CONVERSE
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Remember getting a brand new pair of sneakers before each school year started? You opened the box and the room filled with the crinkling of the paper and the smell of fresh rubber. Instantly, you felt like you could run faster, jump higher, and kick a little harder. No matter where you came from or what you did for fun, few feet have gone untouched by Converse, America’s Original Sports Company™.
The authentic sports styling and performance of the Converse Kids footwear collection, drawn from the company’s nearly 100 years of sports footwear innovation, includes the shoe that revolutionized the game of basketball and would later become a favourite worldwide, the Chuck Taylor® All Star® - a true American icon. Converse Kids also includes many of the shoes made for grown-ups, only in smaller sizes, including Converse’s Basketball, Converse Re-Issue, and Sports Lifestyle collections.
Whether they’re skateboarding, playing basketball or walking the mall, kids don’t like to be told what’s cool. With this in mind, Converse Kids offers a wide selection of affordable shoes that allow for the originality, individuality, and self expression of those who wear them. For girls, extra attention is given to novel details that add a little “sass” and fun. We also incorporate sport styling with a multitude if wardrobe options and looks that allow her to emulate (or break away from, as the case may be) those who are important in her life, at home, on the court, the stage, or the big screen. For boys, tough and “techie” details matter, as do interesting materials that help kids feel as though they can jump as high as their most admired sports heroes.
Regardless of kids’ age, sense of style, or functional needs, Converse puts great stock in fit, comfort, value, durability, quality, and ease of use, all of which tend to rank high on the list of parent priorities. Converse Kids sports performance and lifestyle shoes for boys and girls are kid friendly, parent smart, and designed, constructed, and tested with children and their lives in mind.
Converse The Beginning
In 1908, Marquis Mills Converse decided to start a rubber shoe company, bypassing a rubber trust that prevented most companies from doing business directly with their retailers..
1918-1928
Chuck Taylor joins the Converse Rubber Company. How it happened remains lost to history.
1928-1938
By the time he lent his name to his signature badminton shoe in 1935, Jack Purcell had won five consecutive Canadian championships and been declared the world badminton champion. The Jack Purcell sneaker retains the legacy of its namesake and the feel of his sport.
1938-1948
World War II provided Converse with a singular opportunity. Many products destined for servicemen overseas now became a focus of Converse manufacturing. The product range included footwear, apparel, boots for pilots and army servicemen, parkas, and rubber protective suits and ponchos.
1948-1958
The invention of Rock & Roll. It was loud, lewd, filthy and everything everyone who feared it said it was. It was also a movement in search of a uniform: It found the leather jacket, the blue jean and the high-top sneaker. Interestingly enough, right about this time, the high-top sneaker was around for the birth of something else: The National Basketball Association.
1958-1968
A decade of change for everybody. Rock & Roll and pro basketball grew up (in Chucks), and All Stars finally came in colours. In tumultuous times, legends are born — and from a green and white basketball team to a British invasion, from rooftops to alfalfa fields, Converse was along for the ride.
1968-1978
Somewhere right around 1974, the All Star sneaker got a little bit of a makeover. Remade in colourful suede with a big, bold star on the side, it was built for basketball—but there was something about its brashness and brightness that would make it irresistible to a generation of rockers, skaters and rebellious souls. Then around ’76 came the Pro Leather, an instant favourite in a time when the game needed a vibe.
1978-1988
An immediate on-court favourite, the Weapon sneaker became almost universally favoured by professional, college and high school teams throughout the 1980s and ’90s. In 1986, Converse launched the “Choose Your Weapon” ad campaign, featuring two of the game’s biggest rivals wearing one of the game’s biggest shoes. Over 20 years later, the legacy of Weapon — and its place in sport and culture — continues to challenge the competition.
1988-1998
Converse had a hit on its hands with a basketball shoe called the All Star 2000. It was the first attempt at replicating the Chuck Taylor All Star sneaker for contemporary competition, and there was something about its ankle patch, red midsole stripe and no-nonsense approach to the game that at least 1 million people couldn’t resist.
1998-2010
The brand enters its second century by honouring its heritage of seeing things a little differently, loving people who want to change the world for the better, and basically celebrating the spirit of rebellion and originality in basketball, Rock & Roll and anywhere else you find it.
The Converse story continues…..
Chuck Taylor All Star Seasonal
Today, the Chuck Taylor All Star transcends cultural and socio-economic boundaries, evolving beyond performance into an American and global youth symbol of originality, individuality and self expression. This global icon, with more than 750 million pairs sold, is ever-changing, yet the soul remains the same. It is updated with new seasonal offerings that truly showcase individual self expression with a hint of timeless ideals. New materials, colours, prints, and special features are as diverse as the people who wear them
