30/01/2012

vintage VANS style #39 FULL CAB signature US6.5 MADE IN USA


the 20th anniversary of the half cab & subsequent supreme release of the cab-custom issue brings up the age-old question; is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?
personally the glass is always half full when considering the full cab but it is the half-cab that is the loaded model, embodying endless importance for the skate narrative & the culture that it helped build. as such the sum of the many parts that it played in influencing youth culture goes far beyond any concern that it looks bloated & is lesser than the original.









with monthly drops of the half via supreme stores worldwide this year, of course i would love to get my hands on 1 personally customade by steve himself. i find it hard to overlook however the deterioraion of the half cab since chinese takeover of production in the mid 90's. any tapering to the last appears to have gone & the subtlety of the panelling & crocodile leather was buried in mass production & profit margin. as such, rather than submit to made in china mediocrity & until i find an original full cab complete with 90's custom reductionism, i went 1 better with the following wholesome mouthful of holy grail!










vintage vans style #39 full cab
black suede & rubber scene
charcoal crocodile leather
made in usa circa 1989
hand-signed by steve caballero 2007
new in box
US6.5

this style #39 hand-signed by steve himself in '07 actually belonged to the 'master of disaster' duane peters! a close friend capitalised upon duane's recent misfortune & scored me this pair from the late 80s when sold to finance his cause. featuring all the genius of style #39 originals, the hallmarks of the legacy left by steve full caballero are fully evident in his spirited message on the box. skate for fun!
as such, yes parts is parts, but the whole is the holy grail!

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