collections/seiko/products/seiko-marine-master-professional-300m-diver-quartz-sbbn033

That's really all that gets me about it. I'd be fine with the build quality and price how it is. Most of the time with fashion you just pay more for something that you couldn't get at a cheaper price point. And that "something" isn't generally about build quality, or materials. It's just about the complete product with all the details that are important to you, whatever they are.

but when CP fanboys and the company alike try to tell me its because its the premium option...

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is there CP fanboys? they seem to be 99% made for people with literal interest in shoes/sneakers who just want to purchase the image that accompanies CP shoes. would be p weird if some dork started telling me about his quality common projects lol.

Malfunction posted...

is there CP fanboys? they seem to be 99% made for people with literal interest in shoes/sneakers who just want to purchase the image that accompanies CP shoes. would be p weird if some dork started telling me about his quality common projects lol.

There are, unfortunately. Especially when you consider how the minimalist white sneaker thing has been done to death by nearly every brand now. So people who like CPs sometimes make two arguments: it's more comfortable and it's more "premium".

There's a guy on CE actually who has like 14 pairs of CPs, Truly_FLCL maybe? Not sure if he even posts anymore. Although I've never once seen him be a dick about it. In fact if anything it's been the rest of CE being dicks in his direction.

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Those Common Projects In the video are just Stan Smiths with its pinky out.

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SH_expert44 posted...

Isnt this the case with all "premium" shoes? The mark up is always redonk.

That's the case with all luxury products. There's no such thing as a shoe with a "value" of over $150, and even that's entirely unnecessary.

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deupd_u2 posted...

That's the case with all luxury products. There's no such thing as a shoe with a "value" of over $150, and even that's entirely unnecessary.

Are we including boots in this because I don't think you could make a pair of nicks for $150

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I already posted this vid a few wks ago. Thats why I stick with my dress shoes which are worth the money

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deupd_u2 posted...

That's the case with all luxury products. There's no such thing as a shoe with a "value" of over $150, and even that's entirely unnecessary.

Thats not true, you clearly don't understand luxury. There's materials, construction and labor which can all be upgraded.

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No_U_L7 posted...

I already posted this vid a few wks ago. Thats why I stick with my dress shoes which are worth the money

Didnt you make a topic about you having a pair of these in your backseat and you were afraid someone would break in and take them? And I promised you that no one, sneakerhead or not, gives a fuck about your overpriced garbage shoes?

The topic was something like I got so and so $ amount of CP in my car. And everyone first thought you were talking about child pornography?

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Flockaveli posted...

Didnt you make a topic about you having a pair of these in your backseat and you were afraid someone would break in and take them? And I promised you that no one, sneakerhead or not, gives a fuck about your overpriced garbage shoes?

The topic was something like I got so and so $ amount of CP in my car. And everyone first thought you were talking about child pornography?

Yes, but it was in my trunk because I was returning them right after work. 5 min in person and I realized (without cutting them up) they weren't worth the price for the quality

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my brother has a pair of these so i'm going to send him this video and give him a really hard time about it

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Flockaveli posted...

Didnt you make a topic about you having a pair of these in your backseat and you were afraid someone would break in and take them? And I promised you that no one, sneakerhead or not, gives a fuck about your overpriced garbage shoes?

The topic was something like I got so and so $ amount of CP in my car. And everyone first thought you were talking about child pornography?

Damn, called out

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Pinky, how do you feel about womens clothing and what, to me, seems like much less of an interest in "premium" quality in order to justify prices, and more of an understanding that "it just looks good"
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Malfunction posted...

Damn, called out

I already responded

Flockaveli posted...

That doesn't contradict anything I said. Its all still true. I just ultimately didn't think it was worth the money for this purchase. I did spend that much money on shoes...and then I returned them. If the shoes were better quality maybe I would have kept them

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No_U_L7 posted...

Yes, but it was in my trunk because I was returning them right after work. 5 min in person and I realized (without cutting them up) they weren't worth the price for the quality

Correct, you were returning them because you realized that they didnt fit your style, but continued to defend the brand and their quality and claimed that your background as an engineer gave you an appreciation for the finer things that none of us could comprehend.

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Common Projects sounds like a low income shoe brand...

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lmfao L7 getting BTFO

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Flockaveli posted...

Correct, you were returning them because you realized that they didnt fit your style, but continued to defend the brand and their quality and claimed that your background as an engineer gave you an appreciation for the finer things that none of us could comprehend.

I was defending high end shoes in general, but the brand probably got conflated with high end shoes during the course of that argument

I don't like the brand or think its worth the money

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for the record, the guy says its not worth $425...but still says plenty of nice things about the shoes. Sounds like he thinks its worth 300ish which is the sale price I bought them and they can sometimes be found for if you're patient

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Feel like you can kinda tell its crap leather without even holding them lol

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dude what shoe is actually worth what they are charging for it heres a clue not 1

No bullshit, I would never spend more than $100 on sneakers, but I'd sooner spend $350 on some nice Jordan's or yeezy boosts before I'd buy all white $400 sneakers. If I ever spent $400 on shoes, they'd be some nice dress shoes.

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Didnt even know this was a brand they look like vans

I would say he got wrecked but when a troll trolls we all lose

emblem boy posted...

Pinky, how do you feel about womens clothing and what, to me, seems like much less of an interest in "premium" quality in order to justify prices, and more of an understanding that "it just looks good"

Much more honest. Marketing for men's clothing is dressed up in so much over the top fragile masculinity it's ridiculous. And we buy into it because fashion is still seen as a feminine thing so we have to pretend we're not doing it for the fashion and instead for more practical reasons. Like we're buying those $400 boots for all the construction work we're never going to do, or that blazer for its superior build quality and durability and totally not just because we want pretty girls to look approvingly in our direction. Ever notice how men's fashion outlets are covered up in superficial attempts at masculinity? Names like "the art of manliness" and articles on drinking whisky and how to cook steak or whatever. Anything to reassure the reader you are a manly man.

This extends to more than just fashion though. Like car ads that have your city 4x4 truck driving over the arctic tundra or hygiene products that give 24 hour protection against the elements like the reason you're wearing aftershave balm is to fend off the bullets whizzing past your face.

At the same time, women's marketing is guilty of just making them feel inadequate all the time, so it comes with its own problems.

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I'm not sure there is *necessarily* less focus in women's fashion on higher quality.

I think it's more that clothing and fashion in general have long been acceptable pastimes for women and that has allowed for a bigger and indeed better range of retailers and pricepoints to develop. Notwithstanding that fast fashion isn't good (!), the volume of ludicrously cheap and generally appealing clothing for women that is pumped out is crazy. I don't think there's anywhere near the same level of output nor quality for equivalent men's clothing. For example, the choice of men's clothing by comparison to women's clothing in Penneys (Primark for you!) is...really bad and really limited. But the high end department store here probably has a similarly high ratio of women's clothing to men's clothing and I'd wager a lot of it has a higher price floor too.

I also think a lot of women's casual fashion is more based on layering which lends itself better to cheaper items being built into it whereas a lot of men's casual fashion is more basic and draws attention to lesser quality stuff more easily.

Like I think there id definitely something to be said for men on average being less open to cheaper clothes by comparison to women on the whole but I think other factors play into a lack of similar availability too.