Featured Products
Converse
1908–1941: Early days and Chuck Taylor
In 1908 Marquis M. Converse opened the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in Malden, Massachusetts. They specialized in manufacturing winterized rubber soled footwear for men, women, and children. Within 2 years they were producing 4,000 shoes a day but it was to be another 5 years before the company would start producing athletic footwear designed for tennis and the like.
There fortune would come in 1921 when they employed the services of a young basketball player by the name of Charles H. or "Chuck" Taylor who had complained of having sore feet. He became an ambassador for the company touring the US promoting Coverse and eventually earning the right to have his name adorn the All-Star basketball shoe by way of a signature patch. He continued to work for Converse and endorse the shoes until shortly before his death in 1969. Converse also customized shoes for the New York Renaissance (the "Rens"), basketball's first all African American pro basketball team. Chuck Taylors are a legendary brand of shoe known as the Converse shoe.
The Chuck Taylor All Star shoe is known by many nicknames across the globe such as: "Cons", "Connies", "Convies", "Verses", "Chuckers", "Chucks", "Converse", "Chuckies", "Chuckie T's", or "Chucker Boots" for the higher styles. For decades the Chuck Taylor All Star basketball shoe was only available in black, with a white version released in 1947. With basketball teams wanting there shoes to match their kit it was decided that it would be prudent to manufacture other colours and experiment with different materials including leather, suede and vinyl, and even hemp, rather than just canvas. Besides high-tops, low-cuts and later knee-high versions were produced. Over the years and despite buy-outs from larger companies the Converse All-Star has not had too many alterations from its original design. The fabric is no longer 2-ply cotton canvas but 1-ply "textile" and many wearers have noticed different patterns of wear.
Converse shoes have branched out into producing limited editions such as the Kurt Cobain and the Sailor Jerry green or brown edition, which only 2000 or so have been made. Dwyane Wade's signature shoe has several limited edition shoes always are made by the number 3333. More recently, they have participated in portioning a percentage of their profits from (product) RED sales to help the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa, an initiative launched by Bono of U2 to appoint business and consumer power to raise awareness and help abolish AIDS in Africa.
Converse All Star shoes also hold a place in musical culture; specifically rock music. From the Greasers of the 1950’s and Rockabilly fans through to the advent of punkrock and the Ramones continuing through to 1990’s and the Grunge movement. Chuck Taylor All Stars have become a main-stay in the wardrobe of many musicians and fans of rock music alike. With the shoes being available in several core colors, seasonal colors, and a variety of print styles, it allows for an infinite number of combinations and customization, stylized shoe laces, mis-matching, scrawling, drawing, painting, stitching all add to the individuality of the shoe style. With this in mind the company has allowed its colour palette to grow considerably with the demand. Converse have now broadened there range to include numerous styles aimed towards the skate market with a more robust sole and upper.
To View the full Converse range click here
Like Converse Footwear ? You might also like Vans Footwear and Etnies.
