BEST OF 2017: GENERAL RELEASES (GR)

Though I didn't get every GR I wanted this year, I did get the pairs I wanted the most, and evidently it was the unmistakable 991. The 4 pairs you see here are what grabbed my eye repeatedly all year long and are made up of several different materials, which make them all unique in their own way. 

TOP GENERAL RELEASES (GR) 2017:

Horween 990: NB drops a horween pair every now and then that usually do not catch my eye. Before owning these, the only pairs I had were the 991BHR and 997BEXP. Once the photos leaked of this blood red, pebbled leather, and 3m accented 990...I knew I had to have them, but at what cost? Naturally no one wants to pay that $300+ price tag for horween pairs so we wait in hopes of a sale. Mid-way through 2017, one of my favorite shops; Concepts had the sale I was looking for (40%), and by a miracle they still had my size so all in all I grabbed these for about half of MSRP. It is a beautiful addition to my horween trio and will continue to get better with age + wears. 

35th Anniversary 991: The 991. Probably my favorite model of the 99X series. It's funny that this is my favorite yet this model I have the least of. With the US kept in the dark about the 991 it is hard to be made aware of their releases. With the 35th Anniversary of Flimby being a coveted release it was no surprise that the promotion behind it would make its way across the pond and brought to our attention. The weekend of their release I was at a race with my team (Team Burn The Most) with little time to check my phone. At that time the only shop I knew that had a release time was Hanon Shop, but a friend made via Instagram (@feelmeguilty) made me aware of SNS's release just a couple hours before. I immediately tried, but the site said, "sold out". I put my phone down and began working with periodic checking of the site. After about 20min of checking they finally had my size available and I grabbed without hesitation. NB UK / Flimby you did a superb job on these and I hope the 991 model never dies! This pair is simply perfect. 

991AEG: Green...My favorite color. The 991AEG has a great autumn colorway to them that has its own similarities to the well-recognized 1500GB that most of us will never find let alone pay inflated prices for. I knew by them being a UK model there would be slim to no chance of me buying them at discount/in outlets/etc., and also quite a task to find a UK10.5 so I sold some of my older pairs to gain funds, got on the hunt, and scored them at 43einhalb! 

991GMC: "It's finally here", was my response when I saw these releasing in the UK back in early November. I first saw this pair back in January...yes January! I anxiously waited and waited, and just when I thought they wouldn't drop...surprise!  These are everything I expected them to be. The combination of various textured leather is unmatched. This to me is a perfect pair.