Why You Should Be Wearing Chuck Taylors In 2021 And Beyond

Sneakers have been taken out of their usual place in the gym and been used as a fashion trend for a long time and the near future predicts that the trend will continue indefinitely. Converse All-Star Chuck Taylor’s have been a pioneer in this trend and have led the way as a popular sneaker since 1917. Some reasons people love to wear sneakers are due to their versatility. They’re able to match with just about anything in your closet from jeans, a blazer, chino’s, and just about anything you can think of can be stylishly enhanced with the right pair of sneakers; or any pair of sneakers for that matter.

Add the comfort they offer and added speed you may need to get where you need to be quick and you can see why your closet is probably stacked with more sneakers than any other type of shoe which goes for men and women; children and adult. There are many reasons you, too should be wearing the classic Converse All-Star Chuck Taylor’s in 2021 and years beyond that.

The History of the Chuck Taylor

Charles “Chuck” Taylor was a semi-pro basketball player with the Akron Firestones among other teams in cities around the United States, who joined the Converse Rubber Shoe Company as a salesman in 1921. He held basketball clinics in local gyms across the United States to promote the company’s basketball shoes for which he used his own ideas and those of the players within his clinics to help the company improve the shoes. The ideas mostly focused on improving flexibility and support in the shoes. Whichever teams Taylor played on, as well as those where he held his clinics were soon wearing the Converse shoe whose popularity was already increasing rapidly until many professional players were wearing them as well as younger players. The shoes became the official shoes of the Olympic Games from 1936 to 1968, for which the company introduced the famous white high top design featuring red and blue trim, and American soldiers were using them for training in the 1940’s thanks to Taylor’s promotional efforts. In 1932, In recognition of his work in promoting the shoes, Converse added his name to the iconic ankle patch logo on the shoes. In 1949 the eye-catching black high tops were introduced to the market and by the 1960s almost every pro basketball player was wearing Converses’ Chuck Taylor’s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Taylor_(salesman) 

As a basketball junkie back in those days this writer remembers some of the greatest moments in b-ball history being influenced by the iconic shoe, including the championship ’69 Knicks who wore them, as well as most other notable teams such as the Lakers with stars as prominent as Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, and Jerry West whose whole teams came out every game in the classic white high-tops except, of course for “Clyde Frazier of those Knicks who had become so popular for his smooth style of play and individual fashion style that he was becoming a pioneer and already lending his name to another brand of sneakers that may have set the tone for new brands to be sponsored and worn in the pros. I remember judging my fellow students back then by the sneakers they wore as well and those who wore All Stars were all stars in my book and the local playgrounds were just another forum in which the sneakers made their legendary mark and I know that many gym rats and playground junkies like myself lived around the world among ordinary folks and when the new brands became popular, seeing my peers in them only implied that their parents made a better living than mine and hey-maybe it made them soft as a fellow kid, but not a better ballplayer, necessarily.  By the 1970’s such new brands were discovering new technology in their shoes causing the wearing of All-Stars to slow down n the NBA and move more to the original shoe’s use as a fashion statement for ordinary people who still carry on the tradition of the oldest sneakers in the country.  .Converse did its best to keep up with this competition bringing technologically equal new styles and signing NBA greats such as Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson to their label in the early eighties showing off the brand’s newer looks and newer technology which were most likely started in the league previously by the well known Julius Erving, Dr. J. as an original ambassador of the new looks/styles.   Keeping their original Chuck Taylor All Stars fashionable in the fashion-conscious 1970’s and 1980’s and well into today’s vogue fashion styles were well-known celebrities in addition to rock stars and other entertainment personalities such as James Dean, Kurt Cobain, The Ramones, Joan Jett, and others all of whom were seen in Chuck Taylor’s. they were also worn by actors that included Elvis Presley and Tom Hanks while making their mark in films that include animal House, Grease, Back to the Future, and Wayne’s World to name a few. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Taylor_All-Stars.

While the brands’ minimalistic look and lead in other trending ideas have broadened their appeal into high schools, universities and they can even be brought back into the gym to be worn as athletic shoes as was their original purpose. In fact, to this day many business offices consider t them their footwear of choice as part of their unofficial dress code.  In addition to these facts, more than 200,000pairs of shoes are sold every day.

The Tradition Lives on

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines tradition as follows; a mode of thought or behavior followed by a people continuously from generation to generation; a cultural custom or usage. A set of such customs and usages viewed as a coherent body of precedents influencing the present. A body of unwritten religious precepts; Any time-honored practice or set of such practices. It’s clear from this definition that certain forms of dress certainly apply such as jeans, sneakers, and even other forms of shoes, e.g. western boots, sandals, flip-flops, etc. Certain brands of sneakers, Converse included, among others by now, have reached a traditional status in American culture and will therefore always have a place in the hearts –and closets of American consumers. Many of these other sneaker types/brands meet the versatility criteria and would also be good to have in one’s closet but the classic style and traditional appeal of the Taylor’s make it more appealing. Since first introduced in 1921 Chuck Taylor’s are like a fine wine and getting better and more emboldened in the customs of America. Since they and sneakers, in general, are such versatile parts of our wardrobes makes the argument that sneakers will always be a beloved staple as a clothing accessory. Chucks will always be in style and therefore it can be concluded that the sooner you make this shoe a regular part of your wardrobe the sooner you can claim your place as a true fashion sage.

To sum up;  sneakers have been used as a fashion statement for so many years and traditions can go on indeterminably, for good reasons and no individual sneaker has a longer tradition than Converse All Stars Chuck Taylors. Everybody should be wearing this sneaker for one reason or another due to its versatility as a clothing accessory either for the gym or for its ability to pair with any type of outfit for so many occasions. This sneaker will make a statement of style for those wise and daring enough to don the sneakers.

As an upcoming writer whose voice will be making a difference from here on it might be smart to get on the bandwagon sooner than later and this obvious winning fashion trend will be a good starting point for my new readers.