Always in style, always smiling, too!

The Jack Purcell sneaker/ Always in style, always smiling, too!

The original Jack Purcell sneakers were known for their great, classic look and timeless style. Designed with comfort in mind and worn with casual attire, they were easily identifiable by their signature "smile" across the toe. Today, they are still known for these same, great qualities. And, they're more colorful, too.

Great design never goes out of style.

While perusing the San Francisco designer shoe store DSW, near Union Square, on a recent Sunday afternoon, I couldn't help but notice the navy blue Jack Purcell shoes that were on display. Seeing them brought back fond memories of my childhood.

My parents bought me my first pair of Jack Purcell sneakers in the middle-to-late 1960s while I was growing up in southern California. Back then, the only colors manufactured were in basic black and white. I loved them equally. Jack Purcells were popular as athletic footwear along with Converse's Chuck Taylor All-Stars in an era before Adidas and, later, Nike became the athletic footwear of choice for generations of Americans. 

The namesake of the stylish Jack Purcell footwear is John Edward "Jack" Purcell, who was a Canadian world champion badminton player. It was during his athletic career that Purcell (1903-1991) designed a canvas and rubber badminton sneaker for the B.F. Goodrich Company of Canada in 1935. The idea behind his shoe design was to create a sneaker that could provide more protection and support on badminton courts. 

Fast forward and Converse now owns the trademark rights to Jack Purcell sneakers, and their appearance and variety of bright and vivid colors are similar to the Chuck Taylor All-Stars. While both Jack Purcells and Chuck Taylor All-Stars are now known more for their vintage fashion appeal than for their athletic use, there is still a "wow" factor to them. And, in recent years, their colorful, unisex appeal has become quite noticeable, especially among teens and young, college-aged adults. Yet, I truly believe all ages can pull off the look. Which is why I still love to wear Jack Purcell sneakers.

While I don't remember how many pairs of Jack Purcell sneakers I've worn in my lifetime, I maintain an appreciation for their style ~ even if they are a lot more expensive than I remember them being as a kid. They look equally cool worn with khakis or blue jeans. And, now that they come in navy blue ~ my favorite color ~ I just might be tempted to purchase my first new pair of Jack Purcell sneakers in ages.

After all, great design never goes out of style.

Photograph of Jack Purcell sneakers by Michael Dickens, copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

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.