Sneakin’ Around -- the Shoes of Summer

Summertime and the dressing is easy.  What’s better than barelegged?  Adorable shoes that complement those legs!  Here are the familiar, cute and comfortable shoes that will be my summer weekend staples.

Red Keds Champions--the classic sneaker that evokes childhood memories of tricycling around the neighborhood, endangering life and limb on roller skates, eating hot dogs and ribs at family barbecues, and visiting my grandmother’s cheery little house.  My mom bought me a pair of red Keds when I was a toddler.  She said that the first day I wore them I tottered around all day with a goofy little grin, eyes glued to my sneakers.  Love at first step. 

Silver gray Chuck Taylors--another signature shoe in my wardrobe. Chucks bring out my inner tomboy and are universally cool.  These are the shoes I'll be wearing when I'm 101 years old.

The Chucks Report – Exclusive Edition

This caption from the March 2010 Harper’s Bazaar caught my eye, “Vintage Missoni prints go modern in a new collaboration with Converse.”  These Chuck Taylor sneakers featuring the iconic Missoni print are $200 a pair and will be available at boutiques in NYC and Beverly Hills early next month.  But at that price are they still the ultimate in cheap cool?  Would you wear them daily until the soles disintegrated?  Would you wear them in the rain or on a muddy field?  How about to a beer-soaked dance party where they’re destined to be stepped on and splashed on?  If I bought these, I'd have them encased in glass with a prominently placed sign, "For Emergency Use Only."

The Chuck Report

Now available -- trimmed down Chucks!

$150 will buy the new white leather Chuck Taylor designed by the artist Terence Koh for the Converse 1 HUND(RED) line. Less rubber, styled more like the shoes that boxers wear in the ring. Minimalist, stripped down, they make a entirely different statement - delicate, not tough. Jazz, not hip hop. Peaceful posse, not gang wars. The NY Times quoted Mr. Koh as seeing the shoe as "a perfect round white pearl."

Judge for yourself. These shoes will be available beginning November 21 at Opening Ceremony, 35 Howard Street, New York. The design is appealing, and will likely sell well. I am partial to the traditional style (and the traditional price), but Christmas is coming and I've been pretty damn good ...

Click here to see Mr. Koh and his new design.