#marty mcfly and the holy grail

[bg-sparrow]

mcfly july 2023 || day 8 Driver's License

viii.

“You already told us this one.”

Marty’s brow furrowed.

“I did?”

Verne nodded. “Last summer.”

“Father told you to walk Einstein,” Jules recounted, “and when you passed your test, you walked him by holding the leash out the driver’s side window of an automobile.”

“Tell us something exciting!” Verne whined.

Marty pensively sipped his cocoa, consulting the fire for inspiration. He snapped his fingers.

“Mm! What about the time the Templars threw me into the Oak Island ‘Money Pit’ for dropping the Holy Grail overboard while we were at sea?”

Doc’s head whipped in from the kitchen.

“You did what?”

The story "Marty already told them" was a drabble I actually wrote last McFly July about Marty getting his license!

And "Storytime with Marty McFly" has become a staple in my BttF drabble collections (Marty telling Jules and Verne fireside stories at the Brown's farmhouse), so here are the previous entries: 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5

[macysparadeblog]

Broadway Performances for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 23, 2023

From Playbill's website: "Created by the Emmy®-winning writer from “Schitt’s Creek,” this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. & Juliet asks: what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love—her way.

Juliet’s new story bursts to life through a playlist of pop anthems as iconic as her name, including Since U Been Gone‚ Roar, Baby One More Time, Larger Than Life‚ That’s The Way It Is, and Can't Stop the Feeling—all from the genius songwriter/producer behind more #1 hits than any other artist this century. Break free of the balcony scene and get into this romantic comedy that proves there’s life after Romeo. The only thing tragic would be missing it."

From Playbill: "What do you get when you pair a semi-neurotic, New York comedy writer with two music superstars from Nashville? A hilarious and audacious farm-to-fable musical about the one thing Americans everywhere can’t get enough of: corn. Shucked is the new musical comedy that proves sometimes tearing down a few walls, rather than growing them, is the only way to preserve our way of life. Shucked is about to turn Broadway on its ear and offer a kernel of hope for our divided nation."

From Playbill: "Marty McFly is a rock ‘n’ roll teenager who is accidentally transported back to 1955 in a time-travelling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr. Emmett Brown. But before he can return to 1985, Marty must make sure his high school-aged parents fall in love in order to save his own existence."

From Playbill: "Based on the award-winning HBO documentary, How to Dance in Ohio is a heart-filled new musical exploring the need to connect and the courage it takes to step out into the world. At a group counseling center in Columbus, Ohio, seven autistic young adults prepare for a spring formal dance–a rite of passage that breaks open their routines and sets off hilarious and heartbreaking encounters with love, stress, excitement, and independence. How to Dance in Ohio is a story about people standing on the cusp of the next phase of their lives, facing their hopes and fears, ready to make a very big first move…and dance."

From Playbill: "Lovingly ripped from the film classic, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot has everything that makes a great knight at the theatre, from flying cows to killer rabbits, British royalty to French taunters, dancing girls, rubbery shrubbery, and of course, the lady of the lake."

[denofgeek]

For Back to the Future fanatics, the Holy Grail of Hill Valley is footage from the five weeks that Eric Stoltz starred as Marty McFly. Stoltz, an actor who has proven his comedic chops in recent years through his work in the Noah Baumbach films Kicking & Screaming and Mr. Jealousy, delivered a performance that was reportedly too intense for how filmmaker Robert Zemeckis envisioned the character, and was subsequently replaced by Michael J. Fox (who filmed Family Ties concurrently).

While some stills of Stoltz in character of Marty McFly have surfaced over the years, we have yet to see any actual footage of the energy he would have brought to the time-traveling teen. During our recent interview with him, Back to the Future co-creator Bob Gale broke down the reasons why this footage has yet to be seen — and how those holding their breath waiting for it should probably exhale...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

[riverlethe]

I am fascinated by all the viewpoints surrounding time travel in SM.

Obviously, it is whatever Naoko needed it to be, but it is my personal headcanon that it is the awakening of Serenity in the DK arc and her use of the Crystal/defeating Metalia that sets up the future we see in the Black Moon arc/R.

I am speaking strictly to manga canon here. Manga spoilers ahead.

When everyone was reborn, they were supposed to be reborn as normal teens without the baggage of their past life, yet the tools they needed were within reach if needed. And, obviously, they were.

Their future changed after this fight. Now CT now exists in the future and Chibs will eventually be born, then travel back in time centuries later. The Black Moon would have come to the past regardless of Chibs because that was the whole point of Operation: Replay - travel back to the past to rewrite the future. They didn’t need to follow Chibs back to do this. Why they didn’t go all the way back to before Usa awoke as SM/Serenity? Probably because the story needed them to follow Chibs. Maybe someone can write a fanfic about it if they haven’t already.

Again, obviously, the CT senshi don’t have different uniforms because Naoko probably hadn’t thought that far ahead. Ignoring that (because it’s boring), the above would explain why their uniforms hadn’t changed - because the events of this arc are becoming a part of the Future Senshis’ past as they happen. 

After Black Moon clan is defeated, we are given clues that the next two battles - Infinity Arc and Dead Moon Circus with Nehelenia - are now an existing part of CT’s history. Those clues:

1. Chibs recalls her mother, NQS, telling her to be on the look out for Super Sailor Moon. Plus, she is aware of the Holy Grail and what it looks like. As someone else already said, Chibs didn’t create it in the manga. She did, with the help of Usa and Mamoru, create a clay version of it, but it is SM, TM, and Chibimoon together who conjure up the real one during the fight when the Inner and Outer senshi are turned against each other. 

2. Diana recognizes ESM during the fight with Nehelenia. Her words are something to the effect of “Eternal Sailor Moon! Her powers are second only to the queen!”

(I’ve written a bunch of this in a comment on one of my fics so apologies for the repeat)

However, Galaxia was not a part of CT’s past, and Galaxia’s actions almost destroyed it. I argue this because Chibs watches the future become unstable, the future senshi and Kendy falling unconscious when their Crystals are taken in the past.

The past is the past - the actions there should have no baring on the future because these events already happened. The only reason there should be changes is if something unexpected occurs in the past. You know, the whole going to the past and stepping on a butterfly.

Well, Galaxia must wear really heavy boots. 

After Usa saves the fate of the entire galaxy, I like the idea the future is open to them now. Chibs tells Usa she’ll see her in the 30th century.

Will she?

Maybe CT won’t exist. Maybe it will but not the version we saw in R.

What future will Chibs be returning to? Will her return be like Trunks’ - where everything is the same and his actions merely created a more hopeful alternate timeline? Or Marty McFly’s, where everything is different?

That said, I don’t think we can fairly use other fandoms’ versions of time travel because SM has its own, whatever that may actually be, which can actually be different depending on OG Anime vs Manga.

To add onto the other discussion, I do like the idea that the senshi can chose which version of their uniforms they transform into for day-to day CT business.

And if they do get a call to fight during work, they can have a DBZ “This isn’t even my final form!!1!!1!!!!1!!!!!” moment.

Anyway, I wrote a whole novel so I hope you stuck with me.

I don’t think there is one right or wrong answer to any of this. I just enjoy the convo - thanks for letting me be a part of this one! 💜

Why the Senshi’s fukus are different in the future

When it comes to time travel in Sailor Moon, I subscribe to the idea that, to all intents and purposes, all instances of time travel were always part of the established timeline of events.

In other words, regardless of whether we are discussing the anime, the manga or Crystal, there was never an ‘original/unaltered timeline’ where Chibi-Usa and the Black Moon Clan never showed up in the 20th century shortly after the Dark Kingdom was defeated.* By extension, Crystal Tokyo is the future of all the characters we met in the Dark Kingdom arc. And not a version of CT either, specifically the version we encountered in the Black Moon arc. That seems to make the most sense to me for various reasons.

But if this is the case, why do none of the future Senshi in the anime have their  Super forms? The real life reason is because the anime staff members working on the Black Moon arc couldn’t have known the Senshi were going to get an upgrade to their outfits two years later in SuperS.

This explanation might also address why, in the manga, the future Senshi do not have their Eternal forms (which no one except Usagi unlocked in the anime canon). Except it doesn’t. You see, in the Stars arc of the manga we are actually shown the future versions of the Inner and Outer Senshi and they are quite plainly in their Super forms, in stark contrast to their 20th century selves who are in their more powerful Eternal forms. 

What gives???????????????

I think there are two possible theories for this, one of which cannot apply to anime canon so I will get that out of the way first.

I theorise that, after the Senshi were reborn from the Galaxy Cauldron at the end of the manga, the process compromised their powers, necessitating that they needed to reawaken and unlock them all over again. This makes a certain amount of sense, given how:

a) When the Senshi were reincarnated after the fall of the Silver Millennium, they were normal people and had to re-obtain their old Senshi powers, even though they had those powers within them all along

b) It took a tremendous amount of energy and a major crisis situation for the Senshi to unlock their Super and later Eternal forms. In the manga though, the Senshi experienced basically a thousand years of peace. 

The analogy I’d use is how, it takes a while for someone who has suffered an injury to fully recover, even if they have been deemed healthy enough to leave the hospital. They need to regain their old strength through practice and exercise. So, with minimal need to truly go into action, the future Senshi were taking a while to reawaken all their old power.

My second, and preferred, explanation is simply that in both versions the future Senshi choose not to adopt their most powerful forms. 

There has never been any confirmation that the Senshi can select which form to adopt when they transform. But there also is nothing explicitly implying they can’t do that either. After all, technically the Senshi can switch to weaker forms by simply returning to their civilian identities. 

In the anime, Usagi initially had to transform first into Sailor Moon before upgrading into Super Sailor Moon, a form that drained her energy and forced her back into her regular Senshi form. The same phenomenon occurred when she initially obtained her Eternal form. It took awhile for her to ‘master’ this form and turn it into her ‘default’ transformation. Additionally, Usagi in the anime was always capable of transforming into her more powerful Princess Serenity form and (in episode 35) reverted back to her Senshi form. 

So it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility that the Senshi can select which form they want to transform into. 

But why would they do this in Crystal Tokyo? In the 20th century they always use the most powerful forms available to them at any given time. 

I think the answer lies in the different context of the Senshi’s roles in the 20th century vs Crystal Tokyo. 

In the 20th century, the Senshi only go into action to address immediate crises situations, whether that is a monster-of-the-day, to rescue someone from a life or death situation, or to put a stop to the Big Bad’s scheme as it reaches its climax.** Basically, they are in make or break situations where it is more foolish than not to hold back. By the same token, this is why the Senshi rarely use their old attacks when they unlock newer, more powerful ones. E.g. we know for a fact Rei can use Fire Soul even into season 4, but she rarely ever did after unlocking Burning Mandela in season 2, and rarely (if ever) bothered using that technique when she unlocked Flame Sniper.

In contrast, the Senshi’s roles in Crystal Tokyo are chiefly as Neo-Queen Serenity’s bodyguards. This means they will be on the alert to potential threats to NQS in general but also in hr immediate vicinity. 

Now, hypothetically, if someone of sound mind and determination was resolved to attack NQS, they’d have to take account of the Senshi and their abilities. Meaning, they’d have to observe the Senshi, maybe even try and research them based upon public records (of which there are likely very few about their powers dating back to the 20th century). But, even if hypothetically a would be attacker prepared themselves perfectly to deal with the Senshi’s abilities and power levels, the Senshi would still have an ace in the hole: their upgraded forms. 

An attack might have some way of dealing with a Fire Soul from regular Sailor Mars, but they may well be totally unprepared mid-attack to deal with a Flame Sniper from Super Sailor Mars. This logic would apply to the manga too, except with Super Sailor Mars upgrading mid-battle into Eternal Sailor Mars. 

*Or in the anime, Ail and An.

**Or, I guess when they travel to the future because that’s just practical.

[aion-rsa]

Back to the Future: Why You’ll Never See More Eric Stoltz Marty McFly Footage

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Here’s why you won’t see more of the infamous Eric Stoltz footage any time soon.

For Back to the Future fanatics, the Holy Grail of Hill Valley is footage from the five weeks that Eric Stoltz starred as Marty McFly. Stoltz, an actor who has proven his comedic chops in recent years through his work in the Noah Baumbach films Kicking & Screaming and Mr. Jealousy, delivered a performance that was reportedly too intense for how filmmaker Robert Zemeckis envisioned the character, and was subsequently replaced by Michael J. Fox (who filmed Family Ties concurrently).

While some stills of Stoltz in character of Marty McFly have surfaced over the years, we have yet to see any actual footage of the energy he would have brought to the time-traveling teen. During our recent interview with him, Back to the Future co-creator Bob Gale broke down the reasons why this footage has yet to be seen — and how those holding their breath waiting for it should probably exhale.

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“Seeing the Eric Stoltz footage, it’s not very good,” Gale says. “When someday you see that, you’ll say, ‘Oh, okay. I understand why they recast him.'”

But Gale’s reasoning for keeping the footage out of the public eye is more about respect for Stoltz as a performer, as well as the unfortunate realities of internet culture, than the quality of the performance itself.

“Eric’s a working actor [and] a working director,” Gale says. “The idea of shining a light on that and having everybody snipe at him on the internet, which is what they would do. ‘Oh, my God. He sucks.’ Whatever nasty things people would say, we don’t want to do that to him. He doesn’t deserve that. He came to work. He did the best that he could. We made a mistake and we cast the wrong guy. We were able to rectify that, but we don’t want Eric Stoltz to go down in history, his biggest claim to fame, like Pete Best and the Beatles, he’s the guy who wasn’t in Back to the Future. Eric’s done some really good movies, both in front of and behind the camera. And we do this out of respect for him and to not denigrate him.”

That’s an incredibly classy answer, not to mention being extremely candid. While Eric Stoltz may not have been the right Marty McFly, he is a terrific actor and director regardless. It’s important for “fans” eager to see this footage and looking to drag him for not delivering the same kind of performance as Michael J. Fox to remember this. It’s an interesting curiosity to be sure, but all that ultimately matters is how great that the Back to the Future franchise turned out. And it’s pretty evident that it is one that is, well, timeless.

We’ll have more with Bob Gale all this week! Back to the Future Ultimate Trilogy 35th Anniversary Edition is available now.

The post Back to the Future: Why You’ll Never See More Eric Stoltz Marty McFly Footage appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3dYbuQp

[fashiontrendin-blog]

7 Ways To Wear Your Favourite High Tops

http://fashion-trendin.com/7-ways-to-wear-your-favourite-high-tops/

7 Ways To Wear Your Favourite High Tops

Sneaker releases are now so frequent that describing the flurry of brand new kicks as ‘arrivals’ will no longer suffice, the phenomenon now has its own noun, the ‘drop’. We’re well on board for multiple kick drops (not drop kicks) but truth be told, we always find ourselves drawn right back to old favourites, and there are few styles more well worn by us than Converse high tops.

The brand’s Chuck Taylor All-Star Classic (to give it its full name) has enjoyed an unbroken run of success since the rubber-soled basketball shoe hit the ground almost 100 years ago, and that’s because the iconic design and unmistakable silhouette make for one of the most versatile styles of all time.

“The appeal of a pair of Converse high tops is their ability to complement almost any outfit: the style traverses the gym scenester, the smart/casual blazer guy and even the [classic] lad,” says Chris Gove, creative director of British brand Percival. “Both retro and modern, Converse makes a timeless choice in a minefield of hype trainers and are far more cost effective.”

It’s unarguable that this iconic sneaker style is universally popular, but with so many styling options deciding how to wear Converse high tops is a little trickier. Because we’re nice like that we’ve listed the very best ways to wear them below.

With Cropped Chinos

Chinos and Converse high tops have much in common: everyone’s had a crack at wearing them or at least thought about it. If you’ve forged a strong mental connection between chinos and middle aged mediocrity though, a pair of All-Stars is just the thing to ward off charges of tepid dressing.

Standard issue chinos of the ilk your dad might wear won’t do here though: you’ll have to get a bit more menswear than that with a pair that are cropped at the hem. The narrow shape of high tops doesn’t play nice with acres of fabric either, so steer towards fitted styles to keep a sense of balance. Avoid additional pockets, too, as they’ll mess up the clean lines you’re aiming for here.

As chinos sit somewhere on the middle of the smart-casual continuum, a Breton top makes for a solid fence-sitting finishing move. Plus when this French classic is teamed with sporty Converse there’s less risk of becoming some walking Riviera chic cliche.

Urban Outfitters

With Shorts

On first reading, high top sneakers and shorts worn together sounds like territory into which no fully grown man should travel. Inexplicably, the combination works, and it works damn well. In fact, swapping a pair of weary plimsolls for a some box fresh Converse high tops is a good way to stand out when everyone else is playing it safe in the sun.

When wearing these northwards-creeping sneaks with shorts work to the rule of opposites: if you shorts are dark choose light Converse and vice versa. Then, to knock any sneaking suspicions that you’re on school holidays, wear a bold stripe shirt up top rather than a plain tee.

Because shorts are already low on formality, whether you choose light or dark high tops to wear with your thigh grazers, you’ll need to make sure that your kicks are always clean: cleanliness is next to godliness and all that.

Bershka

With Raw Selvedge Jeans

They’re hardly a pair of work boots but Chucks have a sense of everyday utility about them because you can wear them with practically anything. That same utility makes them a particularly good fit with raw selvedge jeans, the holy grail of denim as far as die-hard enthusiasts are concerned.

When these rugged leg coverers are worn with Converse high tops, it’s hard to understand why so many men are still wedded to their skin-tight black skinnies and minimal white sneakers. Raw denim offers a fuss-free masculine appearance, which makes a perfect match for the slimline profile of the canvas classics.

Unlike heavier footwear which will veer too close to Saturday-night-with-the-lads territory, a pair of white Converse will temper any turn-of-the-millenium taste void vibes. A plain sweatshirt on top will keep this collection of basics foolproof.

Scotch & Soda

With Tailoring

It’s hard to imagine that just a decade ago trainers paired with tailoring was considered sartorial sacrilege. Now, we’re pretty certain that over 90 per cent of the male population has tried some sort of low top trainer with their tailoring by now. So Converse high tops offer a less well-trodden spin on the suit and sneaks look (and you don’t have to look like Doctor Who while you’re at it).

A navy, charcoal, black or green suit will work with white or cream high tops, but in summer, a stone, beige or grey suit will look best worn with a dark pair. Try tonally matching what’s on your torso to your feet to tie the look together properly.

And, unless you’re headed to Comic-Con, avoid doing the TARDIS thing by veering casual with what you’re wearing underneath your suit jacket. A T-shirt, lightweight knit or grandad collar shirt are the safest styling options to go for.

The Idle Man

With White Denim

White jeans are about as temperamental as menswear gets. Go skinny and pair them with tasselled loafers and you’re channeling European playboy without the yacht. Introduce some high-top Converse and go relaxed with your cut and you’re suddenly one of those effortless menswear types who’s made a career out of Instagram.

While both dark and light high top Converse will work well with white jeans, the look works best in monochrome. So go all white for the bottom half of your look, then layer darker shades on your top half. Alternatively if pared-back shades aren’t really your vibe a printed short sleeve shirt will work well here, and thanks to your classy choice of footwear you’re less likely to be mistaken for the BBQ tong-wielder-in-chief.

Topman

With Light Wash Jeans

This look was inducted into the menswear hall of fame thanks to Marty McFly’s epic turn on a skateboard in Back To The Future. Decades later the combo of light wash jeans and Converse high tops still works as well as ever, though that gilet and checked shirt haven’t aged quite so well.

Wear a white tee tucked into your jeans to riff on those eighties vibes, but try layering a loose worker jacket to bring the look bang up to date. Here fit is crucial too: anything that could could cut off your circulation is not advisable. Instead, a relaxed leg shape with slightly cropped hems works best.

Topman

With Sportswear

There’s no doubt that we’re in peak sportswear territory which means trainers and tracksuits have toppled suits and smart shoes as the de facto menswear uniform. But, while bold sneakers and joggers may look good in a street style shot, if you’re not an impossibly swaggy sportswear kid, high tops are a safer bet.

Introducing some All Stars into the mix will keep the outfit laid back, but won’t run the risk of you looking like a modern day Sporty Spice. To nod to menswear’s latest sportswear obsession choose side stripe trousers as companions for your Converse and make like Goldilocks: aim for the midpoint with your hems ensuring that they’re neither cuffed nor baggy.

To avoid the full-kit wanker vibes, chuck on a denim jacket and a simple white T-shirt.

Urban Outfitters

[shaizstern]

Article from WSJ: The Collectible-Sneaker Game: A Guide for Obsessives and Beginners

Collecting limited-edition sneakers has evolved from the pasttime of a loopy subculture to a booming mainstream passion. Here’s an insider look at how it works

CASE STUDY Sneaker collectors will go to extremes to buy singular shoes like the Nike Dunk Low Pro SB Diamond (left), $900, and the Nike Dunk Low Pro SB Pigeon (right), $6,000, both available at flightclub.com. PHOTO: F. MARTIN RAMIN/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, STYLING BY JARED LAWTON

By SCOTT CHRISTIAN

THOUGH HE COUNTS over 3,600 pairs of sneakers in his legendary collection, Bronx-born sneaker aficionado Mark “Mayor” Farese, 44, hates the word “collector.” As he put it, “People collect stamps, people collect art. I don’t collect sneakers. I wear sneakers.”

Mr. Farese, who could spend every day for the next 10 years with a different pair of sneakers on his feet, represents an extreme example of what’s known as a sneakerhead. Though Mr. Farese, founder of digital marketing agency Stadium Status group, values his collection at over $750,000—far more than that of the average enthusiast—this obsession is no longer a rarity.

Once a fringe subculture dominated by the young, the world of sneaker collectors has grown, expanding to include older, highly successful, sometimes celebrated men (See “Ace Lacers” below). Along with his collection of Porsches, Jerry Seinfeld also determinedly accumulates kicks. Director Spike Lee shares his fervor as do New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, actor Mark Wahlberg and less prominent guys like Chip Hayashi, 28, a people-operations manager for Google. “I know it sounds stupid, but for me it’s just a passion point,” said Mr. Hayashi, who owns 200 pairs and has been obsessed with sneakers since he laid eyes on the ReebokAllen Iverson Question shoe in middle school.

Sneaker culture began around the mid-1980s. Sometime between Nike’s 1985 release of the first Air Jordan and Run-D.M.C’s release of its 1986 single “My Adidas,” sneakers became, for many, an indicator of prestige.

In the simplest terms, what makes sneakers valuable is a tricky mixture of rarity and eye-catching design. Only 150 pairs of Nike’s highly coveted “Pigeon” Dunk Low Pro SB—with a pigeon embroidered on its side—were available to buy when it was released in 2005. The collaboration between Nike and streetwear designer-cum-creative director Jeff Staple incited an unprecedented frenzy among sneaker fans, nearly causing a riot outside Mr. Staple’s New York gallery/store. “It caught us blindsided,” said Mr. Staple. “The block was shut down. The NYPD were wearing riot gear.”

A connection to a pop cultural moment can also crank up desirability. The must-have Nike Hyperdunk Marty McFly recalls the Nike Air Mags worn by Michael J. Fox in “Back to the Future: Part II,” and the Air Jordan 1 Retro “Banned” pays homage to the first-ever Air Jordans, a shoe banned by theNBA for breaking uniform regulations. Buzz-worthy collaborators are also important. “Collaboration is the lifeblood of the design process at Nike,” said Nate Jobe, Nike’s senior footwear innovation design director. That means making sneakers with everyone from athletes like LeBron James to creatives like artist Tom Sachs and Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci.

JUMP START Five-year-old streetwear store Kith in downtown New York is a popular spot to find limited-edition sneakers. PHOTO: ADAM FRIEDBERG FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Ronnie Fieg, founder of New York-based Kith, a streetwear brand and retail shop popular among sneakerheads, has borne witness to sneaker culture’s infiltration of the mainstream. For better or worse, said Mr. Fieg, the masses are more exposed now to the most-wanted shoes, largely thanks to social-media shots of celebrities shod in them: “Social media lets other people into a world they may not have seen before.”

It’s a world that, for the truly devout, means waiting in line for hours outside of shoe stores in the hopes of snagging a pair of holy-grail sneakers. Or, barring that, paying a premium to get them on the resale market, from consignment shops like Stadium Goods or Flight Club, both in downtown New York, or from websites like eBay or Grailed. Enterprising collectors can also simply hire an equally enterprising teenager to stand in line for them.

And while digital technology has helped evangelize this particular religion, it’s also made popular sneakers harder to get. “Consumers are more educated than they were a couple of years back,” said John McPheters, CEO and co-founder of Stadium Goods. “A lot of people will read a blog post and go looking for that specific shoe.”

Further crowding the market are resellers, who buy with the sole intent of making a profit. “These days, I think they outnumber everybody,” said Deon Point, creative director of Concepts, a sneaker shop with outposts in New York and Boston. And though brands have tried to limit the impact of resellers (and the bots some use to buy shoes online) with technology like Nike’s SNKRS app, these buyers still swarm through the sneaker-verse. That said, the challenge of the hunt is part of the fun. Have a look at resale site StockX, which tracks the prices of sneakers like stocks. You can be entertained for hours.

Over the past few years, advances in shoe technology, often driven by athletes’ needs, has also fueled certain sneakers’ popularity. “It’s hard to make something new,” said Paul Gaudio, global creative director at Adidas. “For us, [innovation] comes from working to solve the core problems that athletes have. The side effect is it allows us to come up with some really interesting products.” Mr. Gaudio cited Adidas’s Primeknit as an example: “It’s changed the way a sneaker looks and feels,” he said. “Instead of having to layer on your pieces of leather with stitching and glue, you can integrate all of the needs and function into the materials itself.” Adidas’s 3-D-printed running shoes, Nike’s auto-lacing HyperAdapts, and Nike+, a built-in system that allows you to track nearly every possible metric of your run, are among the notable advances to emerge in recent years.

First launched in February 2015, Kanye West’s ’Yeezy Boost 750’ (made with Adidas) typically sells out within seconds of going on sale. 

The Paris, named for French painter Bernard Buffet, is arguably the rarest Nike Dunk of all time.

While futuristic technology can capture a collector’s imagination, so too can the past. Retro models, like the ubiquitous Air Jordan, allow people to buy shoes they loved, but maybe couldn’t get their hands on, as children. “The emotional connection to anything from when you’re a kid growing up stays with you forever,” said Kith’s Mr. Fieg. The past “empowers our future,” said Nic Galway, vice president of global design for Adidas Originals, Style, Y-3 and Core. “Our past is obviously our legacy.” He’s referring to beloved sneakers like the white-with-green-trim Stan Smith or the shell-toed Superstar. “But it’s important never to be stuck there,” Mr. Galway added. The brand has riffed on these stalwarts with shoes like the Stan Smith Primeknit, which marries an ultralight knitted upper with the shoe’s signature rubber sole.

Whether nodding to the past or looking forward, collectible sneakers let men experiment with style in ways that can be relatively outrageous but are rarely mocked by their peers, lowering the risk. Sneakers “have definitely become the number one self-expression piece that men wear,” said Kith’s Mr. Fieg. “Shoes are my main fashion item,” said Google’s Mr. Hayashi. He pairs either Jordans or running shoes from Asics or Reebok with neutral shirts and sweaters and Japanese denim. That look—classic, low-key casual clothes with colorful, creative kicks—has become quite common as men increasingly swap suits for less formal looks. “When I was a kid we wore Stan Smiths to school, but our parents didn’t,” said Adidas’s Mr. Gaudio. “Now, professionals are wearing them.”

But first, you have to get the sneakers. For tips, see our sidebar, “To Queue or not to Queue” below. Experts overwhelmingly agree on one bit of counsel: Don’t just chase hype. “You have to stay true to your own personal tastes,” said Luke Matthews, social-media manager at Size?, a London sneaker boutique. “Anything can be collectible to the right person.”

TO QUEUE OR NOT TO QUEUE // Shopping Tips From the Sellers

“Life is still very relationship-driven. Get to know the people at your local shops where the shoes are being released.” —John McPheters, founder/CEO of Stadium Goods // “It’s getting harder to spot a fake. Try to check out a sneaker in person before buying it online or at a resale store. You can get a feel for the materials and any small details.” —Sean Wotherspoon, co-founder of Round Two // “Buying your grail is an investment: If your intent is to wear your shoes, keep them clean! Crep and Jason Markk both offer a plethora of cleaning solutions.” —Steven Luna, head of Consignment at Flight Club // “While there is no shortage of sneaker blogs, you’re always safe going to a brand’s social feeds.” —Deon Point, creative director of Concepts sneaker shop in Boston and New York