Sporting Goods: These Shoes Have Legs

Cons. Connies. Chucks. High-tops. All Stars. By any name, the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star basketball shoe is an American classic — and still a hot seller. For sheer endurance, the simple canvas and vulcanized-rubber shoe (price: $32) now ranks up there with leather bomber jackets, Levi’s and Coca-Cola. Last week Converse celebrated the 75th birthday of the All Star and launched an ad campaign that includes a battery of five-second TV spots.

/ Once the standard footwear of almost all self-respecting hoopsters, the All Star nowadays is less an athletic shoe than a fashion accessory. Teenage boys and girls practically live in them. Woody Allen has been known to wear the red version of the high-tops with formal wear. They have become an international icon as well; half the 10 million pairs of All Stars sold last year were exported. The All Star is the most popular sneaker in Japan, where Converse sold more than 1 million pairs last year. In France they are known as “Chuckie T’s” and are considered very chic.