Where to Find the Best Men’s Sneakers for Summer
Likelihood
Image: Lou Daprile
Likelihood For First-to-Knows
The city’s newest sneaker shop reads less like a retailer and more like an art gallery. As Likelihood’s Aaron DelGuzzo and Daniel Carlson sought to marry their passion for men’s footwear and Seattle culture, they set eyes on the heart of the city’s creativity, Capitol Hill. Atop a stairlike display stands a curated collection of international footwear. A neon sign reads, “I called shotgun infinity when I was twelve.” (After Likelihood bought the rights to the original by Canadian artist Kelly Mark, Seattle’s own Noble Neon crafted the statement piece.) Built by locals for locals, the minimalistic space draws attention to the deserving selection of perforated Pumas, hand-sewn Yuketens, Grenson wedges, and Stockholm-born Spalwarts. shoplikelihood.com
Brooks Trailhead For Old-School Connoisseurs
Strolling Fremont’s Stone Way, don’t be alarmed by the animated mannequins in the Brooks Trailhead window; everything about the local brand’s first retail outpost bursts with a “run happy” vibe—the runner’s aid station, sweat-proof floors, an in-store skee ball machine on which fancy footwork wins the day. But Brooks isn’t limited to endorphin seekers. The store also caters to those who prefer the rush of scoring the ultimate pair of retro-cool kicks with its Heritage Collection of lifestyle footwear. The line launched last year to celebrate the brand’s 100-year anniversary, and offers four distinctive throwbacks to Brooks’s 1970s originals in an assortment of eye-catching colors and one-off exclusives. brooksrunning.com
Bait For Big Kids
Image courtesy Bait
LA-based Bait laced up on the Pike-Pine corridor last November with an immediate Seattle tie via a limited-edition shoe collaboration with Brooks. Since then, the sneaker obsessed have had plenty of other occasions to be stoked, thanks to Bait’s one-of-a-kind partnerships with Asics and Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob. Besides an abundance of cool kicks and apparel, the store’s display cases are strung with designer toys and collectibles—because drooling over sneaks isn’t complete without a matching Stormtrooper helmet. Bait’s founder and CEO, Eric Cheng, dreamt of a place where his passions for shoes, art, music, and collectibles could coincide, and you’ll find pieces from Cheng’s personal toy collection on display in each of Bait’s brick and mortar shops. baitme.com
Want more? See a slideshow of more of our favorite summer kicks.
