There are people who collect coins and there are people who collect stamps and these days, as consumption and particularity have combined in some fashion circles people collect (or seem to collect) sneakers, an aspect of fashion that once might have been thought of as an afterthought or as an anti-fashion statement belonging more to the realm of sports and comfort.

In urban areas especially, sneakers have skyrocketed as fashion emblems and are often associated with street style and subcultures like gangs or skaters or graffiti artists who prefer the rubber-soled shoe over any other as they navigate their asphalt territory. In the last two decades or so sneakers have become both remarkably ubiquitous and sometimes remarkably refined and peculiar to particular tastes.

Shoes with rubber soles that could be considered the modern sneaker’s antecedent date from the end of the 19th century. An American company began mass producing canvas shoes with rubber soles towards the end of World War I and the popularization of the quiet, ’sneaker’, shoe began to spread from then. Initially, through sports stars like Chuck Taylor (who would endorse the Converse brand) and Jesse Owens (who would run track in Adidas and win the Olympics) sneakers were linked to athletics. The spill-over into popular fashion, though, began in the 1950’s when teenagers appropriated the rubber-soled shoe and forever changed its status. Today the sneaker is made by any number of different brands and comes in multiple varieties of colors, shapes, detailing and even technology. There is a sneaker for every type of runner and for every athlete, those who prefer tennis over basketball or vice verse, and there is a sneaker, as well, for every fashion type who is keenly aware of what it he or she is wearing that gives that extra bounce to their step.

History DVDs THE WORKS: SNEAKERS DVD James Dean: Outside the Lines DVD David Tyree: What a Catch! SB XLII Sports Illustrated Cover 16×20 Photo Sports Technology: Equipment DVD

History Collectors: We offer a wide selection of museum quality replicas and authentic items representing nearly every century of the Common Era and the most significant civilizations of ancient history. Once you browse through our online catalogue, we are certain you’ll find the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one with an interest in history.

image: photograph, movie/fashion icon James Dean in Jack Purcell sneakers
image: photograph, Olympic track star Jesse Owens

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