Category: Popular Culture

For the love of Chucks

Every once in a while I am walking down the street and I see a teenager, middle-age man, or even senior citizen taking a stroll on the same road. The thing they all may have in common? They are wearing Chucks.

Chuck Taylor shoes have lasted generations. Now, we can safely say that the selfie generation, millennials, baby boomers and beyond appreciate the simplicity of the Chuck Taylor shoe. I am currently sporting a pair of all black low tops.

What makes these shoes so classic? What makes these shoes so lovable? The price point has been reasonable for the longest time. The shoes look great when they are fresh or even scuffed up. They last until they literally don’t last anymore, and even them I’ve seen people wear the Chucks with duct tape holding them together. Usually that fits the teenage demographic.

Whats more, the clothing styles that these generations have sequestered always fit with the Chuck Taylor shoe. Although it’s not a “buy it for life” type of product. It’s definitely a “wear it for life” type of product. Few things can be considered as classic as the Chuck Taylor Shoe. Fewer things can be even considered as cool as the Chuck Taylor shoe. The Zippo lighter comes to mind.

So, for the love Chucks. If you have a Chuck Taylor story you would like to share with us, send us a tweet at @Chuckverse and share your story.

FootSouls Creator Giving Back in a Big Way

FootSouls are insoles that are designed specifically for Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars, Vans, and similar profile shoes (think PF Flyers, etc).

Feel Your Soul was started by young entrepreneur Jacob Zander. At the age of 22, after receiving a $10,000 business grant, Jacob produced his flagship product, FootSouls.

After the launch of FootSouls, Feel Your Soul gained tremendous traction on TikTok, where, against all odds, Jacob’s company has grown during the global pandemic. Since May of 2020, Feel Your Soul has amassed 360K followers, and 25 Million views, translating into over 10,000 orders of the product, plus expansion of the brand into a full clothing line, Converse Roller skates, and other cool products.

Now, through Feel Your Soul’s new Smile Fund initiative, Jacob is giving back in a big way.

Here’s the TikTok:

@feelyoursoul_

The start of the smile series: giving a waitress a $1,000 tip ? w/ @allyhurst_ #wholesome #treatpeoplewithkindness #wholesomemoments

♬ original sound – Feel Your Soul ?

“FootSouls are more than just a way to make our favorite shoes more comfortable; they are a symbol that represents making each and every day matter. Our goal is to inspire you to Feel Your Soul and live a life you would relive. I want to help you chase your dreams like I am and keep you comfy while chasing them.” – FootSouls Founder

We love this story. But, perhaps what we love even more is that the FootSouls swag very closely resembles Justin Bieber’s Drew House line of clothing.

Justin Bieber’s Drew House Clothing Brand Signature Smiley

FootSouls Feel Your Soul Retro Smile Crewneck

In either case. We love the execution. Who’s to say a smiley guy and a pair of chucks goes really well? We do! Grab your Chucks, your FootSouls, and your Drew House or FootSouls Retro Smile gear and head out there.

Converse Chuck Taylor All Star NBA Collection Sold Out

Converse had released a beautiful set Chuck Taylor series highlighting NBA teams. The collection is now listed as Sold Out on the Converse website. The collection, released just four months ago, was incredibly popular amongst NBA and Chuck Taylor fans. The collaboration between the NBA and Converse stems from the relationship Nike, which owns Converse, has with the different sports associations and leagues.

You may be able to get your hands on some of the limited edition NBA Collection Chuck Taylors on websites such as eBay or third party sellers, but it probably won’t come cheap. Although Chuckverse cannot confirm if there was a direct collaboration with team members on designs of the shoes, each shoe design represents the team in true glory.

Premium materials were used to create this collection, and no detail went unnoticed. The shows are likely to be on display shelves rather than used as daily drivers. We hope to hear about some great auction stories related this collection in the future.

Photos are sourced from the Converse website.

A song of ice and fire

It’s not often that we go about posting shoes that are not Chuck Taylors. In fact, its extremely rare for us to post anything other than Converse and Nike news, shoes, and updates. However, we would be amiss not to add a beautiful shot of the Adidas Yeezy Boost side by side black vs white comparison we spotted on Reddit.

Some of the most popular shoes of the decade, we have seen many folks stand in long lines to obtain varieties of these shoes. We thought this shot that was submitted by a reddit user deserved spotlight on our blog.

Adidas Yeezy Boost

Check out the reddit post by Yes_Man__ here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sneakers/comments/7mn1cr/a_song_of_ice_and_fire/

Remember that Adidas was the number one competitor to Nike when the company was just starting out. With that being said, the duel between Nike and Adidas, although likely to be forever lasting, was not related to our beloved Converse brand. The Converse brand was picked up by Nike in the early 2000s.

Ever notice something fuzzy on the sole of fresh new Chucks?

It’s always there, but we never questioned it. When you get a new pair of Chuck Taylors, you may have noticed that there is a nice fuzzy sole. Something that almost looks like the little sticks of rubber coming out of a brand new tire. Well, the extruding rubber on a tire is to classify the tire as new or slightly worn.

Why do Chuck Taylors have a fuzzy or felt sole?

According to Smithsonian Magazine’s Smart News:

Felt on your sneakers is there not for function, but for economics – shoes with fuzzy soles are taxed less when imported than those with rubber ones

By adding the felt to the sole of the shoe, this classifies the Chuck Taylor Sneaker as slippers, not sneakers. Perhaps you have noticed that the first few days of wearing your fresh new sneakers are a tad bit slippery? This could be why. The not so distance cousin of the Chuck Taylor shoe, PF Flyers, are known to do this as well.

Now, the interesting thing is that this tariff is only related to the US, so you may not see these type of fuzzy soles on a fresh pair of international Chucks.

Read more on Smithsonianmag.com 


UPDATE: This has been “debunked” by reddit! Check out the reddit thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/ax86ev/til_new_converse_chuck_taylor_allstar_sneakers/

There is a category for Converse “Wedding Shoes”

We all know that Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars are a popular choice for wedding. Cutesy weddings, hipster weddings, casual weddings. All types of weddings. Really though, a pair of nice clean Chucks go REALLY well with a fitted suit.

Converse took note of this, so far as creating an entire category for “Wedding Shoes” on their site.

Walk down the aisle in style with a pair of Converse wedding shoes. Constructed with the latest and most innovative shoe technologies, all wedding Converse are built for all day wear, which means you can dance late into your wedding night in complete comfort. Whether you’re looking to dress the bride, groom, flower girl, groomsmen or the entire bridal party, Converse has the best selection of wedding shoes for your big day celebrations.

Well, we agree with some of the classic takes they have. And, of course the feature that allows you to customize the Chucks are also a great way to color match your suit or dress. We’ve seen quite a bit of Chuck Taylor wedding’s since we started covering Chucks in 2010 and we are super excited to see a lot more. ?