On pop culture: A great design that's always making a fashion statement

The Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star sneaker

In recent years, the colorful, unisex appeal of Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers has become quite noticeable, especially among teens and young, college-aged adults.

After all, great design never goes out of style. Sometimes, it just gets a little edgy and interactive.

I learned this first hand last week while perusing a Converse Store during a walk along Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade, which houses the largest collection of Converse footwear (which includes Chuck Taylor All-Star and their companion sneaker Jack Purcell) and apparel in the world.

Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers have come a long way since their basic black and white styles were once the elite footwear of choice for generations of basketball-playing Americans. Their popularity predates Adidas and Nike. In the 1970s, the iconic American punk rock band The Ramones gave the Converse brand a worldwide counterculture status. Other notables who've worn the Chuck Taylor All-Star brand include Kurt Cobain of grunge rock Nirvana fame and British actor David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor, in the BBC television science fiction series Dr. Who.

Today, thanks to their casual appearance and variety of bright and vivid colors, the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers are a "must-have" for a new generation of sneaker wearers. While they are now known more for their vintage fashion appeal than their athletic use, there is still a "wow" factor and a casual sense of coolness attached to them.

At Converse's Third Street Promenade flagship store, you can even design your own creative, one-of-a-kind pair of All-Star kicks in what is billed as Converse Customization. Through the use of iPad technology and over 150 customization graphics, including collaborations with local Santa Monica artists, customers can channel their inner Jackson Pollack or Andy Warhol in expressing their own personal and artistic style -- from abstract expressionist to modern pop art.

The Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers remain a great design, always making a fashion statement.

Photograph of Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers by Michael Dickens, copyright 2013.

It's all about the shoes, isn't it?

Fashions fade, style is eternal.
~ Yves St. Laurent

Let's face it:  Casual shoes make fashion statements. And, maybe, they reveal something about the personality of the wearer.  It's all about the shoes, isn't it?

An iconic style:
Chuck Taylor All*Star,
Navy (2009).
It used to only
come in black and white.

Marvelous or boring, in basic black or white, even in pink, most of us like our shoes to be stylish as well as being comfortable.  Today, casual shoes come in all designs, sizes, colors and brand names:  Nike, Adidas, Converse Chuck Taylor All*Star, Doc Martens.  Casual can extend to classic wing tips, all-weather Mocs and leather boots, too. The more stylish our shoes are ~ and colorful ~ the better.

Of course, too, casual and stylish sometimes carries a hefty price tag.

Sometimes, we opt for a traditional and recognizable brand just so we fit in.  Yet, a pair of iconic Chuck Taylor All*Star are just a tad more expensive today than a generation, or two, ago.

And just a little more colorful, too.

The colorful Chuck Taylor All*Star
seemed to be the shoe of choice
of Millennials and Gen Xers
at this year's Bumbershoot,
Seattle's music and art festival.

While attending last month's Bumbershoot, Seattle's music and art festival, an event that drew hundreds of thousands of Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers to the Seattle Center to see the latest in cutting-edge, indie music ~ and involved a lot of sitting and standing around on grassy lawns and among crowds ~ casual, fashionable footwear was ever-present and, often, attention-getting. Believe me, it was never drab or boring.

Designed for comfort
but far from boring:
Sneakers for him,
suede boots for her,
and blue jeans for both.

Whether lounging with friends at the Broad Street Stage listening to Montreal's Plants and Animals, enjoying a glass of wine near the Fisher Green Stage while watching the Budos Band, or catching an early evening set by Jenny and Johnny on Labor Day in front of the Starbucks Mural Stage, I became fascinated by the lively and very fashionable casual footwear statements being made by Bumbershoot festival-goers of all generations.

We're all young at heart, right?

Here's a small but fairly representative sample of the casual shoes and sneakers I encountered at this year's Bumbershoot:

Classic Dr. Martens:
Recognized around the world for their
uncompromisingly good looks and colors.

Casual yet simple ~ and no baggy pants:
Deck sneakers (left) and Chuck Taylor All*Star (right)

Mod, black and eye-catching:
Black Chuck Taylor All*Star (left)
 and black leather boots (right).

They do go with blue jeans, don't they?:
Classic wing tips (left) and calf-length boots (right).

By the way, I wore a pair of classic (and comfortable) Adidas Stan Smith white leather sneakers to Bumbershoot, a brand and style that I have been wearing on and off since the '70s. For me, they represent a simple, yet classic style ~ and they're extremely comfortable.

Some shoes never go out of style.