Chantelle`s Diary

Hi guys today in this blog I am going to talk about the history of Chuck Taylor’s. Chuck Taylor’s is a huge shoe company that we all know about and I am sure we all have owned a pair of Chuck’s. So, I definitely wanted to give a brief history on these iconic shoes. I hope you all enjoy!

Chuck Taylor’s was created/founded by Marquis Mills Converse in Massachusetts. The company tried to make anything they could out of rubber such as leather boots, tennis shoes, and automobile tires. Eventually they started to make basketball shoes. The tennis shoes ended up being a basketball product line around 1916. Basketball was becoming popular in Massachusetts so it made sense that Converse come out with a basketball product. What’s also interesting is that Mr. Charles “Chuck” Taylor was hired as a coach for basketball while also being a salesman. Not only was Mr. Taylor a good basketball coach but also found high interest in footwear to play at games. In 1934 “Chuck Taylor” was printed on the shoe’s heel patch.

What is also crazy is that even though Mr.Taylor’s name was on these shoes he was not apart of this design that they did. Basketball was becoming more and more popular so, when It came to the shoes basketball players foots were pivoting a lot more in the front, so that extra rubber was needed. At some point sportswear technology was becoming more popular and Converse was not there as much. The Converse shoes was not seen on the court as much but off the court they definitely were.

Converse paved the way as the more “Lifestyle shoe”. Kids really loved it because of how easy these low-top Converse were to take on and off. Around 1971 Converse had a variety of colors so, schools can match their colors with all the different colors Converse had to offer. Then these shoes started to get popular with punks, metalhead, and also the grunge scene. I am from LA so out here Converse is a huge staple piece to the culture you for sure rock these out here. I do believe Converse will forever be a shoe that people love and want in their wardrobe because of how iconic they are. From the high-tops to the low-tops these shoes will hold a special place for the culture no matter what age.