The Essential Sneakerhead Starter Pack, According to Outfitgrid's Dennis Todisco

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Photo: Dennis Todisco

Even if you aren’t one of his 87,000 Instagram followers, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with Dennis Todisco’s work. You just might not realize it. He’s hardly the first person to take a picture of his outfit and post it to social media, but as the mind behind @OutfitGrid, one of the most prominent fashion pages on Instagram with 775,000 followers, he’s forever changed the way guys go about sharing their outfits on the internet. The simplistic, layout and design-driven approach to showing off your fit of the day has completely changed the landscape of menswear on social media. In fact, there’s a good chance your favorite clothing store has modeled their marketing aesthetic from the community Todisco has built through his following.

We had the chance to catch up with Todisco on all things sneakers and streetwear, and even talked about the brands in the sneaker and streetwear space that have found a way to give back to their community over the course of the last year.

My Best Pickup At Retail: Nike Tom Sachs Mars Yard 2.0

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Graphic: Tres Dean
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“Years ago, I was a small part of the team that launched Nike SNKRS. It’s funny now how culturally relevant it’s become and also how I’m using weekly as a consumer. Like most people reading this, I don’t always hit on the big releases. I did, however, get very lucky on these Tom Sachs Mars Yards. Of course, now they resell for astronomical numbers ($4k+), so that was really cool to get them at retail ($200). I probably wouldn’t have them in the rotation if it wasn’t for SNKRS.”

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My Go-To Resale Site: All Of Them!

“Honestly like, it depends on the shoe. I really do like the whole research of it. If it’s something I really want I might see if any followers or friends can hook me up if they got an extra pair. If I have to, I’ll do the rounds on eBay, Stadium Goods, GOAT, StockX, I’ll check all of them and see who has the best price.”

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My Must-Have for Outfitgrid-Quality Photos: Good Lighting

“If we want to get technical: good lighting definitely plays a factor. I know not everyone has access to great natural light, but there’s definitely ways to hack that without even having to buy something; I’ve seen a lot of creative Outfitgrids that have been shot outdoors, in a yard, driveway, street, or deck. As for surfaces, I’ve seen people use everything from photo paper, to tiles, to rugs to wooden floors.

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I’ve even seen some people go so far as to using light kits, but when I started shooting the first Outfitgrids, I was using an iPhone 4, which is super primitive compared to the cameras we now ... so you probably have everything you need already to make a great Outfitgrid in your pocket. At the end of the day, it’s more about sharing your fit, your style, and putting it out there for the world to see. Have fun with it.”

My Favorite Brick & Mortar Retail Location: KITH

“I love going to KITH, mostly for the KITH Treats, haha. Not going to lie, I was skeptical before first trying it, but honestly, it’s better than (and I don’t say this lightly, because I also love this place) Milk Bar’s ice cream.”

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The Sneaker I Can’t Believe I Spent *That* Much Money On: Nike Air Yeezy 1

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“Back in 2009, I dropped $500 on the black and pink Yeezy 1s when they first came out on eBay, and at that time, I remember having a bit of a knot in my stomach from paying that much for a shoe ... but I knew I couldn’t miss out. Like the Mars Yard, that shoe is now worth roughly $4k. No regrets.”

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The Sneaker I Regret Buying: Nike Air Force One (Kind Of)

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Graphic: Tres Dean
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“Going back to high school, I was buying a new pair of white AF1's way too frequently. Not necessarily a regret, as it’s one of the best designs of all time, but in retrospect, I look more at the opportunity cost and think about the stocks or cards I could have bought instead (Apple stock was under a dollar a share!). But yeah, that was a sign of the times. AF1s reigned supreme (and still do, but we have so many more choices). The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized to just buy and wear what you love. Actually wear the shoes you have and don’t worry too much about whatever trend is happening at the moment.”

My Quarantine Sneaker Lineup

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Graphic: Tres Dean
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“I’ve been rocking the Stussy Birkenstocks a lot. Those are super comfortable and so easy to slide off and on. I’m not leaving my apartment much these days, so they’re perfect for running downstairs to grab the mail or run quick errands.”

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Graphic: Tres Dean
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“I’m still running that first Off-White Presto drop from 2017, I love those—the black ones with the yellowed sole, those are sick.”

Image for article titled The Essential Sneakerhead Starter Pack, According to Outfitgrid's Dennis Todisco
Graphic: Tres Dean
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“The Union Jordan 4s in the ‘Guava’ colorway are another one I’ve been wearing a lot. The materials on those are insane.”

Image for article titled The Essential Sneakerhead Starter Pack, According to Outfitgrid's Dennis Todisco
Graphic: Tres Dean
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“And then I always keep a Jordan 1 in rotation, you know, it’s like Choose Your Character in Street Fighter. Lately it’s been the 2001 ‘Bred.’ I love the red on those.”

My Favorite Brands That Give Back

Dover Street Market recently had an awesome initiative with When We All Vote. They launched a series of collaborative products with their top brands to raise awareness with consumers and put forth a call to action to vote. It’s been powerful to see virtually the entire community rally around racial equality. Brands such as Stussy, Awake, Born x Raised, Infinite Archives, John Elliot Co., and many many others continue to push forth strong social messaging and fundraising through their brilliant designs. The election just ended, we won, but things aren’t going to change overnight. There’s still a ton of work to do ahead. It’s one small piece, but it’s cool that I’m able to leverage a platform like Outfitgrid to continue to raise awareness to issues that are important to our community and hopefully educate consumers at the same time. Better days ahead.”

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