Who wears Chucks?!

[Mike K.]

Okay, I admit that I'm not totally hardcore vintage. In fact I kinda have two sides. One side likes to dress in nice khakis, russet leather shoes, and a well-worn fedora. But the other side (usually when I'm just relaxing or headed to the beach) is that inner-kid who likes boardshorts, a comfy t-shirt, and good ol' Converse All-Stars...Chucks!

I suspect that I'm not the only one who likes these shoes. I'd like to hear from other Chucks wearers out there. What's your preference - low or high top? Any favorite color?

My personal favorites are the optical white high tops. Red is a close runner-up.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I wear the 1946 repros

You must see this thread.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3888&highlight=shoes

 

[Dinerman]

I do.
My latest pair has really made me angry, though.
The rubber is hard (not the butter soft stuff on my old deadstock USA made pair) and the soles have this weird felt stuff on them, so they get no traction until I wear the tread completely off. I feel ripped off on 'em.

 

[Brooksie]

I got my first pair of converse high tops in high school in the 80's, they were bright red and I loved them - even though they made my feet look a mile long which is pretty funny because I only weighed about 90 lb's.

I did not get another pair of converse until I went through truck driving school in spring of 2005, and I started doing long haul and when I was on the road the only shoe I would wear was converse. I liked them for driving the truck because the tread on the bottom gripped the pedals really well and I did not have to worry about my foot slipping off which has happened before I went to converse exclusivly.

I am no longer on the road but I still wear my Converse or Dansko cloggs to work. I own 2 pair of converse hightops - one is a plush velvety chocolate brown with pink and white trim, the other is black with hot pink trim and I own 2 pairs of low top converse one is just a basic medium blue canvas and the other is forest green suede. My favorite pair is the basic blue because it just seems to go with everything.

Wearing converse runs in the family; my grandma on my dads side of the family wore them for probably about 40 years or more, she always wore the basic black high top and she wore them with dresses because back in those days women did not wear pants and she lived on a farm so the converse were just practical for her also! She rarely ever wore anything else on her feet unless she had to dress up which did not happen very often.

It's funny because whenever I wear my converse people always have some sort of a comment to make about them. I also noticed that people in the South call them Chuck's or Chuck Taylor's but up North where I am from we usually just call them Converse.

Brooksie

 

[PeeWee]

I knock around the house in a pair of white lowcuts....mainly for grass cutting. I've worn Converse for going on fifty years.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Nope!

I'm a 'Jack Purcell' man myself. I bought three pairs and put them away so that I'll always have a nice white pair in the future. Been wearing them for decades. I once saw a picture of George Harrison wearing a pair near the end of the Beatles career. That did it for me!.. been wearing them ever since. Pretty hard to find these days though - but I've got my stock!

-dixon cannon

 

[pigeon toe]

I have a pair of white chucks! I used to wear them all the time. Now I only wear them when I've worn holes through my Keds and have yet to buy a new pair.

Honestly, one of the reasons why I like them so much is because of the ankle support the high-tops give. And cos, ya know, I'm still a teenager.

 

[ITG]

I have some black ones that I've had for over 10 years. They are the best.

 

[Tomasso]

I was weaned on Chucks; I've probably owned over 50 pairs. They would start off as game shoes, then move down to practice shoes and then end up being worn on the street. I haven't worn them since Adidas, Puma and Nike came on the scene. After all, they were(are) crappy shoes. Besides, I generally don't wear athletic shoes unless participating in a sport or fitness activity.

 

[Lauren]

I have a cream colored pair. They look rather vintage with 30's slacks

Mine shrunk though- I was out helping my dad with his tractor and got all muddy. Beware! They will shrink when washed!

I'm due for another pair now- you can get them on the cheap at a store in the Los Angeles Garment District at Olympic and Maple

 

[Mike K.]

Matt, thanks for that link. I remembered seeing something earlier, but nothing came up on a search for converse...don't know why.

Lauren, I've had plenty of pairs shrink after getting wet (that's cotton canvas!) but so far all of 'em have stretched back out after a few wearings. By the way, when did you change your lounge user name? No more last name?

Anyone have info on the Chucks with the buttery-soft rubber? Are these the Made in USA ones, new vs. old, etc.?

 

[Matthew Dalton]

I was always a Blundstones guy. I haven't owned lace-up shoes since I was a toddler. But I am planning to get a pair of repro Chucks for the gym.
(Not to mention a few other kinds of vintagey lace-up.)

 

[Dinerman]

Anyone have info on the Chucks with the buttery-soft rubber? Are these the Made in USA ones, new vs. old, etc.?

I think it's just that you have to look for them. The old US madeones seem to have had softer rubber. I've had a couple of pairs since they shipped the factories overseas. The first one had stiff rubber that never softened up. The second was just like the ole pairs, soft and comfortable. Then came my new old stock pair- but those fell apart very quickly. My current pair is stiff.

The stiff ones don't smell.
The soft rubber pairs stink to high heaven.
It seems to be the trade off.

 

[John in Covina]

Converse Chuck Taylors

It was a rite of passage, from boyhood to manhood, when it came to going from some store brand sneakers to the original Chuck Taylors that my older brother wore for his daily basketball games with his friends. I believe it was 6th grade and the move to Junoir High school that was the year so September of 1969 for me. I always got the white ones.

Sometime in the 80's my foot went from a normal width to a wide and since then I get one of the New Balance shoes for my sneakers so i don't blow out the sides or have to get sneakers theat are way too long to accomodate the width.

That retro sneaker site made me salivate over the 1946 PF FLYERS, those are cool. I had some when I was 8 or 9 maybe, and I asked for them because they sponsered Johnny Quest, a cartoon favorite of mine. And because: (Announcer's voice) "PF Flyers make you run faster and jump higher!"

 

[ortega76]

I collect them. I have about 23 pair including two from Sailor Jerry and a leather pair with a screenprint of the Brooklyn Bridge (a la Mos Def). I have a few pair made via the "custom" feature on the Converse web-site. Last Christmas I bought a black velvet pair and I wore it with a black velvet sportcoat.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

I have a couple pairs. But after visiting a certain shoe store in Hollywood, I've never bought a pair of "normal" looking shoes. I once had a working pair of red plaid converses. Best shoes I ever wore! Any new converse allstars that you get now, since Nike bought them out, they have much better support and sole than they used to. Before then, they were almost as flat as a pancake!

Imagine a pair of converse allstars made of Hemp?


Here's the pair I wear the most though and very proud of.

 

[columbusdrifter]

OK, I love this thread. I'm new so bear with me. I've worn Chuck's since high school, and I used to love to raid the thrift stores in Dayton to find all the black label ones. I don't even see those anymore. Even back in my formative years I knew which ones were old!

I haven't had a pair in a lot of years now; I found the arch support was not there, so I bought a pair of Hurley's and wore them to death. They had the Chuck look, but were twice the price, and they had everything going for them as far as support and comfort. I still have them, and even though the sides are blown out in a couple of spots, they are still my favourite. Remember, beat up shoes ARE punk rock...

So I now have a pair of the PF Flyers, and I absolutley LOVE them. They run a little narrow, and I found about a half size small, so if ya order 'em, order 'em up. I wear an eleven, and I had to send them back because they were WAY to tight. But my 11 1/2's rock.

I'm a lowtop guy, but they PF Center HI's are really nice looking.

So of course I want more.....

So between those and my 'beat to all hell' vintage 50's leather soled (on their 4th!) engineer boots, that's how I roll everyday.

 

[Dinerman]

see- I like them because I have flat feet. These new ones don't make me feel like I'm barefoot anymore. I also think they may be a tad wider.

 

[columbusdrifter]

I'll have to try a new pair then. I've always loved them...

Besides, I've always wanted a pair of the blacked out (must be for the war!) leather ones.

Zappos.com rules for that stuff. They have everything it seems.

 

[Mr. Rover]

I used to wear a pair of cream low tops. Now I have a pair of red high tops and cream Keds. It's good for those days when I'm running late for school and have to throw on a polo and khakis/jeans.