Offspring

Footlocker is terrible.
Size is a bit dull now (but they play good music).
Office is for when you’re not sure whether you want to be young or old.
Offspring, for me, has the best range of footwear out of these four sneaker stores.
BUT.
The shop is way too small. They always have someone on the door to greet you. In most stores, this is acceptable (if annoying). In Offspring, this is an unforgivable use of space.
Once you’ve dodged the door guy, you’ve got a selection of trainers that everyone ignores on a display directly ahead of you. These guys will be sold online at 75% off in 6 weeks time.
To your left is posh Converse.
To your right is where the real business happens.
But first you have to clear another gatekeeper. You can’t ignore them, they will be directly in your face as you pass them in the doorway. They will smile, but nobody needs to see you this close.
Then you feel terrible about yourself for a minute as you catch a glimpse of your hideous Saturday face in the bright mirror.
Now you’re in a sneaker cave, with a bunch of yetis. It gets really hot and you can’t reach out to grab a trainer off of a shelf in fear of inadvertently touching another’s arm. So everyone just shuffles around in their ridiculously big hooded jackets. Couples split up as one opts to «wait outside».
Rumour has it that somewhere in the middle of the cave there is a selection of fluorescent size 14 Nike Air Max on sale at £35.
They offer 10% student discount which a lot of people don’t seem to realise.
The staff are friendly and it’s not their fault they are in the way.
Their bags are smart.
The best time to visit is 9:00am when they open. There are no yetis. There are no gatekeepers.
You can browse in peace and finally make a decision about what trainers you will buy online.

When I left home to come to Brighton, the only pair of shoes I brought with me were my dress shoes. That is all well and good, but there are times when I want to wear a pair of runners. So when I went into Offspring, I was only searching for a pair of runners. But I got more than that. Onitsuka Tigers? Converse? Fred Perry? Vans? Oki Kutsu? (I actually don’t know what that last one is). But they were all here.
I first had a look at their Onitsuka Tigers. Very nice, but I was looking for more of a running shoe. But it wasn’t so simple to buy a running shoe, as I had so much to choose from. I mean, there were so many choices, it forced me into a state of paralysis. I didn’t know what to do. There’s just so many brands and so many shoes (some expensive, some not), that it’s difficult to pick. In the end, I couldn’t decide, and ended up just going to Caffe Nero and buying a coffee.

Shoes… ohmigod…shoes. Great selection of trainers here for any shoe enthusiast. Loads of colours, sizes and brands to chose from. Some of the premium brands are naturally a little pricey, but they have stood the test of time and are worth the money. I prefer Offspring to other stores because of their choice of branding. But, if you’re anything like me and likes an average yet slightly interesting pair of runarounds this isn’t the place to go. Exclusively for trainer fanatics only.

Yeah yeah yeah… there’s loads of colourful sneakers and pumps all Offspring. All of which very exciting and cutting edge, but you can get these in any number of shoe shops. What you can’t get everywhere is good customer service.
And not in Offspring either.
I’m not really into neon and florescent footwear, so was a little bit peeved to have to return some boots I got from Office to Offspring. They are the sister company and the Office staff said it wouldn’t be a problem to have them sent from Offspring back.
I then had some moron talking at me for the next 10 minutes, saying I’d worn them outside too much and he couldn’t accept. In actuality, I had worn them for 2 minutes in my living room. This guy was a real douche, I went back to Office and would you believe it, they did it for me instead.

This is a very cool trainer shop in the Lanes. If I had more money, I’d be a regular customer. Sadly, while I’m still a student, I’ll have to stick to my grubby old Converse.
They stock all the major brands you’d expect, but unlike some of the more sports oriented (rather than fashion) shops, the lines they have are on the funkier, more colourful side in general. Expect to see lots of bright colours, neon and cool designs, as well as some more basic examples. Definitely the place to come for the latest models that haven’t made their way to JD Sports yet.

This shops pretty cool, stocking a bright and wonderful array of trendy sneakers, including a good range of Converse’s, Adidas’ and some skaterish shoes. As far as I’m aware all the stock is entirely unisexual, which is probably great for girls, but a slight hindrance for those of us of a more masculine variety, as it forces us to ask ourselves difficult questions like: ‘could I get away with wearing bright pink shoes?’, or ‘are these sneakers too effeminate?’. Regardless, I liked the sneakers in-​store, and chose to try-​on, and then buy a pair of greyish Converse’s. The process of doing so wasn’t too arduous, merely requiring me to saunter up to the stock assistant divvering in the store’s corner, gain his attention and request my desired shoes in the desired size. They fitted, looked cool, and I purchased them without a problem — that said, one note of caution: unfortunately, I neglected to point out that I was a student and thus eligible for their 10% discount, until after having paid for my items, and the sales girl refused to refund me, asserting it was too late. Super lame.

Not a shop devoted to the American rock band but a sneaker store devoted to cool, colourful and functional training shoes, baseball boots, tennis shoes and hi tops. They stock all the big names — Vans, DCs, Converse, Adidas, Nike, Reebok and New Balance — as well as more underground ones like Onitsuka and Evitsu. If canvas and leather aren’t your thing, they also stock some very nice suede Fred Perrys.
Sneaker fanatics should look out for their limited edition, special editions, like the forthcoming Vans Sk8 Hi tribute to cult American cartoonist, Robert Crumb.

Offspring is a brilliant place to buy trainers or sneakers. whichever you prefer! They sell a range of brands– the staple Nikes, Addidas, Converse and some smaller brands like New Balance. The shoes are well displayed in a simple but eye-​catching décor– white walls with touches of neon. They tend to stock a small amount of basic colours for most styles– black, white, navy… etc. And then always make sure to have bright colours and designs for each brand, making the shoes part of the décor. The staff are really helpful and quick at getting sizes and the prices are good. The sales are really good and there seems to a small sale section pretty constantly in one corner. They designs they keep stocked are always within a reasonable range, never more than £100 at the very high end.