This
is a dark green corduroy low-top.The Converse "Chuck Taylor" All Star is generally considered a canvas sneaker. However, over the years, Converse has made non-canvas versions in limited quantities. The materials Converse used include brocade, corduroy, denim, flannel, fleece, hemp, lamé, leather, Mylar, metallized fabric, nubuck, suede, velour, velvet, vinyl, and wool.
The following versions have been made in embroidered silk:
This
is a dark green corduroy low-top.
This
is a dark brown corduroy high-top. Note that
it has a monochromatic leather ankle patch.
One of my readers reported to me that he and his friends have the following colors, all in low-tops:
Another user wrote to mention high-tops in the following colors:
Converse has also released the following colors:
Here's an
example of a blue denim All Star. This example had a red and black buffalo plaid wool
lining and rawhide laces. To make things even more interesting, this particular model is
one of the rare NEEHI versions!
Denim colors include:
This is an example
of a pair of flannel All Star high-tops.
Flannel color combinations include:
In
Fall 2005, Converse introduced a number of colorways in fleece. This shoe is in
the "Winter Blue" colorway.
Other colorways include:
In
2001, Converse made a number of hemp sneaker styles. The high-tops come in a box
labeled "All Star Hemp Hi." Really! They made high-tops in
khaki, black, and olive. They even made low-tops in black
and olive, for those who don't want a "hemp high" from their sneakers.
The
outside of the All Star Hemp High (the side without the Chuck patch) features a
"hemp" tag located at the heel, slightly below the top of the shoe.
Converse
made a slightly different version in Fall 2005.
Converse made a gold
lamé All Star (as pictured) around 1985.
I've had other readers mention other lamé colors:
Converse has made leather versions on and off. There have been at least three distinct versions of the "Chuck patch" that have been used on leather Chucks:
This
is the black "bomber leather" version of the Converse "Chuck Taylor" All-Star.
This
version of the leather Converse "Chuck Taylor" All-Star (not showing the Chuck
patch, alas) is completely black.
The "Jewel"
in the "Jewel All Star" is a three-dimensional plastic version of the Converse star. The leather
was cut out to insert the plastic "Jewel."
In
this version,
the ankle patch is printed on the outside (not a separate attached piece of material as in
the canvas version). Secondly, the ankle patch is circular (missing the extra
plastic flash at the top that US-made Chucks invariably had).
Note anything unusual
about the "Jewel" All Star? Unlike all the other All Star versions, the "Jewel"
version moved the ankle patch to the outside! This was a deliberate design decision by Converse to
make the "Jewel" more visible.
Here
is a pair of white leather Chucks. Note that the stripes around the rubber sole are all black, not red
and blue as in the canvas version.
Converse has made leather Chucks in low-top and high-top styles, in patent leather, and in multiple colors including:
In
Fall 2005, Converse introduced a metallized fabric All-Star in gold metallic and
silver metallic colorways.
Alas, no pictures.
One of my readers reports having a black Mylar version of the All Star, complete with red, blue, green, and silver "check marks."
In Fall 2005, Converse shipped nubuck high-tops in wheat (light brown) and black.
Converse makes the One Star suede low-top, and they made the All Star "stripe-star-stripe" low-top in the 1970's (later reissued as the "Converse Academy").
This
is the 2002 version of the Navy Blue suede All-Star.
This
is the 2002 version of the Charcoal Gray suede All-Star.
This
is an enlarged picture of the ankle patch on the above shoe: note that it it
monochromatic embossed suede.
Suede All-Star colors I know about:
- Black [mentioned by a reader, date not known]
- Dark Red [mentioned by a reader, date not known]
- Red [2002 seasonal: kids' sizes]
- Cranberry [2002 seasonal]
- Navy Blue [July 2002 seasonal]
- Charcoal Gray [July 2002 seasonal]
NOTE: These do bleed when they get sweaty or damp... so it's best to wear them with socks!
Converse has made the following colorways of velour All-Star sneakers:
Unfortunately, no pictures.
One of my readers sent me a report about finding Chucks in crushed red velvet. He tried to buy some for himself, but they were only in women's sizes (nothing above men's size 8). He also remembers that they were available in crushed black velvet and that they may have been at either Macy's or Neiman-Marcus.
Another reader mentioned the colors maroon, green, and teal. She had a friend who bought these at an Endicott Johnson shoe store in Columbia, South Carolina. (She didn't say when.)
Converse has made at least six colors of vinyl Chucks. My
readers have told that they have seen the following colors, but more may exist:
Example:
Yellow low-top.
Example:
Light blue low-top.
This
is a Converse vinyl high-top with a "C-Star" design.
One of my readers commented about having a pair of wool Chucks in blue and green. He said they were comfy enough but they would deteriorate quickly.
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Last Updated: 18 April 2012 11:32
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