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Thing Corrin likes #4: Chuck Taylor All-Star Sneakers

Fab-shoe-lous

I L-O-V-E my Chuck Taylor’s. Especially the new gold leather high tops I recently purchased for an embarrassing amount of money. They are F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S.

Although historically considered a ”punk” fashion shoe, the longevity and diversity of Converse’s Chuck Taylor sneaker has broken its way into many traditional style wardrobes. Depending on your own personal style, there is a Chuck for you. I find most people on the modest/preppy side of fashion wear the optical white or unbleached white (a light yellowish color) Chuck lows. My first pair of Chucks were unbleached whites, purchased during my stint as a “brand representative/model” at Abercrombie and Fitch… coincidentally it was also when A&F first began stocking the now popular “skinny  jean”. I remember being perplexed at what I recognized as “punk” fashion growing up was now to be considered attractive and fashionable, nevertheless sold in a store like Abercrombie. Once at Boston University I bought grey Chuck lows (I was too intimidated by the black Converse.) This summer in Manhattan, I made my own personal statement with the purchase of my hi top gold LEAAATHAAAAS (a.k.a. leathers, but elongated into ”leaaathaaas” according to myself and my girl crush Chantal). I still don’t know how I feel about patterns, but given my Converse history, there is no way of knowing what’s in store for me in my Converse future.

Which brings me to ask myself a few questions. Why did I disassociate myself with Converse in the past, then grow to love them? Why did I smirk as I folded the first shipment of skinny jeans at Abercrombie, then 2 years later own 5 pair?

I could only attribute it to one thing: the plight of growing up in suburbia.

I went to a small high school 15 minutes outside of Boston, and during my four years there I noticed that the student body had adopted a type of “unofficial uniform” (specifically for girls). Seven flare jeans, a Lacoste polo or Michael Stars t-shirt, Uggs and a North Face fleece jacket. I was so entrenched in the set fashion parameters of my small town, I was quick to judge anything different. There were people who attempted trendiness outside of those guidelines, but ended up looking ridiculous among the masses of blue, black and tan. I envied those who were able to break that mold, despite our uniformity, and look great… but I still couldn’t imagine myself pulling it off.

The Leather Jacket Evolution

When I was 13 my mother tried to give me a sheik brown Italian leather jacket with two breast pockets, pleating at the hips and an angular collar. I rejected it, then asked for it momentarily when I needed to use it for my Buffy the Vampire Slayer costume. It is now a staple in my wardrobe.

When I was 15 my mother tried to give me two cotton Indian tunic t-shirts, one white and one blue, dating back to when she was in her late 20s. They have short, ruffled flowing sleeves, a seam below the bust and embroidered flowers bordering the neckline. I tried them on, decided I looked like Little Miss. Moffat, and gave them back. Fast forward to the summer of 2008, when walking by LF in Wellesley center, I saw a shirt identical to Miss Mommy Moffat’s displayed on the mannequin. That night I recovered the tops from our storage racks in the basement and they’re hanging in my closet waiting to be worn.

Sense a pattern?

Then when I became a freshman at Boston University, I suffered fashion shock. Over my first few months on campus, my A&F tank tops and J.Crew khaki shorts drifted to the back of my drawers and my newly purchased J. Brand jeans, American Apparel t-shirts and BCBG cowboy boots were sprawled on the floor waiting to be worn again. 

First Semester @ BU: First Weekend to Last Weekend

Despite “scene” fashion being most prevalent at BU (see: “How to be a Scene Kid @ http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Scene-Kid), truly, anything goes. From staying safely behind, to keeping up with, to trying to one up the popular fashion trends (note: success has been limited), my life as a lemming at Podunk High School Massachusetts is long behind me. And good riddance.

Mary Kate @ NYU... yet oh so BU

 

 

p.s. I wore a red and black polka dotted fluffy sleeved t-shirt, skinny jeans and Sperry topsiders to work today. I braided the front of my hair and twisted the rest of it into sailor moon buns on either side of my head. Case in point.

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