So, I’d been on this kick, right? Wanted a pair of all brown Dunks. Not those fancy ones with weird color panels, just solid, earthy brown. You’d think that’d be easy to find, but man, it was a whole thing.
The Hunt Begins (and mostly fails)
First, I hit the usual spots online. Scrolled for ages. Everything was either sold out, a crazy resale price, or just not the right brown. Some were too light, almost tan. Others had this weird reddish tint. I even popped into a few local sneaker shops, hoping to get lucky. No dice. The guys in the stores kinda looked at me funny, like, “All brown? Why?” They were all about the latest hype drops, you know, the ones with a million colors.
It got frustrating. I’m not a hypebeast, just a dude who knows what he likes. And I liked the idea of a simple, understated brown Dunk. It felt classic, something you could wear with almost anything without looking like you’re trying too hard. After a few weeks of looking, I was about ready to give up. Found some nice brown shoes, sure, but not Dunks.
Taking Matters into My Own Hands
Then it hit me. Why not just make ’em myself? I’ve messed around with customizing stuff before, painting little figures, nothing major. How hard could it be with shoes? So, that became the new mission. This was gonna be my little project.
Here’s what I did:
- Found a base shoe: I managed to snag a pair of pretty plain, light-colored Dunks on sale. They were mostly white with some grey bits. Perfect canvas, I thought. Didn’t want to ruin an expensive pair if this went sideways.
- Got the supplies: This took some research. I needed leather paint, specifically a good, rich brown. Went with a couple of shades, actually, a dark chocolate and a slightly lighter, warmer brown. Also got some leather preparer and deglazer, brushes, masking tape, and a matte finisher. You gotta prep the surface, or the paint just won’t stick right, or it’ll crack.
The Messy Part – Getting it Done
Alright, so I set up in the garage. Spread out some old newspapers. First thing, I cleaned those shoes like they’ve never been cleaned before. Used the deglazer stuff to strip off any factory finish. You want the leather to be thirsty for that paint.
Then came the taping. This part is super important and super tedious. I carefully taped off the soles, the little Nike swoosh tag on the tongue, anywhere I didn’t want brown. Took me a good hour, maybe more. My fingers were aching.
Painting time. I started with a thin coat of the darker brown. Gotta be patient, thin coats are better than one thick gloopy one. Let it dry. Then another coat. I think I did three coats of the dark brown on most of the shoe. For some panels, I used the slightly lighter brown to give it a bit of depth, nothing too crazy, just a subtle difference. It was actually kinda relaxing, just focusing on getting the paint smooth.
There were a couple of “oops” moments. A bit of paint bled under the tape near the sole on one shoe. Had to quickly wipe it off with some acetone on a q-tip. Close call. And at one point, I knocked over the bottle of finisher, luckily it was mostly empty and capped, but still gave me a mini heart attack.
After all the color was on and properly dried – I gave it a full 24 hours just to be safe – I applied the matte finisher. Two light coats of that. This seals the paint and gives it that nice, non-shiny look I was going for. And it protects it from scuffs, or so they say.
The final touch? Brown laces. Found some nice flat cotton ones that matched perfectly.
The Big Reveal (to myself)
When I finally pulled off all the tape, man, I was pretty chuffed. They weren’t factory perfect, if you look super close you can tell they’re hand-done. But they were mine. And they were all brown Dunks, exactly like I’d pictured. The color was spot on. They felt solid.
Been wearing them for a few weeks now. They’re comfy, they go with everything – jeans, chinos, whatever. Got a few compliments, actually. Someone even asked where I bought them. I just grinned and said, “Made ’em.”
So yeah, sometimes if you can’t find what you want, you just gotta roll up your sleeves and do it yourself. It was a bit of effort, sure, but totally worth it. Now I’ve got my unique all brown Dunks, and a pretty cool story to go with them. Plus, it saved me from paying some ridiculous reseller price. Win-win, I’d say.
