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As a part of my years of collecting sneakers, I frequently come across pairs of sneakers that I cannot identify at a glance. There are a couple of tricks that make the process of learning what the sneaker is a bit faster. Learn how to quickly and easily identify a pair of Nikes using the internet below!

The basic process is finding a piece of identifying information on the shoe. Then, look that information up on publicly available search engines and websites. Failing that, reaching out on social media can be a next step. It’ll be easier if you have the sneaker in hand.

How To Identify Nikes When You Have The Shoe

If you have the pair of Nikes in question in hand, or have detailed pictures of the sneaker, identifying the shoe becomes a lot easier. You want to locate the style code and search on the internet to find the corresponding shoe.

Finding the style code can be tricky, but luckily Nikes tend to follow a certain format that makes finding them simpler.

See the steps below to find out how to do this:

1. Find the style code on the tag or the box. With Nike you are looking for a 9 character style code consisting of numbers and upper case letters. These are usually configured as 6 characters followed by 3 characters, i.e. DH0960 600 or 304714 571 shown in the images in this article.
2. Try Googling the style code. Often times if it is a recent release, pairs of the shoe available for sale will show up in the “shopping” tab in Google search. If it is an older or rare pair, there are sometimes pics of the shoe to confirm what it is under the “images” tab.
3. If you can’t find on Google, try searching the style code on aftermarket sites like eBay. I also include the style code when I write sneaker reviews on this site.
4. If those yield no results, try asking on social media. You can try the Sneakers subreddit in Reddit, remember to use the “ID” flair in your post and follow the subreddit rules.

How To Identify Nikes When You DON’T Have The Shoe

If you don’t have the sneaker in hand, or photos that are usable, identifying a pair of Nikes can be tougher. Being generally familiar with how different Nike models look will provide a shortcut, but ultimately you are looking for the model and colorway to ID the shoe.

Many times, you will be able to use the model and colorway to find the style code, which can then be used in the process above to get the exact Nike you are looking for.

1. Identify the model. You want to roughly figure out what type of shoe it is. Start at the basics and work your way to the specifics. Is it a running shoe or basketball sneaker? Figure out specifically what model it is i.e. Dunk, Air Force 1, etc. If you are having trouble, check some of the reviews on my site for photos and examples of different Nike models. You can also check Nike’s website to try and find the same model if you can’t figure out what it is. Just scroll through their current releases and see if you find a shoe that has the same paneling and overall layout as the sneaker in question.
2. Identify the colors. Try to be specific as you can, for example, “Navy” is going to yield more specific results than “Blue”. As you gain more experience, you will start to be able to ID common Nike colors such as “University Red”, “Sail”, “Varsity Maize” etc.
3. Try Googling the model and colors. Check Google image to see if the sneaker comes up. If you check the site the image is sourced from, there may be other identifying details such as the style code (see step 2 in the previous section)
4. If you can’t find on Google, try searching the model and colors on aftermarket sites like eBay.
5. If those yield no results, try asking on social media. Post a photo in the Sneakers subreddit in Reddit with the ID flair as mentioned above, or in a Facebook group, Discord, or other social media centered around sneakers.

Other brands besides Nike

Most brands include a style code of some kind that helps identify their sneakers and colorways. It will take some experience to figure out the different formats each brand uses. I may publish guides to finding those style codes as well at a later date.

Regardless, the process is basically the same. Get the style code if you can, and then use the different search engines and aftermarket sites (as well as this site) to try and look up the shoe. If you can’t get the style code, try the model and colorway. Use social media, the manufacturer site or a review site like this one to try and figure out the model. Search the model and colorway together to find the style code. Use the style code to find the specific sneaker.

Over time, as you gain experience, ID’ing models and brand-specific color palettes will come easier. Nike for example tends to use certain color names often on a lot of their releases. The more you collect, the more you will see names of certain colors pop up, be it for Adidas, Asics or most other sneaker brands. Experience truly is the best teacher when it comes to sneakers!

Conclusion

If you can’t easily identify a pair of Nikes, the steps above may help. The style code is the fastest way to an answer, but may not always yield results!

If you’ve followed the steps above and done your due diligence, do not be afraid to reach out to other experienced sneakerheads. Other fans of sneakers can be a great help to figuring out what Nikes those are!