• The New York Times, Monday, December 24, 2007 12 PM

Nike released the Air Force 1 25 years ago. It contained a pocket of air in the heel, retailed for $89.95, and was hot on the playground as well as with pros. Now costing $80 for the basic white shoe, it is the best-selling athletic shoe ever. There have been more than 1,800 color combinations, many in limited editions that can cost thousands of dollars.

Nike declined to release sales figures, but Matt Powell, an analyst at SportsOneSource, estimates that about 12 million pairs of the Air Force 1 were sold at its peak in 2005, and 10 million to 11 million were sold last year. The shoe was originally popular in the East, and Nike is giving loyalists in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York the chance to choose 1 of 25 of the most popular models to be re-released in those cities in the summer.

The shoe is valued more for its fashion relevance than for its performance. "People want to analyze its death, but it's really just that it looks great on your foot," says Bobbito Garcia, a sneaker and hip-hop expert who wrote the book "Where'd You Get Those? New York City's Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987."

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