Chuck Taylor All-Stars

Encyclopedia : C : CH : CHU : Chuck Taylor All-Stars

Chuck Taylor All-Star

Miscellaneous All-Stars

Chuck Taylor All-Stars are canvas and rubber shoes produced by Converse. They were first produced in 1917 as the "All-Star", Converse's attempt to capture the basketball shoe market. They were not particularly popular until basketball player Chuck Taylor adopted them as his preferred shoe. He was so impressed with the design that he became the shoe's leading salesman. After proposing a few changes to the shoe, the shoe got its current name and Chuck Taylor's signature on its ankle patch.

Consumers demanded more color and variety from the shoe, as well as basketball teams in order to match colors, so colored and patterned shoelaces became popular to complement the two colors, black and white, available before 1966. Afterwards, more colors became available as did styles. A low-top or "Oxford" and high-top versions, and later knee-high versions were produced. More materials were offered for the construction, including leather, suede, vinyl, and hemp. Some versions of the shoe were offered that were without laces, and held up by elastic. These new versions of the shoe were also co-designed by Chuck Taylor, shortly before his death in 1969.

After Converse was bought by Nike and operations were moved from the United States to overseas, the design has had a few alterations. The fabric is no longer 2-ply cotton canvas but 1-ply "textile" and many wearers have noticed different patterns of wear.

Wearers of All-Stars admire the individuality of the distinctive colors, design, and sole of the shoe. They are available in several core colors, seasonal colors, and a variety of print styles. Fans of punk rock have adopted the shoe as a fashion trend since the late-1970s and many popular punk rock bands, famously the Ramones have supported the trend by wearing the sneakers.And the 90's grunge fashion requires Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers. They have also been popular in hip-hop culture, specifically in the early nineties days of G-funk and gangsta rap. There has been a recent re-adoption of them in modern hip hop culture.

In the British sci-fi series Doctor Who, the signature costume of the Tenth Doctor includes a pair of white Chuck Taylors.

A full biography of Chuck Taylor was published by Indiana University Press in March 2006 under the title Chuck Taylor, All Star: The True Story of the Man Behind the Most Famous Athletic Shoe in History, with Foreword by Dean Smith.

Also referred to as "Cons","Connies", "Chuckers", "Chucks", or "Chucker Boots" for the higher styles.

Core colors

• All-Black (Black Monochrome)
• Black & White
• Optical White
• Natural White
• Maroon Red
• Scarlet Red
• Kelly Green
• Navy Blue
• Royal Blue
• Pink (different shades depends on material)

External links

• [Converse website]
• [Mexican Converse website]
• [Charlie's "CHUCK" Page]
• [The History of the Converse All-Star]
• [Converse One - Design Your Own Converse shoes]
• [Chucks Connection]

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.