I am that chick. I am that chick who makes you slightly mad when you are at the mall with your boyfriend. While y'all are going up the escalator, you are trying to figure out exactly what he's staring at. I'm not dressed special (well to you that is). I’m wearing a gray and purple Prince graphic tee, a leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up, ripped skinny jeans and a pair of Jordan Purple Dynasties. That’s all. I don’t even have a Michael Kors bag, just a little silver Coach clutch to keep my rewards cards and ID in. I dress from the bottom up. My fashion statement revolves around the “period” which are the sneakers. Yes, I am that chick who is a sneakerhead. No, I am not a tomboy. In fact, I am a very fly 31-year-old young woman with a job and such. No, this does not mean that I am incapable of being more glamorous while wearing heels and evening gowns. Believe it or not, I would love to wear a pair of heels here and there, but I believe in a higher power and he saw it fit that I just chill with the sneakers. My confidence is already on 10 and if I could stunt in sneakers and heels, you would never hear the end of it. Aside from that, my pinky toes won’t allow it. I have a strict four-hour rule before I kick my heels off. A lot of folks have the female sneakerhead all wrong. They try to label us and when they can’t figure us out, they tend to hate on us. Let’s see if I can set the record straight for my lady sneakerheads. There are a few things that you should know about us before we embarrass you.

Don't stereotype us! 

We can take your boyfriend while wearing a pair of Jeremy Scott money wings. I'm no psychologist or anything, but I’m pretty sure that a person’s preference is much deeper than choosing to wear a pair of Adidas or black and white Attitude Mids over a pair of patent leather Mary Janes. The moral of the story is to not label people on what they choose to wear. Yes, female sneakerheads are more than the tomboy that use to live down the street from you or the stud that took your girlfriend because you treated her like crap. So chill on the stereotypes.

We will not date you if your shoe game is wack.

My mama always said you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes; where they are going and where they've been. And you know what? Mama Gump was right! You can tell a lot about a man by the shoes he wears. If a guy tells me he doesn't buy sneakers anymore because he’s grown, I shouldn't look down and see that he’s wearing a pair of “cookout” sandals with socks nor a “Jazz in the Park” linen pants suit with a pastel nylon undershirt. He is probably one of my uncle’s high school friends and we can’t date. I was called a lesbian by a similar man because I did not want to date him. He literally said, “I should have known by those bulky boy shoes that you were a lesbian”. First off, Sir, these are Wolf Grey Foamposites and they go hard! Secondly, I do not want to not date you because I like girls. I don’t want to date you because you are wearing all white K-Swiss and this is not the first day of middle school. You are not even old enough for those shoes to be considered a nostalgic item for you.

We tend to get a lot of attention from other girl’s boyfriends.

We are not out to steal your man and he doesn't want us either! Well, that’s what he tells you but in all realness, he’s always had a crush on us since we share a sneaker bond. You do not understand the sneaker bond because the only reason you are wearing those Jordan Velvet 11s is because he bought them for you. I know that it's not your style because you are wearing them with a dress. Also, most female sneaker heads date male sneakerheads because it gives us a better chance of getting those Adidas NMDs that just came out. Yes, I am also that chick that you saw the other day wearing the Marilyn Monroe graphic tee in her iconic pose while wearing a pair of Jordan 4s with the caption “your boyfriend likes my sneakers”. It’s funny cause its true he tells me every day at work.

We are not all teenagers

I am a whole grown woman who loves her sneakers. However, I have a few jobs and bills so stop asking me if I will be up early to get in line for the new sneaker drop. I have to go to work so I will just order mine and get them next week. This is not the first day of school and I don’t have to wear my fresh kicks as soon as I buy them. As a matter of fact, I may just wear them to the office with a blazer. It is casual Friday.

These are just a few things for you to keep in mind in regards to the female sneakerhead. No need to try and file us under a category. We are just like any other woman you know. We have careers, kids, and all that good jazz. It's just, we may be a little more fly than your average chick. We have that extra “something” that you can’t put your finger on. So, the next time you see a female sneakerhead just say “hey girl hey!” and keep it moving. You could never walk a mile in our shoes. No, seriously we won’t let you because you will scuff them up.