Vans slip ons

Van-derful!

I love classics for two very simple reasons: a) most of the sneakers which fall in this category were made famous not by over the top marketing, but due to the fact that people naturally fell in love with the shoe over a period of time. And b), there is never any pressure on the sneaker to change to a better version every year, unlike high performance running shoes. For the most part, a pair of classics remain unchanged for years, and hence retain the same idiosyncratic character which made people fall in love with it in the first place. The Vans checkerboard slip-on is one such shoe.

However, when Paul Van Doren founded the company in 1966 with his brother and a third partner, creating a cultural icon was certainly not on his mind. Before founding Vans, Paul Van Doren had spent years working with Randy shoes, which was America's number 1 shoe manufacturer in the sixties. The company sent Paul to run one of their loss making factories in California and soon, under Paul's supervision, the factory made a turnaround in just 8 months. It was then Paul decided to leave Randy's and open his own factory to make canvas shoes. The first 'Van's' store opened in Anaheim, California and the 'No.44' or the 'Deck shoe' was one of the first shoes to come out of Paul Van Doren's factory. Vans adopted a 'direct to customer' business model, in which he would ship shoes from his factory to his own retail stores, which made the shoe cheaper. He also introduced the concept of 'customs' where a customer could walk in, select his or her colors and then pick up the customized pair of shoes the next day. Things really started looking up for Vans when skateboarders started ordering their popular 'No. 44' or 'deck' shoe. Soon Vans hit a new high in popularity when skate pros Stacy Peralta, Jay Adams and Tony Alva (of the Z-boys/Dogtown fame) came to Vans with a request for a custom pair of Vans with a padded collar, reinforced upper and outsole. Thus was born the Vans 'Era' in March 1976 (and the first model to sport the 'Off the wall' logo), three years before the birth of another Vans classic - the checkerboard slip-on.

The beginning: The original No.44 or the deck shoe in red and navy.

The dawn of an era: The modern day classic version of the Vans Era, which came out of the company's collaboration with the Z-boys skaters.

The legend: Poster for the 2005 motion picture, Lords of Dogtown. Stars the late Heath Ledger and is based on the life of the legendary Z-Boys/Dogtown skaters. All of the characters wear the Vans Era shoe.

The company where Paul Van Doren used to work before (Randy's) had a slip-on model, so after some time Vans started making their own slip-ons. At the same time, Vans noticed that skaters were hand coloring the side rubber wall of their deck shoes with black and white checks, so Vans started using the checkerboard pattern in many of their shoes, the slip-ons included, which they launched in 1979. But the checkerboard slips-ons were still not the best selling shoes, the Vans deck shoe was. But in 1982, something happened which not only catapulted Vans into international limelight, but also resulted in the checkerboard slip-on becoming the most popular Vans shoe of all time.

Off the Wall: The famous logo of a skateboard on a red rubber tab.

At the start of the eighties, California based Universal studios asked Vans to send them some shoes for 'one of the movies' they were shooting. That movie was 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High', Sean Penn's Hollywood debut. Sean Penn wore the checkerboard slip-on throughout the movie and later, everyone liked the shoe so much that it was featured not only on the movie poster, but also on the album cover of the original movie soundtrack. After that movie, Vans shot into international fame and then went on to sell millions of the slip-ons with the now familiar black and white checks.

The classic slip-ons on the poster cover of the movie 'Fast times at Ridgemont high'.

The vans checkerboard slip-on featured on the OST album cover.

Vans was already a popular brand with the action sport community on the US west coast; and after the black and white slip-ons featured in the movie, the shoe found its way into the skateboarding and BMX scene. Skaters found the laceless, flat soled slip-on shoe perfect for riding their board, and unlike other shoes in the market at that time, the Vans slip-on was solidly constructed, with a higher rubber midsole wrap around and molded heel area. The slip-on construction took care of the problem of loose or undone laces and the padded collar (entry) area helped prevent the foot from slipping out. Most of the features in the slip-on were inherited from the Vans Era skate shoe, so it fit in perfectly as far as the needs of the skaters were concerned.

I don't skate much but I can slide around a bit and do kick turns and stuff, and the slip-on's stick to the grip tape pretty well, and is easy to move around on the board. That said, I prefer the padded comfort Vans Half Cabs since I feel safer in them.

I haven't exactly gone about doing wallplants and forward flips on a board with these slip-ons, so my review is purely based on wearing and treating the shoe as casual street wear. After all, these days the Vans slip-on is more a part of global street culture than the skateboarding scene, and a lot of that has to do with the shoe's connection with the music scene. Vans has a long history of association with music bands and artists; Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Slipknot, Avril Lavigne... the list is long. But there's another thing which has kept the slip-on going for so long - the shoe itself, in all its plain goodness.

Since the slip-on is not in India yet, many might expect the checkerboard slip-on to feel similar to the Converse Chuck Taylors. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the Chuck Taylor has a minimalistic upper with a soft wraparound midsole, the Vans is a different animal altogether. Remember that the Chuck Taylor and the Vans slip-ons are apart by 55 years when it comes to their birthdays, so even the original Vans slip-on had much better manufacturing technology at its disposal. The other thing is that Vans shoes were made for skateboarders, so they had to be built like a truck, trying to keep the feet away from bruises and black toes.

Slip into a pair of these for the first time, and you will instantly feel the difference between wearing a regular canvas sneaker and a pair of Vans. To begin with, these shoes feel extremely sturdy and well built, owing to the solid gum rubber outsole, the high white wrap around midsole and the molded heel area. Inside the shoe, the insole is attached to a thin layer of woven board, so that also adds to the stability of the shoe.

Footplant: The gum rubber outsole with hexagonal and Van's trademark waffle shaped design.

Despite the shoe's focus on durability and stability, it also scores reasonably well on comfort. The slip-on construction makes getting in and out of the shoe a charm, with elastic bits around the mouth of the shoe allowing for custom fit. The collar area is made using textured synthetic leather which makes the area soft to the skin and it is also lined with foam padding, which helps keep the foot securely inside the shoe without digging into the skin. The insole is a combination of latex foam and molded EVA foam, so it ends up being well cushioned. There's one thing which you might want to keep in mind: due to the slip-on construction, you should consider buying half a size bigger than your normal foot size to make sure you have no fitting issues when you wear them with a pair of sports socks.

Slip-on business: The elastic at both sides of the tongue allows a custom fit, depending on your foot dimension. The synthetic leather collar area is padded for 'non-dig' grip and comfort.

The art of detail: The woven label with the Vans logo nests neatly between the upper layers; the white contrast stitch lends a touch of extra detail to the black piping.

All in all, the Vans checkerboard has all the markings of a great classic - looks good, feels good, blends well with a pair of denims or long shorts and buying a pair does not break your bank balance. Having said that, I really wonder what has kept Vans from selling these shoes in India. After all, Converse Chuck Taylors are extremely popular in India, and so are the me-too canvas models sold by Reebok, Adidas and Levis. No brand, except Puma makes slip-ons in India and this might just be the right time for Vans to start selling their kicks in India. It will be absolutely 'Van-derful' when that happens!

May 2011 Update: Vans has opened their first two stores in India - Delhi and Bangalore!