You can have my All-Stars

October 18, 2000 10:15 AM

You can have my All-Stars when you pry them from my cold dead feet. If they discontinued Vans, I'm not sure what I would wear..
posted by schlomo (23 comments total)

NNNOOOOO!!!

Now I have to buy enough Chucks to last me for the next 60 years!
posted by frykitty at 10:20 AM on October 18, 2000

Looks like I'm off to my local Seattle outlet ( Chubby n' Tubby's ) to stock up on high-tops. Man, I hope they have interesting colors in stock this time. Sigh.
posted by kokogiak at 10:27 AM on October 18, 2000

I think we should all go out and buy a pair of converse right now -it should become a web meme - everyone going out and buying a pair.
posted by kristin at 10:28 AM on October 18, 2000

I'm on my way & spreading the word.
posted by Tubes at 10:49 AM on October 18, 2000

At lunchtime, I'll buy TWO pair!
posted by frykitty at 10:56 AM on October 18, 2000

I just wanted the one-stars to return. They're by far my favorite pair of shoes.
posted by vitaflo at 11:01 AM on October 18, 2000

My god, you just ruined my day with that link. Last week I happened to buy a back-up pair of monochrome black high tops - and now I may have to buy more.

kokogiak, chubby n' tubby's never has my size (9.5) in stock. thankfully there are a few sneaker stores a block away that carry monochrome black high tops. woo!

posted by gluechunk at 11:12 AM on October 18, 2000

where the hell is my credit card? i'm going to the outlet store.
posted by sugarfish at 11:20 AM on October 18, 2000

I didn't realize it until I read this article, but Converse shoes are the only brand loyalty I've ever stood firmly by.

I've owned and worn converse shoes since the early 80s, ever since I was old enough to have some kind of fashion sense.

I'll drink Coke or Pepsi, I don't have "default" cola. I'll drink a Sleeman Cream Ale with the relish I drink a Guiness. (no, not pickle relish! Ew! ... corn relish. :-)

Nothing has slunk it's way into my mental picture of myself as much as Converse has, and I don't think anything ever will.

I don't know if it's just the awful amounts of cold medication I'm flying on right now, but reading that article and typing this, I've actually got a tear in my eye.
posted by cCranium at 11:20 AM on October 18, 2000

I bought up 5 pairs of concrete colored suede One Stars a few months back because they were marked down to $10 a pair. I hate the color, but they had stopped making them almost a year ago, and I cannot find them in blue/black anymore. I have tons of All Stars and Jack P's laying about, as they are the only thing my family trusts to buy me on gift giving occasions, so I am go for the next 5 years at least. By that time, they will come back as retro cool (I hope). We are doomed. Airwalks are okay. Some of theose Puma's look pretty good, but the soles are too hard for me. =(
posted by thirteen at 11:52 AM on October 18, 2000

Maybe Converse can't survive as an independent company anymore, but surely there's still enough interest in Chucks to make them a viable acquisition target... right? Somebody please say yes.

Now, contemplating the unfathomable, if production of All-Stars were to cease altogether, can anybody recommend a viable alternative? Every time I've tried a different shoe, I just come back to Chucks.
posted by jjg at 12:07 PM on October 18, 2000

2 or 3 years ago, I couldn't find a pair of Converse to save my life, being in Northern Ontario and having just soaked my feet in a lake that was more silt than water. I ended up picking up a pair of suede Vans that were a suitable alternate, and - should the unfortunate but likely end of Converse take place - will probably be the first place I turn as my "alternate"
posted by cCranium at 12:21 PM on October 18, 2000

I remember in the 6th grade I insisted that my folks buy me the ultra cool neon orage/yellow fold down high tops. God they were hideous.

Then my feet got extremely wide and I couldn't fit into converse high tops anymore. If it wern't for my damn EE feet I'd be stocking up like mad.
posted by alan at 12:35 PM on October 18, 2000

i know exactly what you mean alan. i can't wear the regular converse either. but a couple of years ago they put out a cool leather (both suede and regular) sneaker that had an huge toe box. i ended up getting five different pairs over a period of time. unforunately, they discontinued them, and i'm down to my last pair.

(note: the real point of this post is not to tell everyone what big feet i have)



posted by lescour at 12:59 PM on October 18, 2000

I'm on the shopping tip with everyone else. I have few brand loyalties (Coke and Levis round me out as an all american), but apart from a brief tryst with Vans (styles they no longer make, alas), I've been an Chuck Taylor faithful since I was allowed to choose my shoes. The unfortunate thing is that I blow 'em out in about a year, so I need at least 30 pair to last me until I can retire and stop wearing shoes altogether.
posted by CrazyUncleJoe at 1:32 PM on October 18, 2000

I haven't worn anything else on my feet - winter, summer, beaches, mountains - in 15 years (since I was, uh, 1). I too wear 9 1/2's, so gluechunk, you better not live near me!

Maybe this is a publicity stunt to get us out and buying the damned things. (I'm pretty sure it's not.)

Someone's got to pick the company up (or at least the style) at some point, but who knows how many years that'll take.

Darn. Darn. Rats. Heck. And many far stronger words.
posted by chicobangs at 1:32 PM on October 18, 2000

You want leather Chucks? I wonder what American Athletics is going to do--they're big with mail-order Chucks.
posted by frykitty at 1:33 PM on October 18, 2000

I wandered through the site briefly, and their reported losses for the quarter are staggering. I'm far too lazy (and want to get out of here and go home too much) to actually go back to the site, but since they're publically traded, it's all there.

They're burning money like a dot-com.
posted by cCranium at 2:42 PM on October 18, 2000

My son has had two pairs of converse now, and he's not even three yet. I like the brand.
posted by Neale at 4:07 PM on October 18, 2000

time to create the mefi allstars co-op. buying in bulk saves money, and you can all have the chucks you need.

plus, for a small 1% tax, matt can finally make money from this site.

rcb
posted by rebeccablood at 4:36 PM on October 18, 2000

Rebecca, I like what you're saying...I applaud your principles and would value a subscription to your newsletter.

If we buy up all the remaining pairs of converse, we can REALLY make some money off ebay and put us all through college--or something.
posted by schlomo at 5:16 PM on October 18, 2000

You would need to buy the brand...not just the remaining shoes. Otherwise you could have GAP Chuck Taylors coming out some spring that match everything.

[owner of 4 pairs]
posted by th3ph17 at 10:03 PM on October 18, 2000

ok, that just depressed me.
posted by schlomo at 9:20 AM on October 19, 2000