Some of my readers have sent me quite nasty flame mail complaining that this
particular Web page stereotypes what the gals like to wear for their athletic pursuits.
Some of my readers have sent me quite nasty flame mail complaining that this
particular Web page stereotypes what the gals like to wear for their athletic pursuits.
Of course, everyone knows that guy sneakers fit the gals reasonably well. In fact, some gals have written to say they would rather wear guy sneakers... complaining that the ones made especially for the gals were just not as well-constructed. However, if the gals have tiny feet. they may have to buy kid sizes to get them to fit. This has gone on for many years. In the Baby Boom years, basketball gals frequently wore Converse "Chuck Taylor" All Star shoes just like the guys did! The only difference is now the young women might be wearing Air Jordan basketball shoes instead.
As you can see, these Baby Boomer basketball gals have their high-top Chucks on and they're ready to go!
On the other hand, there are some women's shoes I'd like to have (if I could get them
to fit). One example is what I call the "Moon Boot."
Unfortunately, I wear fairly large sneakers.
They may be "GUY
shoes," but Melanie (and a lot of other gals) wear Chucks.
According
to Tretorn, the classic Nylite is exactly the same no
matter where you find them in the shoe department. Tretorn
does make them larger for guys with big feet.
The "Baby
Boom" started after World War II ended. In 1946, the Sears
catalogue offered these practical white gym shoes for $1.69.
Things
hadn't changed much by the time I came along. Except, as I remember, the gals tended away
from high-tops; I rarely if ever saw one wear a pair
until I was old enough to vote. You may ask: "Cheerleading?" That was a pursuit
Baby Boomer Gals generally practiced and performed in canvas Keds.
Well, about 1985, things began to change in the athletic shoe market...
The Reebok Freestyle, in my opinion, was
another first in the sneaker market. It was the first athletic shoe intended just for the
gals. It was the product that started getting attention for Reebok.
The Freestyle is still quite popular, but more as a "knock
around" sneaker as opposed to a serious athletic shoe. However, there are some quite
serious athletic shoes for the gals:
If
the gals prefer them, they can (and do) wear about any of the guys' basketball
shoes. However, some of the major manufacturers (including
adidas and Nike) have
models designed specifically for female athletes. This particular model is the
Nike Air C14, named after Cynthia Cooper.
Here's
another example of womens' basketball shoes: the Nike Air Max Highup, endorsed
by Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks.
No
high-paid endorser, no price tag over $100... this is the Nike Air Max So
Good basketball shoe.
Nike
SHOX technology for the gals? Of course! This is the Nike Shox Status
basketball shoe. Complete with ZOOM AIR in the front, SHOX in the back.
I know some guys who
wear Tretorn Nylite tennis
sneakers, myself included. However, for some reason, they've always chosen to
leave this particular model for the gals!
Don't get upset at the pink LA Gear aerobic
shoes... or the pink scrunch socks... or the mandatory Velcro closures above the pink
shoelaces...
Back to the top of Charlie's
Sneaker Pages!
Last Updated: 18 April 2012 11:32
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copyright 1995-2012 by Charles L. Perrin.
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.