[jyl]

My daughter loves Converse. She has 6 pairs including her mom's blue sparkle hitops from way back. But she is growing out of her existing pairs, which qualifies as A Serious Problem so we went to the mall. My son tagged along, and as he needs new shoes I suggested he get a pair of Vans slipons. The daughter insisted that he get Converse. We bombarded the boy with propaganda until he chose a pair of basic black lowtop Converse. So, in my family, Converse apparently rule.

Converse are getting popular at the kids' school. They make a transparent version that shows off your cool socks, and has a pocket for whatever picture you want to display. Another transparent one glows in the dark. Let's not forget the Pink Floyd hitops. These things go in waves. Until recently, Vans were the hot shoe. But DC, Rocket Dog, Roxy, etc are all copying Vans now.

Personally, I find Vans more supportive to old-guy feet. And I like the slipons. But I have No Fashion Sense.

As a kid, I think I wore PF Flyers.