Converse
All Stars Chuck Taylor

Why are Converse All Star so famous and used worldwide, becoming the shoe par excellence of the homo sapiens sapiens genre?

And why have they become over the years a transitional object for almost all rockers and their admirers?

These were the questions I was asking myself last night while, under the influence of psychotropic substances, I wandered aimlessly through the streets of my city's center... and as the effect faded, leaving that pleasant numbness mixed with drowsiness, I tried to find answers to the supposed questions.

The All Star has existed for about 100 years; the first model was made by Converse in 1917, a producer of galoshes and seasonal rubber work shoes, that to keep their workforce busy year-round, decided to launch a sneaker specifically for basketball, which was gaining popularity in those years.

Initially, the sales were disappointing, but Chuck Taylor, a basketball player, sniffed out the potential business so much that in 1921 he joined Converse, modified, and improved the shoe and started touring the states advertising in all the campuses where basketball was played.

The success was immediate, and in 1932 the "All Star Chuck Taylor" as we know it was born.

It seems that almost six hundred thousand pairs have been sold to date, and good for them!

They are comfortable; in the summer, your feet don’t sweat, and they handle winter excellently with a thick sock, making them suitable for all seasons, over time they don’t stink, and they can be washed in the washing machine without damage as long as it’s at a normal temperature; otherwise, there's a risk that the rubber parts might become unglued.

And then, in terms of style, they can be worn with everything, from ripped jeans like the Ramones to the classic suit and tie as Bill Brufurd did... I fell in love with them when I saw them on Ian Anderson’s feet, and since then they've been part of my miserable kit... it's dawn, the psychotropic digressions have ended, the answers haven't arrived, my body requires the intake of more psychotropic substances... I can't... I must sleep, I hope.