I don’t care what anybody says; I am and always will be a Chuck’s kind of Nix!!!! Since I was a teenager, I have always and will always be a fan of Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers. There is no question the first #TBT for the fashion section would be for one of my favorites….
In 1917 the Converse rubber company began producing the Chuck Taylor gym shoe in an effort to keep their factory workers employed all year around – the company started out by making galoshes and work boots. The original colors produced were not the white and black versions of the All Star; the sneakers actually came in natural colors…yes, the original Chuck’s were a natural brown with black trim (I know there are some out there somewhere and I WANT them). Three years later, the shoe made a transformation from canvas to leather and is noted to be the 1st mass produced sneaker!
The name Chuck Taylor came from the Charles H. Taylor, a basketball player with the Akron Firestones who eventually became a player and coach of the Converse All-Stars team. He believed in the shoes so much, the Converse Corporation decided to honor him by putting his name “Chuck Taylor” on the star ankle patch of the shoe in 1932.
Converse Corporation has gone through its share of financial ups and downs, changing ownership several times but was eventually purchased by its top competitor – Nike in 2003. Despite economic challenges the shoes has been around for more than 80 years and show no signs of going anywhere anytime soon! Most people have owned a pair of Chuck’s in their lifetime and because of the modern designs of the shoe, many generations will continue to enjoy a good ole pair of Chuck Taylor’s!!!
So this fashion #TBT tribute goes out to the veterans of the shoe game…