All Stars
The other day I got myself a new pair of Converse All Stars. The 3rd pair I’ve owned in my life. Technically speaking my first pair weren’t All Stars, they were cheap imitations. They were red and I got them in primary school. Some kids use to call me “Wimpy Man” when I wore them… Now they also wear All Stars. I guess I was ahead of the times? All Stars have been around forever. I found it hard to believe, but All Stars were designed in 1923 by Chuck Taylor. They are the most popular shoe in history, over 600 million have been sold, and hundreds of “rip off” sneakers have been made by competitors.
The other day I was waiting for my sister infront of a busy store. I started counting the number of people walking by wearing All Stars. In about 5 minutes I counted 21 people. Some people never wear any other shoes than All Stars. I’ve never seen a photo of Dimebag Darryl or Slash without their All Stars, that’s dedication.
I’m sure a lot of people reading this have or do own All Stars. If so, then as a little experiment please add your “All Star timeline” as a comment.
My All Star timeline,
Year – Color, type(Real/Fake)
1994 – Red, low tops (Cheap imitations)
1996 – Black, low tops (Real Converse All Stars)
2005 – Light Blue, high tops (Real Converse All Stars)
hannes wrote on August 11th, 2005 at 6:27 pm
1990 – White, high tops (Converse)
1991 – Black, high tops (Converse)
1993 – Black, high tops (Converse)
1994 – Black, high tops (Converse)
2005 – Dark blue, high tops (Converse)
PS: one of my buddies used to call them “chuckies”
carine (crr) wrote on August 12th, 2005 at 11:37 pm
1995 – maroon, genuine Chuck Taylor All Stars (low tops) (R150) size 6
1998 – black, genuine Chuck Taylor All Stars (low tops) (R190) size 6
2004 – green and red, genuine FAKE all stars – as a result of finances and growing irritable fake-ass punk-culture…size 5 (I had to have them…)
gelukkig vir my het ek dam al meer genuine All Stars gehad as onvolwaardiges. Ek gee credit aan my sus en Hannes en Herman. Ek onthou toe ek en Herman in standers 6 op i staking na die parkie toe gehardloop het, en toe se hy: “Gee, as ek nou my All Stars aan gehad het so ons daar voor gehardloop het…” – toe vang hulle ons en toe sit ons detensie vir twee weke in die LO saal…
david wrote on August 17th, 2005 at 10:25 am
North Stars Rule!
but All Stars are cool too…
1989 – white (L.O. Skoene,, not authentic)
1991 – white (” ,, ” )
2005 – black, high tops (Converse)
keep on trucking,,
Darryl wrote on August 18th, 2005 at 7:49 pm
Coloured Gangster are notorious for wearing All Stars. Since the 70’s. So if you are in the Cape Flats and someone is wearing All Stars. Run as fast as you can.
Sara wrote on August 25th, 2005 at 6:12 am
me say it is like being born all over again. In our circles we call them “chucks”, like everyone else.”
Chris Kuun wrote on August 26th, 2005 at 2:27 pm
Yo
1996, genuine Converse. (Black)
1997, genuine Converse. (Probably Black aswell)
One thing I noticed though, these shoes never seem to last more than a couple of months. Nobody has said:
1996-2001 Black genuine Converse (All Stars)
Mmmm…
I decided that I am to cool for school, and have not yet again purchased myself some chukies. I rather prefer the pseudo-intellectual image, you know, wear nice clothes ($$$) and shoes and act like I am an engineer or something, when in fact I am only an adult diaper salesman. It works well, this tactic, because everybody else who does it also fakes it, so nobody can out-class anybody else on the field. I like to act like I am clever.
Seeya later alligator.
Chris Kuun wrote on August 26th, 2005 at 2:42 pm
Hey, wow, what a nice memory.
I think the first time I kissed a girl I was wearing some All Stars! It was one hell of a cool night. Man std. 6 and 7 ruled, those were those days when so many things were still so experimental. Every time you saw a new girl or went out at night you knew that there would be quite a good chance that you would get a nice long kiss or something…
I have many good memories of my earlier teenage years back in Grahamstown, and many of them were done wearing a pair of All Stars. Since those days, things have quieted down a little bit. You know, things are not easy anymore, meeting a new girl now has the possibility of serious commitment or a life partner attached etc. etc. Things have just become more complicated relationally. So now I am left wondering, was it the All Stars, or was it the life phase?
Think of all the things you guys have done wearing your all-stars, or any other piece of clothing that was iconic of the late nineties. Those Nirvana and Mettallica T-shirts, your first pair of Levi’s…
Can you remember the clothes you wore when you had your first kiss? When you first made eye-contact with that special guy or girl, that real surge of excitement…
Man, All Stars bring back some good memories.
Herman Pretorius wrote on August 29th, 2005 at 4:03 pm
Okay???
Chris… I think that it’s a phase you’re going through? and definitely not the All Stars.
nat nat* wrote on September 9th, 2005 at 12:44 pm
ek onthou toe ek, carine en margot ons all stars deur al die local bands gesign gekry het, en hoe ons back stage by jool ingesneak het net om seker te maak ons kry almal se signitures, en daai ass **** van wonderboom se comments was um ‘interesting’ …
good old days
nat nat* wrote on September 9th, 2005 at 12:49 pm
die laaste paar wat ek gekoop het was white high high tops met ‘n stripy lining ( so mooi!!) wat flippen lank vat om aan te trek, maar goed vir london winters as die wind waai! Ek het hulle 5 dae gehad toe gaan speel ek paint ball met hulle aan in ‘n muddy forrest en hulle was van toe af so grys swart kleur, maak nie saak hoeveel jik jy oor hulle gooi nie!
it is time for a new pair!