Trends: Cheap mdash; and popular mdash; sneakers?

LeBron James is no stranger to the fashion world, either.
Now, Stephon Marbury also is in the game. The sneaker-design game, that is.

Marbury, of the New York Knicks, launched his sneaker line last summer. The synthetic leather low- and high-tops are to grade school kids what Christian Louboutins are to adult fashionistas.
The difference?

You can buy more than three dozen pairs of the $14.98 Starburys for the price of one pair of Louboutins.
Or, to put it in basketball sneaker perspective, 10 pairs of Starburys cost as much as a single pair of the Nike shoes James endorses.

These are the new Jordans, says Tra vel Tull, who is 14 and attends Troy (N.Y.) High School.

No, these are the new cheap Jordans, says Joe Mumtaz, Tull s classmate.
Not since the Hacky Sack or shopping vintage has anything so inexpensive been so in, says Jill Spiegel, a Minneapolis-based pop-culture expert.
The basketball player is totally cool, so if he is OK with it, it gives the stamp of approval for everyone, Spiegel says.

They don t feel like they re being cheap; they feel like they are being smart.
Marbury s collection, which he wears when playing with the Knicks, was chosen as the 2006 Footwear Launch of the Year by the trade magazine Footwear News.
Starburys are a dream come true for parents whose kids growing feet mean they need new sneakers every few months.

Kidswho save up to buy the shoes have money left over for movies or other clothes.
Interest in the shoes, sold exclusively at Steve Barry stores, has been fueled by TV commercials and by kids, tweens and teenagers who say they look good.
Stephon Marbury, he s good, says Jalen Wilcox, a 7-year-old from Rensselaer, N.

Y. And I like the colors: They match my shirt.
Kristi L.