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Requiem for a dream converse all star chuck taylors

19:16 / 21.02.03

I was just wondering what shoes the main character that jared leto played in requiem for a dream was wearing?

19:44 / 21.02.03

or is this question better suited for the film and tv section?

00:11 / 23.02.03

Umm... Isn't the answer right there in your thread title?

03:53 / 23.02.03

um no, they're in the style of the converse allstar chuck taylors but I don't think they are by converse.

03:53 / 23.02.03

like a cooler immitation maybe, I don't know.

15:10 / 24.02.03

Just thought I'd post in this thread by default, despite having nothing to say.

Seriously though, how about a potted history of Converse shoes as pop cultural signifier?

My friends and I play a game when going to gigs - counting the maximum number of pairs seem in a row. The record's about 9.

When I bought my first pair, I was clueless of their indie fashion-cred status though, honest. My rationale was just; 1. I need new shoes, 2. I don't particualrly care about shoes, 3. the Ramones wore these ones and they're quite cheap. Done deal.

15:33 / 24.02.03

Mum was so happy for the coupld of years I loved Chucks in high school. $20 canvas jobs were a lot cheaper than the otherwise popular $85 white Reebok galoshes every other kid wanted. Besides, it was so much easier to draw on the Chucks...

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

16:41 / 24.02.03

I only got my first pair last year. I'd never seen any around before (I mean, if I'd looked harder.. sure.. but, well, I guess I never really tried. Obviously I'd seen them around... but not in any shops where I buy shoes... anyway...)

So I finally bought some, and they are the best shoes ever. (Even though they seem to have risen in price inexplicably.)

But I must admit to being a little disheartened when I realised that whereever I go, and whoever I see now, I cannot help but notice I have the exact same shoes as everyone. Which kind of takes the edge off a little.

16:49 / 24.02.03

Chucks are the only shoes I wear in the six months of the year when there's no snow. Until i left the Rose City I had absolutely no idea that they were "indie" footwear. I just thought they were cheap and could usually find them for $10 apiece. Occasionally some smart ass will get on my case about them, claiming that I'm riding some trend. Fuck, I'm probably the most clueless person on this board when it comes to what's shaking in indie circles and pop culture at large. I can just about guarantee that with a few exceptions, any band that has formed in the last ten years that is mentioned on this board is probably the first time I've ever heard of them and is otherwise completely unknown to me.

I'm incredibly fucking square. I thought Chucks were shoes for squares, man.

16:50 / 24.02.03

What th--?

Hipsters wear Chucks? The fuck?

17:57 / 24.02.03

Hipsters and junkies.

The shoe in question.

21:03 / 24.02.03

i have to admit, i did but them first for the sad indieboy reasons everybody else did, but since The Strokes seem to have claimed the monopoly on them (i actually heard someone refer to them as 'strokes shoes'), i have decided to big up the British equivalent:

Dunlop Green Flash.

infinitely cooler because no-one actually wore cons in the uk until a few years ago, and they are actually cheaper.

Lets celebrate british new wave style! i think the Blondie-alike has been plundered to death by now.......

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

22:18 / 24.02.03

But I think you'll find that technically they are a lesser shoe. Fact.

06:41 / 25.02.03

what? chucks are fashionable now? me and my friends wore them all through HS cuz we thought it was funny and yeah, they were way easy to draw on and personalise

07:57 / 25.02.03

Mum was so happy for the couple of years I loved Chucks in high school. $20 canvas jobs were a lot cheaper than the otherwise popular $85 white Reebok galoshes every other kid wanted.

Mine too! And they're still reasonably priced and still just as good quality. I got my first pair when I was around 10-12, in green. Then I went through a few pairs over the next few years, can't remember the colours but they were all different. Red, black and blue I think. Then as a late teenager I got into Doc Martens and the like and forgot all about trainers until a couple of years ago when I bought a pair of those suede Converse. They died late last year and I returned to my roots and bought some original Converse gym boots, as I call them, in that denim colour. It's good to be back, although weird (and probably not very good for my feet) after years of wearing shoes with more spring in the step.

And they provide endless amusement for people as they look remarkably like clown shoes when you have feet as big as mine. Only last Saturday night on the tube a gaggle of teenagers amused themselves for at least 10 minutes speculating at great volume about (a) whether my feet filled the shoes, and (b) what that meant for the rest of my anatomy.

BTW, wherefore "chucks"? Is that what they're called these days?

And let's all agree not to have any nonsense about the low cut variety ...

11:43 / 25.02.03

I have had low cut, but only after picking them up for under $10 (CDN). How could I resist?

Agree about the clown shoes thing. Only reason I ever feel self-conscious abou the shoes. That, and my feet will also temporarily hurt if I alternate footwear. Also, they're not much protection in the rain.

Currently own three pair. White, Pure Black (w/black soles and toe) and the aforementioned denim, which are my favourite pair, ever. I can't wait for the snow to melt now.

They are called "Chucks" after the brand name they run under, "Chuck Taylor's". Chuck was a basketball player way back in the day, and is considered the first major sponsor of athletic footwear. If you look at the circle logo on your shoe, you will see his name in cursive writing.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

12:37 / 25.02.03

ooooh. I only have the normal black pair. I'm probably gonna have to get some new ones on account of them falling apart.

I saw in some shoe shops that they have some real tendy type ones: like the denim ones- like they've been put together from random bits of denim and other material (but they just too new and... well.. trendy), and lots of other ones with writing on and stuff.

What are the denim ones of which you all speak? Are they plain?

12:46 / 25.02.03

The denim ones aren't made of bits of denim or anything. They're plain like normal ones, with white toe and sides of the sole. the main coloured bit is just the one shade of denimy colour, and there's a thin red line along the edge where the colour meets the white. I really like this style. Although all black sounds pretty good too.

When I was a lad we just used to call them Converse. These days with the other kinds of shoes that Converse make, I usually refer to them as "you know, the original canvas gym boots". "Chucks" sounds a bit odd to my untrained ears.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

12:47 / 25.02.03

Oh, just have to add, mine make my feet look really small. Whenever I wear other shoes now, they feel really chunky.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

12:50 / 25.02.03

Ooooooooh. I must see this denim style, is there a picture available anywhere? I looked on the converse site... *ahem*

I'm just glad they're not the patchy denim ones. I despise them.

13:04 / 25.02.03

Yeah I know what you mean about the patchy ones. Or in fact anything made with pieces of denim. Like handbags made to look like a denim-clad arse. Brrr!

I must say there are some evil-looking shoes on that Converse website. Hot-rod Converse? I feel all dirty now because I have a strange desire for the corduroy ones ...

15:38 / 25.02.03

My ex used to have a pair of the brown corduroy. I had a black and white checkered pair once. In fact, I don't think I've ever had the same colour twice.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

16:55 / 25.02.03

Oh yes. Denim ones nice. Black and white chequered nice. Corduroy nice.

Patchy denim. No-no.

Anyway, those three pairs should last me a good few years...

21:30 / 25.02.03

To be honest, in retrospect the checkered isn't really the way to go.

The denim is hot, though.

23:19 / 25.02.03

I've only ever owned one pair of Cons, a good few years ago. Blue fellas with white stipes. Liked the big white star.

But... Dunlop Green Flash. Got a pair of these last year which, oddly, are brown with cream flashes. Not a fan. They look quite nice before you see yourself wearing them in a mirror, when they suddenly turn into clown shoes. Honestly, they make you look like you could hang off branches with your toes. They're also a bit plastic.

The Return Of Rothkoid

23:58 / 25.02.03

They're levitating! All hail the Jesusboots!

08:56 / 26.02.03

hmmm, i think the thing about green flash is that they look really stupid when they are brand new and bright white. its only when they get some scuff on them that they gain that proper used and dirty look, and then they stop looking like clown shoes.
Although i get the feeling im fighting a losing battle here....

15:13 / 26.02.03

I read the other day that Lester Bangs wore nothing but red converse throughout his entire life, and people considered this extremely strange behaviour.

Funny how his prophetic, ahead-of-its-time taste in footwear seems to mirror his (more frequently commented upon) prophetic, ahead-of-its-time taste in music..

Truly he was the godfather of indie-kids.