So, in case you haven’t heard, it’s Stan Smiths out, Converse in, when it comes to fashion’s sneaker of choice. OK, Stan Smiths are still happening, but we did notice a lot of Converse at London Collections Men. In a bid to provide the crib sheet on what your choice of Chuck means, here’s a run down of Converse semantics.
Jack Purcells
These are the closest shoe to the Stan Smiths school of dressing – and go just as well with jeans and anything khaki. They’re usually worn by the kind of man who might wear stripy T-shirts, neat grey marl sweatshirts and glasses, quietly ruing the fact that they aren’t an extra in a Wes Anderson film while working at a biannual magazine dedicated to typefaces. As such, they totally work with this season Gucci.
Black All Stars
These are the Converse for all you rockers out there – worn by musicians ranging from the Ramones to the Strokes, Kurt Cobain to Wiz Khalifa. With Cobain a bit of a muse at London Collections Men this week, it’s no surprise that Nick Grimshaw and Labrinth are already on board with this. As Grimshaw usefully demonstrates, this is all about ripped jeans, hoodies and a bomber. Mosh pits are your natural habitat.
Natural All Stars
Wearing a pair of these has something of the mod about it – they are straight out of the Ivy League school of dressing. They have the pedigree of basketball courts of American college, but also a sort of Céline-approved unadorned feel with the natural canvas. As such, they are on the money for fashion’s current mood. See Agi & Sam at London Collections Men, where they were worn with slick, minimal sportswear. Expect the wearer of these to have an Instagram blackout and an unGoogleable name.
Coloured All Stars
There’s nothing like a pair of loud sneakers to tell the world that you’re really kooky. Patterned – or mismatched – Converse do the job with bells on and have been doing so since the 90s. See Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. There are some modern kooks who can still be counted on to fly the flag. See Rupert Grint and prepare for him to pair them with a novelty T-shirt and grin. Think TV presenter dressing.
‘Cons’
The dark horse of the Converse world – which means they are sure to soon be the choice of early adopters. More Vans than Stan Smiths, they appeal to anyone with skater tendencies, even if they have never stepped foot on a skateboard and only carry one for show. Pharrell would wear Cons if he wasn’t working with Adidas – the smart ones among his followers will soon be sporting them.
