Have you noticed? The unthinkable has happened. The 80's are back. I saw a pair of neon leggings on a little girl the other night. Nooooooo!
Every decade, though, seems to produce, or go back to, some fashion classics. Case in point - the Chuck Taylor Converse tennis shoe.
I always thought of these as a 50's throwback. However, they were actually created in the early 1900's, when basketball was in its infancy.
I got my first pair of Chucks when I played basketball for a little, podunk school in Arkansas in the 80's. We were all issued off-white, canvas, Converse high-tops for basketball. I also got to wear a pair of satin, button-up baksetball shorts that really were from the 50's! My Dad thought they were awesome. He wore the same shoes when he played basketball as a teenager in the 50's.
I bought my second pair of "Chucks" from The Gap in the early 90's. They were black. I loved those things and kept them long after they were "cool".
Last summer, a friend from church bought me a pair of black "Chucks" from Payless. We had been talking about how much we loved those tennis shoes, and she showed up with them the next week. I've been wearing them out ever since!
It's hard to define why I love them so much. They're comfortable. They're black and white. They have nice, white, cotton shoelaces with silver grommets. I guess they're like a black turtleneck. They look good on everyone and seem to say, "I don't have to follow trends. I look amazing and cool no matter what."
I can't wait for my grandchildren to come bounding up to the house in some Chucks and to see the look on their face when I come bounding out of the house to greet them in mine!
"And there you have it — for now… The best stories are the ones that don’t end — the ones you just keep adding to and adding to — all the while marveling at the creative, disruptive, optimistic, courageous ways things evolve from being what they were, to what they are, to what they will become." --Converse website
