It is no secret that I am a major fan of Chuck Taylors. While I have always loved the look of the shoes, they represent so much more. To me, they remind me of my youth and my desire to express myself through my clothing. When girls out in L.A. were purchasing designer stilettos to wear out at night, I went out and bought a pair of black Chucks. Does anyone else remember thinking that they needed to “dirty them up”? The dirtier the better. The crisp white laces and rubber glared at me…I couldn’t wait to add some character to those new shoes. Over the years, that first black pair trekked hundreds of miles. I need to buy a new pair of black ones but will forever cherish my original pair. They are attached to countless memories…Rage Against the Machine and Blink-182 concerts, Nascar races spent in the pits, a cross country move and, most importantly, the night when (before we started dating) my husband and I both showed up to a bar in matching black Chucks, prompting us to finally take notice of one another.
My new shoes just might be a pair of The Chuck Taylor All Stars II, releasing tomorrow, July 28th. Converse has done the seemingly unthinkable and redesigned the classic Chuck Taylor. While you may not notice major differences at first glance, there are actually 16 alterations from the original. Most of the changes were designed to increase comfort. Nike owns the brand and have made significant steps to add Nike technology to the shoe as well as upgrade the canvas.
When I first heard the news I was excited to see the unveiling of the new design but also saddened that such a staple had been altered. Thankfully, I learned that Nike has decided to continue selling the original Chucks (now referred to as Chuck Taylors I) alongside the newly designed pair. Brilliant, right?
Here are the The Chuck Taylor All Stars II…
While I like the look of the redesigned shoe, it seems to be lacking that edge that the original Chucks have. They remind me a lot of the Jack Purcells and Ive always thought that the Purcell is like the older, more mature brother of the Chucks.
What are your thoughts about the redesign?
xoxo
Lindsey
