by Dave Friant
It was a characterization most every full-fledged male desired during their high school years. Dating the pretty blond cheerleader. Excelling at multiple sports resulting in the proud display of a decorated letter jacket. Accenting the positives associated with being a jock, while attired in the latest athletic team shirts and assorted other head to toe gear, launched most guys into the general direction of being cool.
I suspect the road to being hip for mid-to-late teenage boys had for the most part the same detours in Texas as in my home state of New Jersey. Hard to disguise acne concerns. Unruly hair that often was the topic of parental discussions about scruffiness. The embarrassment of being too tightly clothed in the size medium Penn State football t-shirt while trying to look as buff as possible for observant members of the opposite sex.
Highest on the list of footwear for coolness-seeking guys were Converse All-Star Chuck Taylor (Chucks or CT’s) sneakers. The black high-top ones with the circled star emblem on the side panel. Virtually no ankle support worthy of an endorsement by any podiatrist worth his/her salt. They were made of durable cotton canvas and nearly indestructible rubber soles that withstood the extremes associated with active lifestyles. Sylvester Stallone (the “Italian Stallion”) wore black high-top Chucks during the filming of the original Rocky movie in the mid 1970’s. “Pistol” Pete Maravich wore them during his college basketball years at LSU.
Portions of the outside toe areas and sides of the shoes were what we viewed as blank slates for a variety of art work. The Philadelphia Phillies and other symbolic emblems of local pro sport teams filled the available spaces on mine and other CT’s worn by peers. On rare occasions, when some semblance of an actual or imagined relationship with a real live young lady took center stage, that person’s name would also be penned on the footwear. Fortunately, ink on those chunks of the footwear was removable with little effort when the short-lived pains of calling it quits hit home.
Fashion statements? By no stretch of anyone’s imagination. Strictly a case of guys trying to elevate their God-given athletic prowess (whatever that might be and wherever that climb began) while attracting girls to their side of the ledger. All this with the end goal of setting up camp in the coolness zipcode. In retrospect, it was a faulty analysis to believe that ladies would be bowled over with such a crazy notion. “Those sneakers are impressive, but he’s just not my type” was probably a thought going through the minds of prospects in reference to the wearing of CT’s. Whether or not they had impacts on the outcomes of sporting contests is ripe for discussion. Wearing them did seem to unite the neighborhood male population; a healthy nudge to offset the occasional feeling of inadequacy during difficult times.
I usually bought my pair for 15 or so bucks from Bolton’s Sporting Goods store in nearby Millville. It was a stop during the trek made by my parents when groceries and other necessities needed to be purchased. I on occasion would additionally ask for and receive from the hefty bearded guy on Christmas a pair of spiffy white low top CT’s. Those had the advantage of not stinkin’ to high heaven which was usually the case after continuous wearing of the black ones on the basketball court, sandlot baseball diamond, and makeshift football field. The white low-cuts were worn to youth fellowship gatherings at church, special events at school, and during occasional dates with the limited number of available prospects in the area.
Sneakers these days (referred to for the most part as tennis shoes with “swoosh” coming to mind) have become much more thumbs up to foot docs. Their colors, breathability, and durability make for fierce competition amongst major brand names. Costs have risen considerably since the several decades ago days of odor-lingering CT’s with names of girlfriends carefully spelled out on them.
As fashion trends continue to boggle the minds of the masses, a resurgence of CT’s (multiple colors these days) has been observable in recent decades. Right here in River City. From my unscientific observations of footwear on folks over the last 10 or so years, high school teenagers and a sizeable percentage of those Generation Z (early-to-late 20 somethings) expressive types desiring to launch their uniqueness are the ones donning the black high-top Chucks.
Seems also that more and more couples exchanging the “I do’s” nowadays are also occasionally decked out with Converse sneaker products on that special occasion. The days of expensive wedding dresses and rented tuxedos may become the outliers with new generational practices. Embracing individuality and self-expression appears to be more and more the theme.
Our parents could have saved a boatload of money had the less formal trend been fashionable in the early 1970’s when wedding bells rang. Go figure.
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