These days you find them everywhere: worn with jeans, dresses, suits and in all possible colours and patterns. Everyone seems to be wearing them. According to the history of the Converse All-Star a lot has changed since the first shoes were produced. When Marquis M. Converse founded the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in Malden, Massachusetts (USA) in 1908, it still took another 10 years for the first Converse All-Stars to be produced. By then, the shoe was designed for only one specific purpose: basketball. Basketball is also where the shoe got its name: In 1923 Charles Hollis “Chuck” Taylor’s name was added to the patch and from then on the shoe became known as the Chuck Taylor All-Star. Over the years, this shoe originally designed purely for athletic purposes has been transformed into a fashion icon. Although other great athletes such as Jack Purcell, Jimmy Connors or Chris Evert Lloyd were famous wearers of “Chucks”, they were soon to become popular in the music business and in Hollywood. James Dean, Kurt Cobain, Elvis Presley and bands like The Doors, Metallica or Black Sabbath all wore the same type of shoes: Chucks.
This leads to the following questions: Why are these shoes so trendy right now? And what is so cool about them? Having so many celebrities wear these shoes, along with some background knowledge about their production, accounts for a great deal of their authenticity (assuming that the Converse Company does not send off free samples or, worse, pay celebrities (except in commercial advertising) to wear their shoes). Also, as these shoes come in so many different colours, patterns and materials there is surely a Converse All-Star for every one of you. You can even create your very own personal shoe – just go to their website.
Thinking back to their origins and to their popularity in the punk and grunge generation, one is likely to believe that only punks or emos – who have probably never touched a basketball in their life – wear Chucks. This, however, is not true anymore. Shoes, especially Chucks, are a great means of conveying one’s very personal message, which surely is one reason why they’re still selling. You often see very individualized Chucks with bright colourful laces, beads, buttons or writings over the rubber bits. Just have a look at those nicely decorated Chucks below I captured near the NaWi science building.
The times when wearing these shoes was limited (not literally but before they became fashionable) to said group of people are surely over – nowadays everyone can wear them. They are no longer a symbol for a specific group – you wear them because you like them! It’s as easy as that. That should be the only reason to do anything at all anyway. Chucks along with what you wear with them be it band t-shirts, piercings, vintage stuff, basketball shorts, or colourful, girly dresses) present your personality to the outside world. Some people even tend to wear their Chucks down until the canvas comes apart and the soles go completely bald. What this could say of a person I leave for you to decide.
A couple of years ago the Chucks set a trend for the popular, fashionable crowd: although awful on the arches, thin and hard soles plus the very annoying farting sound when walking, together with a fairly high price in Europe (considering the materials they’re made of and the fact that they used to be some of the cheapest trainers around!) wouldn’t really make you want to buy these shoes if it wasn’t for the fashion. So, why did you buy them? Because you like them or rather because everyone seems to own a pair these days? I am itching for comments!
Anyways, for whatever reason people continue to wear Chucks and one thing is clear: they are an iconic brand that will never go out of style!
hehe, I escaped your camera lense, but I have a pair of VERY dirty, VERY ragged, VERY cool chucks with stars and stripes on them. they are my pride and joy!
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