BODEGA X New Balance 997S: Holy Trinity is now complete

I am so excited about this collab because it caters to my innate need of seeing perfect trilogy in everything around me, be it movies, music albums or awesome footwear collaboration. Yellow!! this is ibrewkicks and today we bring to ayou the first in depth look of the BODEGA X New Balance 997S Better Days collaboration. Keep in mind that this sneaker is due to release on September 25, 2020, so this is just an early look and not an in-depth review. Moving on, the upcoming New Balance silhouette was originally revealed by Los Angeles Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard when he was seen walking in these sneakers casually. Here is one of the pictures floating around on the internet:

The last collaboration of New Balance 997s and Bodega created massive waves in the sneaker culture and I've been looking forward to a new collaboration ever since. I think this BODEGA X New Balance collab is called better days because with everything that’s been going around the world in 2020, we all could use better days regardless of where we’re at in our lives. I feel like this was a great name for a collaboration and I'm just excited for 2021. September 25^th is the day when Bodega will be releasing its third and final 997s new balance collaboration i.e. the Bodega Better Day's to celebrate the innovative design of the 997s that bodega popularized with its introduction into the market in 2018. The pair will sell for for a retail price of 160 US Dollars. This sneaker is a highly anticipated limited-edition release and will be very hard to get your hand on. Fortunately, I live in a country where these sneakers will never launch, so, I don’t have to do go through the pain of getting a L on the launch day.

WHAT’S IN THE BOXXX?

Carrying on with the legacy of se7en, I can tell you inside the box we've got purple coloured laces and green coloured laces, so if you want to switch out from the off-white laces the sneaker comes in to personalize as per your style statement, you can do it. I didn't think the last New Balance X BODEGA collab could be topped over but now, I feel like this just one upped that one and is now the best new balance collabs ever. No disrespect to any other New Balance Collabs. Like there are a lot of good collaborations out there.

COLOR SCIENCE & MATERIAL BREAKDOWN: 

Unlike the two previous 997S collaborations, this time around Bodega seemed to have gone for a much warmer color palette which I love. Also, like Bodega's previous New Balance Collaborations the shoe utilizes very high quality materials especially for the price point. Jumping into the sneaker and starting off around the tail you've got this really nice dark gray suede. It's THICC, it's hairy and its everything you need. It feels great to the touch it's just a super high quality material especially for a 160 dollar shoe. Just above that gray suede on the toe you've got some really nice thick cream colored mesh which is very flexible but also pretty breathable. Moving farther up in the shoe around the base of the tongue you've got even more hairy suede but this time in dark brown colour. The shoe comes pre-laced out of the box with these sort of off-white or light gray laces. Underneath the laces you've got this really interesting sort of reddish orange textile material with this piece of fuse overlay running down the center of the tongue that says BODEGA in yellow at the top of the tongue or I guess what is the tongue area of the shoe.  You've also got this 3D rubbery New Balance logo in black with a lightning bolt underneath and then off to the left of that, you've actually got this sort of dotted linear pattern.

Moving inside the shoe you've got a two color sock liner. On the back half of the tongue you've got a dark gray and around the ankle area of the shoe you've got sort of a light purple and then rounding off the inside of the shoe you've got this neon green insole with the New Balance Bodega logo and a cowboy riding off into the sunset. Continuing back on the shoe you've got this super nice dark tan nubuck. In the center of this panel you've got this super glossy yellow New Balance logo, however, on the medial side of the shoe things do change up quite a bit the midfoot panel on the medial side of the shoe comes in by far the hairiest suede on the entire shoe. This detail is carried on from previous 997S collaboration and instead of the solid yellow New Balance logo you've actually got a purple and black sort of retro feeling New Balance logo.

If you go even farther back in the shoe you'll find that the RNG red panel that you found on the tongue of the shoe is actually different on either side. On the medial side of the shoe it's smooth and on the lateral side of the shoe it comes with this really interesting pressed dimple texture. Moving around to the heel of the shoe you find this really nice dark chocolate coloured heel panel with the 997s logo embroidered into it and then moving down on the shoe you'll find a midsole made up of tonal greys with this really nice tan panel in the center which has got a nice flatter print detail you've got a small hit of purple in the end cap reveal which is essentially just a cut out through the midsole to show you some of the foam underneath and that purple is the foam and then moving around to the heel of the shoe once again you've got your bright neon green absorb branding and then finally moving to the bottom of the sneaker you've got this dark gum outsole which I think ties up the look of this sneaker really nicely.

FIT OF THE SNEAKER:

As far as sizing and fit is concerned for this bodega new balance 997s this shoe fits just like every other 997s for me that's true to size and I would say for most people it's probably true to size but if you have the chance to try the shoe on first before you buy, do it.

The better days BODEGA X New Balance 997S collaboration is a superhit and I am in love with this shoe. I love everything about it. I love the color theme, the materials used and how premium they feel and I'm just blown away by the fact that Bodega was not only able to create one awesome 997S collaboration but three and that all are incredible.

That’s all from me. I would love to know your thoughts on these sneakers and whether you're planning to grab the shoe for yourself or resale when it launches. As always thank you so much for reading this blog and if you shop via any of the amazon banners on the blog it helps us keep this site running.