Are Converse Tennis shoes once again back in style? I have always love low-topped Converse. I personally own about twenty pair. I used to own more, but my shoe size changed and I had to start over. I miss my Christmas Plaid Converse, that I have not been able to replace. I wear my Converse all the time. I work out two days a week with a trainer and they are perfect for that! I decided since I love them I should paint them. Shouldn't we always paint things that we love?
I started with the red pair since I wear my red ones a lot. Next I did a yellow pair:
These are all small at about 6" x 6". They don't take long to paint, except trying to get the laces to look like they are in the right place. One of high school friends saw that I was painting Converse, and since her husband always wore them to play basketball in the 1960's she commissioned white ones for Father's Day.
I painted them in an 8 x 8 inch format and luckily finished them in time and mailed them off to a very happy client and friend.
I liked the White Converse so much I did a second rendition of them just for fun.
I felt they turned out well! Then I got busy with requests from friends, and I did a few Art/Craft shows, which I decided in the area where I live was a total waste of time financially. I did meet some very interesting people and had fun, but not enough to do it again. Now I own nine panels and a new Easy Up Tent. Oh well.
Converse has an interesting history. Coverse was founded way back in 1908 in Malden, Massachusetts.The founder, Marquis Mills Converse, was a manager at a footwear company before starting the Converse Rubber Shoe CompanyIt wasn't until the following year that the first Converse shoes were introduced, on April 30, 1909.
In 1941, the U.S. entered World War II, and Converse was the official shoe used by the U.S. military.The Converse star rapidly grew to become a patriotic symbol, with troops wearing white high tops while training. Nike had taken an interest in Converse for some time, and in July 2003, they snagged the company for themselves.Not that it came cheap, though – purchasing Converse cost Nike $309 million! One of Nike's first moves after the acquisition was to bring back the popular 1970s-style Converse. That's what Nike claimed in 2012 when they made $450 million in sales just from Chucks. Overall, more than a staggering one billion pairs of Converse have been sold since the company was founded in 1908.
Everyone remembers Sylvester Stallone in Rocky, famously running up outdoor stairs. I bet a few of you will have noticed him sporting a pair of Converse for these runs. They have no arch or ankle support. It turns out that in 1970, Converse was seen as a serious athletic shoe before typical thin canvas sneakers came about. On March 2, 1962, Philadelphia Warriors smashed the New York Nicks thanks to Chamberlain's 100-point lead, all while wearing a pair of Chuck Taylors All-Stars – the most popular athletic shoe at the time. The actual design of the shoe hasn't changed since 1949, and the design of the bottom of the shoe has remained the same, incredibly, since 1923!This indeed shows just how timeless Converse truly is.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan's Olympic debut was in 1984, in which he bagged himself his first-ever Olympic Gold Medal.Through the Games, he wore a pair of Converse Fastbreak Mids, a shoe that is mostly worn by skaters today.Fast forward to 2017, and those very same Converse sold at auction for over an eye-watering $190,000.
Converse enlisted the Harlem Globetrotters, an American basketball team known for their acrobatics and tricks, to help design its new Chuck Taylor All-Star shoe. The team chopped off the sneakers' tops, creating low-cut versions. The players then ran around in these prototypes and tested them out on the court before giving feedback to the designers on how to refine the shape of the low-top collar. This trial and error process led to the design of Converse's Chuck Taylor All-Star 'Ox' – short for 'Oxford Cut' – in 1957.
And there you have it, folks! Converse has proven itself to be more than just a shoe – it's a cultural phenomenon. From its pivotal role in history to its timeless design, Converse has left an indelible mark. So, next time you rock your Chucks, remember the rich heritage they carry. Stay stylish, stay timeless, and keep walking with Converse.
I was on a plane coming back from Cabo a couple months ago, and looked down and the other two people on the plane had on black Converse, just like mine! Wish I would have taken a photo.
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