WICKER PARK — It must be spring because people are camping out overnight on Wicker Park sidewalks to be among the first to buy stuff.
Gus Campos:
"I would not have done this if the weather were colder," said Gus Campos, a 21-year-old bartender from Wheaton, who spent the night in front of Saint Alfred, a Wicker Park shoe boutique at 1531 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Campos is planning to score a pair of taupe and red Asics when the store opens at 11:30 a.m. Friday in a first-come, first served special.
Dubbed the "Dirty Buck," the Packer Shoes x Asics Gel-Lyte III kicks — a collaboration with NYC-based Packer shoes — are part of the footwear brand's 25th Gel Lyte Anniversary.
In an email issued late Thursday to its newsletter subscribers, Saint Alfred announced that the shoes would be available "on a first come, first serve basis" and just one pair per person.
"After we handle the line, we'll open the phones for phone orders if there are any pairs left. EXTREMELY LIMITED QUANTITY IS AVAILABLE," the email warned.
"I likes the color combinations, the brownish color with red soles," Campos said of the kicks, which will cost him $175.
Photos by Saint Alfred/e-newsletter
Around 7 a.m. Friday, about 10 other shoppers had joined Campos, including Joana Pabon, 24.
Pabon, who is nearly 9-months pregnant and has a baby due next Friday, said she was in line to support her husband, Javier Hernandez.
(Hernandez had left his chair to get some decaffinated coffee for his wife).
"He's a shoe freak and has waited in line for shoes before. This is my first time doing this, I'm here to support him," Pabon said.
