Charlie's Sneaker FAQ and Glossary - V

This FAQ and Glossary defines a number of terms used in regards to athletic shoes, Charlie, or sneakers.

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The part of a shoe upper from the instep (middle of the foot) forward to the toe. See the color-coded sneaker for an illustration.

Van Doren, Paul

Founder of the Van Doren Rubber Company.

Van Doren Rubber Company

The original name of the manufacturer of VANS sneakers. The company name has since been changed to Vans, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of clothing maker VF Corporation).

VANS

A California-based manufacturer of casual sneakers and skateboarding shoes, founded by Paul Van Doren.

Varsity Jacket

What the young women jocks in high school wear with pride (some say "arrogance") to show their successful athletic exploits. Known as a Letterman's Jacket to the Baby Boomers, who went to school in the dark days before Title IX.

Vector

The Reebok logo: two diagonal stripes going from left-to-right and one going from right-to-left. (In my opinion, the Reebok logo has the appearance of parts of the ASICS logo and parts of the Puma logo. The left-to-right portion looks like it was made with a Puma sneaker and a marking pen.) Also known as the Stripecheck.

Vegetarian

A term used to refer to sneakers that contain no animal products. Here are some pointers:

Chucks are vegetarian, always have been, and probably always will be.
Ask the specific manufacturers at their customer service numbers, or check their Web sites. There is enough interest in this subject that it is available on request.
Use an Internet search engine to look for a "Vegetarian FAQ." The FAQ maintainers frequently update this information.
Among the great ironies of the athletic shoe industry: Nike introduced a shoe called the Air Carnivore. Of course, it was vegetarian.

Velcro

A brand name for hook-and-loop fasteners made by Velcro Industries BV. Sometimes used as a closure device on sneakers, particularly those worn by little kids and old folks. Also see zipper for another occasionally used closure device.

Vintage

A term sometimes used to refer to discontinued sneakers from the past. Here are some hints for for finding vintage products:

Try an on-line auction service. The eBay auction service is frequently mentioned in various Internet newsgroups, but there are others.
Search Yahoo for vintage clothing and shoe dealers.
Try a manufacturers' factory outlet store; they frequently have recently discontinued styles.
For classic adidas, try Harput's in San Francisco.
Go to garage sales and thrift stores. You'll be amazed what you'll find!
If you want last years' model, get a time machine and go buy them last year.... you'll have to invent the time machine first.

In decreasing order of desirability, vintage sneakers can be classed as New Old Stock, Deadstock, and just plain "used." Reissues are functionally vintage sneakers, but they are brand-new production.


VisiZoom AIR: A fancy marketing term for a variant of Nike Zoom AIR where the AIR component extends to the edge of the midsole.

Volleyball: A game that uses a round ball (traditionally white: but nowadays, volleyballs are made in almost any color) and a long net mounted from poles; compare to basketball. During warm weather, played on the beach by players in swimwear. During the winter, played in overheated gymnasiums in by players in T-shirts, shorts, and sneakers. It's an easy way to wipe out an ankle really bad.
Vulcanization: In (typically) canvas sneaker manufacturing, the process of attaching the upper to the sole. This is typically done by wrapping foxing along the bottom. Then, the vulcanization equipment applies pressure, (sometimes) heat, and (sometimes) additional chemicals to bond all the parts together.

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Last Updated: 29 March 2008 22:59

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READERS PLEASE NOTE: Names of athletic shoe manufacturers, shoe styles, and technologies may be trademarked by the manufacturers. Charlie's Sneaker Pages uses these names solely to describe the shoes with the same familiar nomenclature used by the manufacturer and recognized by the reader.