Vans, founded in 1966 by brothers Paul and Jim Van Doren, is a skate and surf brand that has been a staple in the skate and surf culture since the 1960s. The company was named after the Van, and its iconic style has endured the test of time. On their first day of business, Van Doren sold 12 made-to-order pairs of their 44 Deck Shoes, better known as the Authentic. Over time, Vans sneakers became an instant success within the skate world.
The Van Doren Rubber Company, now known as Vans, was founded in Anaheim, California, by brothers Paul and Jim Van Doren. The company designed footwear with a waffle sole to add traction and grip to basic footwear. The Vans Authentic is the original Vans silhouette, first introduced in 1966 and driven by the Van’s legacy.
Vans offers various styles, including the Drill Chore Carpenter Loose Denim, Vans Stevens Denim Shirt, Vans Old Skools in racing red with a true white stripe, and Vans Slip-on shoes. The Vans Classic Slip-On is an iconic slip-on shoe with low profile canvas uppers, supportive padded collars, elastic side accents, and signature rubber waffle sole.
Vans’s Authentic is the original Vans silhouette, first introduced in 1966 and driven by the Van’s legacy. The Vans Straight Denim are timeless and comfortable to skate in daily, constructed with stretch cotton-poly blend fabric and a belt loop waistband. The Vans Classic Slip-On Joyful Denim Light Pink Pink is available for retail purchase at 88,00 € 70,40 €.
📹 Why are Vans SO Popular?
Vans shoes have become the quintessential street culture shoe brand beloved by skateboarders, musicians, actors, and so much …
What does Vans mean 420?
Vans shoes were first produced in 1966 by The Van Doren Rubber Company in Los Angeles. They were not invented by hand-held calculators or 420, which originated in 1971 at a San Rafael high school when students would smoke marijuana at 4:20.
How to wear Sk8 hi?
The Sk8-Hi Vans are versatile shoes that can be worn in various styles, including skate, streetwear, grunge, and formal wear. The skatepark style pairs them with baggy jeans or shorts, a skate t-shirt, and a hoodie. Streetwear involves pairing them with tapered ankle jeans or joggers. The grunge style is popular in the 90s and pairs with ripped jeans or fishnet tights. Formal wear adds an irreverent feel with a suit, shirt, and tie. The Sk8-Hi Vans can be laced in various ways, including cross-lacing, straight lacing, and bar lacing, adding a unique finishing touch.
Are checkered Vans 80s?
The checkered Vans slip-on, a popular shoe in the late-1970s, gained cultural prominence in 1982 with the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The iconic American fashion staple was featured prominently in the movie’s trailer, with Sean Penn’s character, Spiccoli, chosen for the shoe. Vans did not intentionally promote the slip-on in their package, but included it with their popular 44 Deck Shoe model. The Vans checkered pattern is synonymous with the brand’s history and influence on footwear design.
Many collaborators have used collaboration opportunities to utilize the pattern and pay homage to Vans’ DNA. Supreme, a long-time Vans collaborator, has deployed the checkered pattern in six separate collaborations, with the most popular being the Fall 2016 release of the Supreme checkered vans, which integrated their logo with Vans’ signature checkered pattern.
What are Vans made of?
Vans footwear is manufactured using a combination of materials, including rubber soles, canvas and cotton, polyester laces, and metal eyelets. The production facilities are situated in California and in various Asian countries, notably Vietnam and China.
Are Vans still in fashion?
Vans is gaining popularity as the summer shoe of choice among teenagers. The brand’s classic checkerboard slip-ons are versatile, comfortable, low-key, and timeless, with an irresistible throwback to the Noughties skater edge. Since being spotted on celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski, Sofia Richie, the Olsens, and Morgan Stewart McGraw, interest in these shoes has spiked. Google searches for the classic checkerboard styles have increased by 5, 000 in the past 90 days, and TikTok videos about the trend have surpassed 41.
6 million. Vans’ collaboration with Proenza Schouler has further solidified its position in the style spotlight, with a modern, luxurious reinterpretation of the iconic slip-on released online last month. This trend is a testament to Vans’ ability to create a unique and stylish footwear for the younger generation.
What was Vans originally called?
Vans, originally known as the Van Doren Rubber Company, is an American apparel, accessories, and skateboarding shoes brand founded in Anaheim, California, by Paul Van Doren, his brother James, and Gordon C. Lee. The company, owned by VF Corporation, also sponsors various sports teams and was the primary sponsor of the annual Warped Tour music festival from 1996 to 2019. The first Vans store was opened in 1966 by Paul Van Doren, his brother James, and Gordon C.
Lee, and was initially a store selling shoes directly to the public. The original Vans skateboard logo was designed by Mark Van Doren, son of then-President and co-owner James Van Doren, at age 13. The logo was incorporated into the heel tab on Style 95, an early Vans skateboard shoe, and was inspired by Vans’ interest in skateboarding.
Can you wear Vans with jeans?
Vans are versatile and can be worn with various denim styles, making them suitable for both casual and formal events. Key features to consider include the style of jeans, whether the Vans are hi-top or low-top shoes, and the color of the shoes. High Top Vans can be paired with skinny jeans, and a denim jacket over a white t-shirt can further capitalize on the denim trend. Red Vans are neutral casualwear that can be paired with both ripped jeans and polished high waisted trousers. Coordinate accessories around the Vans for a cohesive look.
Were Vans popular in the 80s?
Sean Penn wore Vans classic slip-ons in Fast Times at Ridgemont High in the 80s, which became popular among alternative, skater, and stoner crowds. Moccasins, inspired by Native American minimalist designs, were leather shoes with fur or suede as pajamas. Adidas Campus, a casual shoe with a suede upper and white rubber sole, features three stripes down the side, showcasing the brand’s iconic style. These shoes continue to be worn today by many.
Can girls wear Vans?
Vans has demonstrated a consistent commitment to inclusivity, offering designs, fits, and sizes that cater to all genders, from the initial launch of their first deck shoes to their most recent collections.
What are the 70s Vans called?
Dodge introduced the B-vans between 1971 and 1978, a series of commercial vans that became popular among consumers. The B-series introduced the Sportsman van model and the Tradesman model series. In 1976, Dodge introduced the YH3 street van package, which became popular with the younger generation and drove sales increases. However, these packages were discontinued after 1981 due to changing culture. The B-series vans featured a one-piece welded uniframe design, making them lighter and stronger than previous models.
In contrast, Chevrolet’s 1970s vans were well-received by the younger generation. The Series 30 Van was introduced in 1971, featuring sliding doors on the sides and wild painted colorful side illustrations. These vans inspired many cultures to showcase their new vans.
Is Vans losing popularity?
Vans, a skate brand acquired by VF Corp in 2004, has been struggling to grow for some time. The brand experienced strong sales before losing momentum during the pandemic as shoppers turned to running shoes or other brands like Nike and Converse. Today, Vans faces muted demand, supply chain issues, and lower wholesale sales in the Americas. VF Corp expects Vans to return to growth in the second half of the 2024 fiscal year.
Historically, Vans has been VF Corp’s top-performing brand, outpacing The North Face in terms of revenue. However, for two of the past four quarters, The North Face has taken over as number one, with The North Face being the only major brand to post growth due to its continued strides in outerwear.
📹 JOURNEYS EXCLUSIVE! Vans Old Skool “Acid Denim” Review + On-Foot | @BoogieKaZamm
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Being a poor skater kid in the late 80s, all I wanted was a pair of Hi Top vans. My mom saved and got me a blue pair for my birthday. After just a few weeks, I wore the sole down from skating so much, I developed a hole under my big toe. I was so ashamed that I didn’t tell my mom. Walking to school in the middle of winter suuuuuucked.
As someone who has suffered from severe plantar fascitis for more than a year and seriously thought his walking-without-pain days were over, I run from that kind of disposable shoes as if the devil where breathing on my neck. With careful planning I was able to buy quality (and yes, expensive) shoes through the years and I now have a full set of very classic, very comfortable shoes that allows me to change them every day and let them dry thoroughly before wearing them again. As a curiosity, ballerinas get through more ballet shoes than even a skateboarder does. And those are expensive, usually hand-made.
Love your articles so much! One remark, would be nice if you would have told us which brands to look for, to have cool and repairable shoes. And no please don’t tell me Birkenstocks. 😉 Thanks to you guys I’m changing in the long run to Patagonia and Fjallraven instead of Arc‘Teryx – once it is beyond repair.
Interesting to see how different people wear out shoes. Never had the back of them break down like that but I walk weird & like those shoes specifically because they’re so bendy-twisty flexible that I don’t crack them down the middle while stretching or walking on tiptoes & get to wear them for a long time until the waffle grid at the front is flattened out & even then they still last a while before falling apart. Usually the front of them is worn down but the back looks new because it hardly touches the ground.
11:53 not sure if you going to mention this but you can get like rubber things that stick onto your sole or toe so your soles dont get warn down in those most worn down places theres probably a larger variety of them then i know about but if you were to start implementing those your basic throw away sneakers can last much longer. Just a useful tip for you and your viewers not sure if your going to mention it further in the article
I’m surprised to think about vans as being particularly quick to wear out, but I guess it makes sense when compared to most really highend, $150+ price range shoes. When I used to bartend and was on my feet all damn day, Vans styled laceless slip on shoes were my favorite to wear to get through the day. As for comfort name brand Vans weren’t that much better than the cheap walmart brands or whatever, the only thing that made Vans really worth spending extra for was their durability. Off brand shoes in that style would wear out after a few weeks, but my Vans could go about a year before I wanted to replace them. Now that i think about it I probably could’ve made them last even longer if I never spilled commercial cleaning supplies on them lol.
Vans are wonderful because they serve as the great equalizer in youth. Rich or poor, if you show up in a pair of vans you are accepted and your shoes are considered up to par. This is contrast to Jordan’s, yeezys, etc. Everyone has their favorite styles and the older crowd looks down fondly on the times they spent in the styles that still hang around today. I love vans and while I have trashed many a pair in my youth the new more durable styles hold up just fine for me as an adult.
I grew up in Anaheim and have been wearing vans since I was a toddler. The original store was always amazing to me every time we went. Single shie shelves almost to the ceiling. That’s what off the wall means. You picked your Vans of the wall. The funniest thing ever is when I moved to South Carolina and heard this young girl say I hate when old people try to be cool by wearing Old skools. Lmfao. The Old Skool came out in 1977, the year I was born. Silly litte girl has no idea 🤣
Maybe my cobbler is just a giant weirdo, but he has replaced soles on sandals that I bought at Kmart in 1998. Cemented construction is how almost all women’s shoes are made. A Goodyear welt will allow shoes to be resold many more times than a non-welted shoe, but as long as you aren’t committed to the exact same sole as came on your shoe, you can get a new sole.
I miss the Vans on the 2010s. They really tried new things, like more upscale fabrics, also different silhouettes. Like surfer shoes, meant to be worn to the beach with out socks. I still wear them, I like the simple lines, and the quirky details that they have. Like on black shoes, they use white thread. The don’t seem to be made the same way like in the 2010s, and I really miss the LPE, a dresser shoe but not a dress shoe perfect for business casual. I think the investment company that bought them out is raising their prices too fast, and is has streamlined things a little too much. That being said, I will continue to wear them, even though I am not a skater, and I am an old man.
Never owned many pairs of vans growing up but I’m a fan of the Van style shoe design so i tend to just buy cheap no name brands of that slip on shoe style/boat show style (not the one with the shoelace or high tops) coz they comfy af. Great watch as always. Good to learn more about them as a company.
I love vans. I wear them the people Jordan’s. I worked for Vans too. I love the company and the brand and did all of that before even working for them. They company they are now is kind of the same they were when they tried expanding too much. The only reason this works is bc they are owned by VF. The same company that owns Dickies, Supreme, North Face etc. They drop colors, and collabs, push them for like a week and if they’re successful they will drop more colors and slight variants and slightly increase the price, and if they fail they will sit for another month and full size runs from full price stores will get sent to outlet stores. I can’t say they’d be doing this if they didn’t have a retail giant investment company owning them, but it only “works” bc they do own them. They do so very well I would say because a lot of casual fans of the brand haven’t noticed this. It used to be you could go to your favorite retailer before their own stores popped up most everywhere and still would see the basic silhouettes and colors and they’d have a wall or 2 with cool colors, designs, and shapes outside of the basics. It was understood you get them bc they won’t last forever, and it was cool when you saw someone with a cool color in public bc they were not all that common. I miss those days lol. They upped their prices. They are still on par with their competitors, but Authentics used to be $45-50 dollars, and they start at 49.95-$55. Anything outside of their starting 5 lines up (Authentics, Slip-Ons, Eras, Old Skools, and Sk8-His) start at $70.
I bought my first pair of vans (razor) in the late 90s and I still have them. They don’t even look too bad. I have kept buying them over the years, but I feel like they’ve become less comfortable and wear out quicker. It could also be that my old, wide feet need more support now, but it is quite interesting that I can still walk all day in my old shoes and get blisters in my newer ones. Btw, I had no idea that Vans were created by a Dutch man. As a Dutchie, I’d thought my fellow cheese-heads would claim him more.😄
i hate nike but that is one aspect of their skate line that really impresses me. its a stroebel stitch cupsole so once it wears down you can get a new sole attached without completely frankensteining the shoe. the nike dunk sb is made of better quality stuff overall too so they can take more punishment. obviously that doesnt help you if youre sponsored by a different company but it does help if youre part of the large majority of people who dont skate and just want a quality sneaker thats more repairable than converse or vans
I bought my first pair of Vans last year, at the age of 34. I have very flat feet and always thought Chucks were the most comfortable shoes but it pissed me off that they went from $20 to $60, for some very weak canvas shoes, in the course of 20 years. The Sk8-hi with the pop cush sole are hands down the best shoes I’ve ever worn. I’ve actually forgotten that they were on my feet, that’s how comfortable they are. I even went online and made some customs just because it was only like $100 to do so. I’ll be buying these for the rest of my life.
I used to wear vans all the time.its been a part of my life since I could remember! I believe when we got them they were like $20 then $30 -$45 and now they’re like ~$70! Anyways in the early 2000s when I started skating it was crazy to see that vans actually had a whole Skate park inside a freakn mall! There were two of them near me I would have my mom leave me there to watch so pro-ams skate these huge ramps while my she shopped around. After and during my love of skating I got into music. I found that you could tear off the top of the box and use the box itself to store your CD cases. Of course my next phase was going to concerts and of course vans was there once again providing the various lineups of artists. Now I just buy any collab I like nintendo, Sailor moon, the simpsons and now stranger things.
I’m not sure how possible this is: But what if Vans did something similar that Adidas is doing with Mylo, the mushroom leather company? Where they start making their shoes out of a sustainable material that is biodegradable. This way they would be able to keep their skater market with cheap and disposable shoes, without the issue of polluting the environment. It’s a shoe meant to be disposable but biodegradable.
Vans are moms shoes now. All the moms wear them. They’ve also oversatured the market with Vans apparel. I go to the Goodwill bins and find so much of their stuff. They were cooler when you had to order them out of the back of skate magazines like Thrasher pre-internet and only skaters/punks wore them because of Ian Mackaye of Minor Threat. I had Vans Old Skools in high school. The only other person that had a pair was another punk rocker. Prefer to support smaller shoe companies now or buy secondhand if the shoes are in good condition.
Gotta love trends🙄.Popular today, not so popular tomorrow. Everyone was converse this, & converse that. Then Vans came on as the new hippest rediscovered shoe…AGAIN! It’s true what they say about trends if you just wait then things will (eventually) cycle back around. Unless your name is Micheal Jordan that is.
I have had at least one (often more) pair of vans for 40 years since around the age of 14. NO MORE! the last pair I got started to fall apart after a week. I tried to return the shoes. On first try the store had decided to close early. The next time i tried they denied i had even got them in that store? I didn’t have my receipt but the shoes were in the box and in original bag. I had three members of staff basically pulling apart my story. I left with the obviously brand new but falling apart shoes. I did tell them i had been a customer of vans for this length of time and they could not give a F so much for brand loyalty!
Cargo shorts/pants on middle aged men (being men who wore cargo shorts/pants when they were becoming popular). also as a guy from this era who still prefers to have cargo pockets for the utility of having extra pocket space, I simply don’t understand why they became a joke to people. Like, they aren’t for everyone I suppose, and that is fine, but why shit on them? Not you specifically because you are just making the semi popular (in that it’s widely accepted) joke towards the shorts/pants, but I recall reading some dumb article that really took them to task on how horrible they are and it’s like “don’t wear them then?”.
yeah, the exact same thing goes for Converse classic Taylors – they are super comfortable way above anything for my legs personally, but they age so quickly. sometimes not even a full season. and yeah, it’s always the heel for me too. i am able to repair them for some additional runtime with the pieces of rubber from last year’s pair (yeah loool, i’m not kidding), carefully glueing them from the inside to cover the damage, but for real, man – this is pathetic lifetime for a pair of shoes
i might be the only person who claims to be an environmentalist and a crypto enthusiast. can you do an episode on blockchain technology? There’s so much more going on than just high energy consumption, but there are a few blockchain projects that can help the environment! (it may take a whole series)
welp for me im no skater but i am a car guy and a mountain biker and i love these shoes ALOT i mean hey wanna hit the trails sure go ahead beat em up hell i like my vans with a little bit of character,wanna work on cars……..go ahead beat em up and scratch the hell out them they’ll handle it,wanna do some welding go ahead the leather on them will handle them,just dont do it everyday at your welding job like i did will they take the beating……..just not for long lol 😆
Sneakers are comfortable as hell and I like comfort. I could dress up when I need to in heels but I have more Vans than dress shoes lol I don’t skateboard..My style of dress for years was always in jeans, t shirt and sneakers. Converse hurt my feet so I bought Vans and love it. I have 10 different pairs in all colors too! Love them! We buy Vans for my son too. It’s nice and affordable too!
I like probably many other have always worn some type of High Top Chucks Taylor’s or high top Vans in the 80s or 90’s. Was simply a to me a comfortable natural wearing piece of garment in my day & thats all i could get! Needless to say, at almost 50yrs old I still wear them! -Thx you Vans Thx you Converse🤙🏽
Regarding the “donate worn shoes” argument, people donating very worn and ratty items to charity is a really big problem. Whether it’s local charity shops or sent to a developing country, it often ends up in a landfill or worse. There’s a really good BBC documentary (I think it’s on the unseen world YouTube website) about the impact fast fashion has clothes donations to Africa. So much of it no one wants because there are holes and stains or it’s just in general bad condition and just ends up as litter on a massive scale.
I’m a huge fan of Vans old skool. I track the wears of my wardrobe and this is my conclusion. I bought my last pair back in 2019, I use them for 356 days (probably more than this, I started tracking back in 2020) and my cost per wear right now is 0,22€. Right now there are tearing apart in the common spots, but i think i can gave them at least 60 wears more before buying a new pair. I use them as a regular shoe, not for sports. Still a good inversion for me 😊
I was never much of a skater, but I love Vans as an everyday shoe, especially limited editions with fun prints. Super comfy and affordable, as well as kind of sustainable in terms of materials. I own like 5 pairs or so. I really don’t have any issues with wear of them, mine last multiple years usually, but I seem to have very even wear of my shoes in general, I’ve never worn holes in any of my shoes before.
A cobbler once refused to repair my $100 Vans because they were “an inferior Chinese export that’s based on poorly constructed cheap materials that don’t hold up like Vans used to” He told me to contact Vans and tell them to have their shoes manufactured in the U.S.A. I said “Please just fix my shoes and I’ll pay” He said he would charge me $300 and I walked out laughing at him🤪
i love vans because many models are narrow, perfect for my narrow feet and high arches. i like how the ankle and sides are grippy and solid and yet you have more wiggle room than converse in the toe box. but above all, i LOVE HOW SQUISHY THEY GET!! a beaten up pair of vans gets so squishy and soft and they turn ridiculously comfortable.
No one says that because of the stupid Vans waffle sole, that when you walk down the street when it’s rainy and muddy that the mud sticks in all the crevices of the waffle sole. I’m used to wearing PF Flyers and Converse these past few years. Never had any problem. Got new Vans 1/2 off at Buffalo Exchange, 3rd time walking down the street, raining, got tons of mud and other gunk in the waffle soles I can’t get out other than manually cleaning with a plastic knife or whatever. Terrible design. Scraped my feet/shoes on the concrete sidewalk hoping stuff would come out, NOTHING! Dumb Vans. Not very punk rock. Slip-on’s also feel very cold in cold weather vs. slightly thicker canvas shoes. It’s like 60 degrees here and my feet feel like they are freezing. Whatever. Probably won’t buy again. Slip-on’s also suck to get on if you are wearing thick socks. They are even hard to get on wearing thin socks. Don’t get me started on people who don’t untie their shoes and then try to slip them on like slip-on’s, putting creases/f-ing up the backs of their shoes. See that with all brands of shoes, Jordans, anything. Dumb public, absolutely clueless. Buy shoes, keep clean, lighter colors for warm weather/less sweat, darker colors for colder weather/work. Keep white soles clean. It looks much better. Black soles = city, working class. Teenagers usually have very dirty white soles and some adults as well. You can tell a person’s age, young people at least by how dirty the soles of their shoes are.