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I've always been a big fan of classic Converse sneakers and can't remember a time in my life when I didn't own a pair. They are classic, last for years (my current pair is four years old), are comfortable (okay, only with socks) and add a touch of tomboy charm to everything.

While tidying up my inspiration folders the other day, I realised many of my favourite street style pictures involve a pair of Chucks. Hence this post, a little love letter to a true wardrobe all-star.

The Sartorialist definitely appreciates Chucks, and props to him for capturing a diversity of looks; his pictures show the incredible versatility of Chucks and how they suit a broad range of styles -

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And then there's Vanessa Jackman and Maya Villiger, who capture them the way I like to wear them -

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Above, Vanessa Jackman

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Maya Villiger

The best thing about Chucks is that when a pair gives way, you know you'll be able to replace them without difficulty. That's not an easy thing these days, when fast fashion rules.

Pictures from the sartorialist, vanessa jackman here, here, and here, turned out

Comments

Alice said…
I coveted the cream white/red/blue ones for the longest time until I got some. I love how "patriotic" they are.

I've been looking for summer shoes but this post reminded me that maybe I don't really "need" to buy shoes, and that chucks are a great option (at least until I have too much extra money haha).
Human Racing said…
Yes! I have a pair of Chuck Taylors that have lasteed me since middle school, which makes them about 8 years old by now. I've definitely grown out of the print = (but not so much I hate it) so I save them for moments when I need a pair of shoes I can muck up. This reminds me how I've been meaning to purchase another pair. Classic black, high top. That's all I ask

Great photos and inspiration, and I agree with PPP yours are perfect. I love the easy way you wear them.
Fleurette said…
Haha I actually do think they're comfortable without socks. But I think all shoes are comfortable without socks, I only wear sucks when it's cold.
CPJY said…
oh my god, bless this post. i love converse sneakers but i've been thinking of trying out a pair of classic vans. do you have an opinion on vans?
lin said…
Pret a Porter P: The all-black leather ones are sharp. I once saw a pair of John Varvatos ones and still kick myself for not at least trying them one - they have a gazillion more eyelets than the usual ones and are densely laced with thin black leather laces instead of the usual woven ones. It was an edgy version of something usually so wholesome and I still think of them sometimes.

Alice: They're so all-American, I agree! I used to wear the black and cream ones but I like these ones better I think.

And I think these are great summer shoes - I like how they look with sundresses.

CamisaBlanca: Thanks! I think of these as my muck-up shoes too - they're my fave travel shoes because they can rough it out a bit but they're also stylish.

I love the high-top style too, my last pair was a pair of black high-tops. There's something a little bad ass about them.

I feel when I have to replace mine because I like them best battered - I feel so strange in a crisp new pair.

Fleurette: They chafe my feet a bit so I prefer them with socks, plus I hate my sweaty feet in canvas shoes...I feel gross at the end of the day. I can only skip socks when it's all-leather shoes.

Catherine: I assume you mean the slip-ons? I never quite took to them, and I haven't tried a pair in years so I cld be wrong, but I remember they were heavier than I liked, and also they're so padded all round that I felt a bit clumsy. And I can wear low socks with Chucks but I can't with Vans and I find canvas shoes uncomfortable without socks.
Maja H said…
Fantastic post! I can´t wait to get out my classic black and white high tops again after a long winter. Nothing says spring like bare asphalt and a pair of chucks :)
Fen said…
I love converse - I have them in the untreated canvas/ecru version and I wear them every other day, they seem to go with everything! I love the pictures you've posted, especially the one with the lady in the smart grey jacket, long black trousers, and black and white chucks: such a good look!
chrisbean said…
When I was in high school in the early 1990s, I was desperate for a pair of converse (it was very grunge and "in" to draw all over them with sharpie pens) -- but my parents flat-out refused to buy them for me.

Apparently, when THEY had gone to high school in the late 1960s, only very very poor kids wore chucks, and dad didn't want people looking down on me for not being able to afford "real" sneakers!

oh, fashion...
Jennifer said…
They are so genius, so appealing, so democratic, so casual and yet so far above it all that they can go absolutely anywhere if you have the confidence to wear them, they are personal yet universal, they are a reliable constant in a disorienting fashion/consumer landscape, and they are so damn uncomfortable.
Garderoben said…
Great selection of pictures! I have a pair of beige Comme des garcons Converse sneakers that I can't wait to wear when it gets warmer!
lin said…
Maja H: I think the canvas material is very spring-like too!

chrisbean: I know exactly what you mean! sneakers trends got quite "posh" for a while but I still like the scruffy feel of these best. nice and unpretentious.

editor: haha! i'm perfectly comfortable in mine, but then i generally find all sneakers to be comfortable because i grew up in them - they fit pretty much like the canvas school shoes we all had to wear as part of our uniforms, and are definitely more solidly comfortable than those.

garderoben: cool, would love to see picts of those on your blog then!
lin said…
fen: i love that look too: such an elegant, katherine hepburn silhouette but with a "street" touch.
Chuck said…
I love them too. My original pair is still going strong nine years on (I think the holes are charming). Been thinking about doing a Converse post for a while - I can't stop seeing/thinking about crisp white ones.
Anonymous said…
Great pics:) I really like your blog..so much nice inspiration. I wish you a lovely weekend.

LOVE Maria at inredningsvis.se
(Sweden)
petrichore said…
I always appreciated the rubber toes on Converse--in the rainy climate I live in, they're genius!

minima/maxima, a blog about minimalist style
Eileen said…
I have been on a waitlist for the white pair with red stripes for months before I finally got mine last year. Meanwhile I was wearing my Muji sneakers alot. Sadly, I have not broken in the Converse and it felt a little uncomfortable without socks. I need to wear them more..haha

Agree that it look great with white dresses for spring/summer!
miss sophie said…
love your cream chucks - they're so easy and comfy and a warm weather staple!
Ginta said…
Chucks! At the moment I have to pairs - navy ones and leather high tops. For me leather high tops are the most beautiful shoes out there! They look so chic! Recently I through away my old favorites - black velvet ones with purple details bought in Istanbul. Great memories! I was thinking of keeping them as souvenirs but after some contemplation I just let them go, they've had great life. :)
LN said…
I love these images! I've only owned one pair of chucks, in navy, back in junior high. I wore them to death. I love that they can be worn with slacks and a blouse, or jeans and a tee.
Alexandra said…
Such a great staple. But somehow I can just never get them to look quite right with bare legs.

http://herribbonsandherbows.blogspot.com
C said…
I remember an outfit on Garance Doré : a white suit with white low chuck. Amazing! And i agree with you about your last sentence : so easy to replace!
MJ said…
I would agree with this more if I didn't have such an issue keeping them clean, haha! I still live in my white pair, though I don't know what I do with them for them to end up in the state they do...
Joy said…
so inspired for the summer with these photos! i have a pair of light floral arnold palmer (so chuck lookalikes) but its still kind of lacking compared to a pair of white chucks. for some bizarre reason i like the white chucks more than the black :/
lin said…
Chuck: I think holes are charming too! I tend to get mine on the same corner too, because of my habit of rubbing that corner around my chair stool when I'm seated.

Hope to see that post soon!

maria: Thanks, hope you had a good one as well.

petrichore: You're right! They get through light puddles and rain quite well.

Eileen: I had no idea they're so hard to find. They're heavy and quite smelly (the rubber) to start off with I suppose, haha. I don't like wearing any canvas shoes without socks, so I always wear my Chucks with socks (including very low "invisible" ones), and I find them perfectly comfy that way.

miss comfy: I wear them year-round!

Ginta: I had one pair that I loved and almost cried when I lost them - high-tops, with the canvas covered with grey jersey, with white laces. Very simple, but subtly different. I bought them in Berlin. I spent a year looking for them after I saw lost and til now to no avail, and til now I still miss them.

It's quite lovely to be able to let things go without too much regret.

LN: Agree!

Alexandra: I'm sure someday you'll get it just right.

Kaÿte: I quite loved that outfit as well. Such a great attitude.

MJ: Mine are really grimy, but luckily I like them that way. haha.

Joy: I guess Chucks are iconic, but there are so many great canvas sneakers that are good in their own way, like Jack Purcells, Keds, and Tretorns. My love of Chucks is probably sentimental.

I love my cream ones but I think black is pretty good as well...a little more badass, haha. The cream ones have more of a "preppy" vibe.

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