Curious and excited to design a pair, I spent about twenty minutes designing my own pair.  I was surprised to find out, that the options are fairly limited in colors and patterns.  There are only 11 different prints to choose from.  None of which could seriously be worn by anyone over the age of 15.  At least there is a fair selection of colors to choose from.  The design application on the website is fun and easy to navigate.  Choose from leather, suede, or canvas material, in a lo-top, hi-top, or x-hi style, Chuck Taylor All Star, Jack Purcell, or Skate shoe. Designing the sneaker involves almost every portion of the sneaker.  Choose your own color laces, stitching, tongue, rubber sidewall, racing stripe, outside body, inside body, heel strip, and lining.  In all a total of 9 parts!  You can even name and save your design.  In order to save your design, the site asks you sign up by giving an email address and zip code.  Although I was disappointed in the lack in options, it was a fun process overall.  Here is my design:

https://www.converse.com/MyAccount/MyPortfolio.aspx

Due to the popularity of the shoe, virtually all retailers sell Converse these days.  Here is a list of a few places to buy the best sneaker in the world!

Zappos.com

http://www.zappos.com/converse

Pipelime

http://piperlime.gap.com/browse/categorySearch.do?cid=19885&mlink=20195,1445785&clink=1445785

Journeys Shoes

http://www.journeys.com/search.aspx

Converse Official Site

http://www.converse.com/?CSID=44_kwid/#/products/shoes/chucktaylor

Shiekh Shoes

http://www.shiekhshoes.com/store/t-ConverseLanding.aspx?gclid=CO_qvc6_nZ0CFSYoawodi3au_g

Nordstrom

http://shop.nordstrom.com/C/6015982/0~2376780~6009391~6015982?origin=srcontent

KarmaLoop.com

http://www.karmaloop.com/search/search.aspx?keywords=converse&msid=

Tilly’s

http://www.tillys.com/tillys/brandpage.aspx?bid=8&cid=&ctlg=

Converse All Stars are the most popular sneaker of all time!  Chuck Taylor’s are worn by all segments of society.  They were able to regenerate their popularity into pop culture within the last few years and continually appeal to all ages and types of people.  Chucks are being worn daily by people of varying demographics and ethnicities.  For over fifty years, high schools, colleges, and professionals wore the shoes on the basketball court.  Baby boomers, musicians, and crusaders of alternative lifestyles continue to rock the shoe for all occasions.  The Chuck Taylor has been the shoe of choice for decades.

60% of all Americans have owned a pair of Chucks in their lifetime.  More than 900 million pairs of One Stars have been sold, thus making them the most popular athletic sneaker in America.  Pairs are continually mass produced, manufactured and sold by the thousands weekly.  Brand loyalty continues to increase and be worn by more generations of people than any other brand of sneaker.

The best thing about these shoes is that they make a fashion statement whether they’re brand new, or worn to shreds.  Each style can create can create a new look.  If you’re going for a classic look, wear a pear of the high or low top black and white classics.  For a more hip hop look, pair a funky tri colored pair of foldovers with any outfit.  For various holidays, make a statement by wearing bright monogrammed colored Converse.  For instance, during the Christmas season, wear a green shoe on one foot, and a red shoe on the other.  For a more grunge look, wear a distressed worn out pair of Chucks.   In fact, the sneaker has been chosen over more traditional dress shoes for atypical wedding parties.  The bottom line is, the shoe makes a statement no matter what the occasion may be.

The Converse All Star “Chuck Taylor” is the oldest, most popular, and all time best selling basketball shoe of all time.  In 1908, Marquis Mills Converse opened the rubber shoe company Converse Rubber Corporation in Malden, Massachusetts.  Initially the company manufactured galoshes seasonally.  The Converse Corporation began making athletic shoes and tires to keep their workforce employed year round.  With the growing popularity of the sport basketball, in 1917, the very first version of the All Star basketball shoe was produced.  The original One Stars came in shades of brown with black trim.

By the 1920’s, All Stars were the first mass produced basketball shoe in North America.  In 1921, basketball player Charles H. Taylor joined the Converse Corporation sales team.  Chuck went on to play/ coach the corporation’s industrial league’s basketball team traveling across the US promoting the shoe.  By 1932, “Chuck Taylor” was appended to the All Star ankle patch on the sneakers, hence the birth of the “Chuck Taylor” All Star basketball shoe!  This just goes to show that with enough dedication, marketing campaign success, and hard work, YOU too could have a product branded in your honor too!

The white high top with blue and white trim model was introduced during the Olympics in 1936. These high tops went on to become the “official” exercise sneaker of the GI’s of the United States Armed Forces during World War II.  After World War II, the classic black and white high tops were introduced in 1949.

The Classic black and white high top All Stars became the shoe of choice for NBA players, as well as other serious athletes in the 1950’s.  The low cut version of this sneaker provided a more casual form, which became highly popular in the late 50’s.  Taylor was even inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, as the “Ambassador to Basketball” in 1968.

With the birth of the Rock & Roll era, Chucks became culturally iconic as baby boomers continued wearing the sneakers.  On the court, newer, better basketball shoes replaced One Stars, but off the court they continued to be the shoe of choice for the counter-culture rockers, skaters, and rebellious baby boomers.

In the mid 70’s, suede material was introduced to the usually canvas or leather sneaker.  Pro leather sneakers were introduced around 1974 and became an on court favorite.  Due to the growing popularity of the shoe, Converses began selling them in a wide assortment of colors and patterns and styles.

In the 1980’s and 1990’s the company experienced hard times with bad business decisions and changes in management.  With loss of market shares, in 2001, the company filed for bankruptcy.  Because the brand was already well established, it closed all North American manufacturing and moved manufacturing overseas to Asia.

The brand was able to reestablish and revive itself and the “Chuck Taylor” remains a fashionable sneaker worn by all ages.  The classic sneaker style remains popular and thousands of pairs as well as apparel are still sold weekly all over the world!  Converse recently celebrated its 100^th birthday.  No other brand of shoe can rival the Converse’s timeless and classic appeal.  The Converse One Star remains practically unchanged and popular 100 hundred years later.

Sources:

http://chucksconnection.com/history1.html

http://www.converse.com/About/