My Converse love-hate story goes way back. Years have gone by and as refined my (fashion) taste, I started to appreciate rare, special items. It was 2008, I think, when I bought my first special edition Converse sneakers!
A gorgeous shade of pink, more eyelets than the usual All-Star model, a handful of $ (what, special editions tend to cost more), I was the proud owner and wearer of a beautiful pair of Converse All Star Double details Ox Raspberry/White: double midsole stripes, double eyelets, double the enchantment! Two weeks later they started to fall apart. And so did my love for Converse.
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They had all the signs of an authentic Converse sneaker – all the stars, all the branded R where they were supposed to be, all the fabric and the stitches and the vulcanized outsoles were perfectly executed, inside and outside this was an authentic merchandise, bought from a sales representative. Hurray! Then why the falling apart? How was I to trust a shoe, as overhyped as any Converse shoe is, if it starts falling apart on both sides in just two weeks?
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Mind you, I wasn’t even putting in extra mileage into the shoes – I was really careful about my wear-and-tear experience, especially since my routine only involved driving to the preschool and to the park on baby stroller-duty, 2 hours/day!
Now that my descent from Converse Cloud 9 had begun, I started feeling highly uncomfortable in my walks and as the shoes fell apart even more, the love I had for the classic canvas Converse sneakers was slowly and steadily replaced by indifference and then contempt.
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At such point that I completely refused to know/write/publish/wear anything Converse related. I was hurt. I was cheated by a brand I loved and praised. 7 years later, my Adored Husband decided it was time I gave the canvas sneakers another try and he surprised me with a pair of flowery Dunlop sneakers. With the money we paid on the special edition Converse 7 years ago, we could now buy 5 pairs of Dunlop canvas sneakers (on sale, mind you)!
I have yet to report on the wear-and-tear experience as I’m only wearing them for 2 days but I feel confident. If Dunlop doesn’t know rubber and vulcanizing, then who does, right?
Do share your experience with Converse sneakers, or Converse-like sneakers (Vans etc). Should my confidence in canvas sneakers be restored by the pretty Dunlop reps, I’m considering Superga next – anyone tried, tested (and is willing to share the experience)?
6 comments
i am so surprised that your Converse runners fell apart!
I have just retired a pair that I have had for over 10 years, they are now my garden shoes!
And I have a new fabu black denim pair that I LOVE!
As for me I am a Converse Chica!
The Dunlops are cute I hope that you have better joy with them!
:)
I was in complete and utter disbelief, I really wanted them to be fakes, if you can believe it! I wanted them to be fakes so I wouldn’t fell out of love with them -_- that’s why I lost trust in the brand … I’m simply afraid to try another pair. A week of wearing in, the Dunlops seem lovely to wear and sturdy. I hope they will last me longtime, they’re so cute and unbelievably affordable!
I am sorry to say, but I think you got fakes Converse , girlfriend. Those breaks in the rubber wouldnt happen to original ones in such a short time. My Converses are + 10 yo ( yes, I got mine around 2002, mind you …) and they still look better than that- Ok, the colour is washed out but the rubber part and the lace orifices( which are ruined on my children’s ones just within months ) are still in perfect condition. And for the first 4 years or so I wore them a lot, almost every week end. I think special editions are cool and worth the investment. My hubbie owns a Puma special edition since 2000!!! for every single work out at gym( 5 times/week and never worn outdoors ) and they are basically spotless.
Like Ellington I wish you better luck with your Dunlops. They look lovely
you know, I wish you were right! And Ellington too! But I checked and double checked, the sales reps is legit, the shoes have all the signs and numbers, labels, stitching :( my Converse luck ran out ;-)
I wish my faith would be restored…
until then, I’ll grow my faith with each and every one of your stories! (btw – I’m a sucker for special editions too! and I love those customizing tools they have now for sneakers!)
The only converse I wear now are the 2 pairs of 70s chucks I bought a couple years ago. Like you, I have also switched to Dunlop (I hadn’t heard of them until I read an AC/DC biography and discovered that the Young brothers wore them back in the 70s). They are a fraction of the price, yet carry the same kind of iconic fashion status (especially their Green Flash model) in the UK and Australia as Converse does here (US). They are comfortable as anything and they have ALL rubber soles, not that cheap feeling and looking felt material on the Converse.
And what finally ended my love for Converse for good was that I discovered that they use that cheap felt material so they can classify their shoes as technically “slippers” in order to avoid import taxes on shoes in the US. It was a huge turn off to discover that America’s greatest and most iconic athletic shoe was technically a slipper. Lame…
Thank you ever so much for sharing your experience with both Converse and Dunlop! Seeing that I wasn’t the only one who fell into the Converse trap and lived to tell the tale restores my faith in my fashion instinct and will get me back on writing soon!
I had no idea that Converse was speculating the regulations to that point! I mean if Converse is doing it (and by extension Nike, their parent company), who is there left to restore my consumer trust? Long time now I ended all my commercial ties with Nike (and by that, yes, I’m talking about buying their stuff) on moral grounds. Doing a little research, I realized that Nike started by copying (read stealing) the designs and the technical details (and later stealing the engineers too) from Onitsuka Tiger. I’m certain it wasn’t the first nor was it the last practice of its kind in the world of business, yet it was enough to make me avoid all Nike merchandise.
So far, my Dunlops already have 3 years of wearing and no sign of tearing and I also added a pair of classic Superga to the mix which I can declare to be my comfiest and sturdiest pair yet (in their category)!
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