![]() By: Jose Luis Leon Take a look around your community, and tell me what brand of shoes do people usually wear? Do you notice that people around you usually wear Vans? I don’t think that is such a surprise, selling at a starting price of about $60. They are also very stylish, comfortable and they also have a wide variety of designs and patterns. These shoes are usually used by skaters but they are good shoes that anybody can dress with. Many people may were these shoes often but still don’t know the history of the shoe. In 1966, the 2 brothers, Paul Van Doren and Jim Van Doren along with their partners, Gordon Lee and Serge D'elia open what was known as “The House of Vans” at 704 E. Broadway in Anaheim, California on March 16. The shoes were known for their “rugged make-up and sticky soles” which attracted the attention to skaters in the 1970’s. After grabbing the attention of skaters, in 1970, the Vans #95, known as the Era, had a padded collar and different colors. These shoes were designed by Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta and this shoe became the shoe to go to if you were a skateboarder. In 1977, the Vans #98 were introduced with the help of BMX riders and skateboarders, these shoes were labeled the classic slip-ons in Southern California. Later in 1978, the Sk8-Hi were introduced and became popular for its new look and feel at the skate park. As the years go on, new designs were made; In 1982, the classic checkered, slip-on vans that you see everyone wear today, were introduced when Sean Penn wore them at the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Once the Vans shoes company started to gain more popularity, it began the Vans Warped Tour in 1995, which later became the longest running concert series in America. Then later until the year 2004, Vans launches Vans Customs at www.Vans.com, where customers were able to customize their own shoes for the first time. ![]() In the making of this iconic shoe, according to “How Vans Makes Its Iconic Sneakers,” there are five steps. First, using a vulcanized process, raw rubber is cured by heat and then compressed. After compressing the rubber, each shoe will get its own hole-punched sole from a machine. Third, the hole-punched sole gets waffled into a crisscross shape. After that, the shoes made out of canvas and suede, move on to get their stripes. Finally, the shoes get laced, lacquered, then a rubber strip gets wrapped around the perimeter of the sole of the shoe, and then get loaded off to stores. These shoes were first made in California and then later contracted factories in China and Vietnam. ![]() Vans come in a variety of designs and prices, their cost can range from $50 - $500. The most expensive Vans shoes are the Vans Mountain Edition, with the cost of $500, on the other hand, you can buy Vans for as low as $50. One of the most popular designs is the Old School Vans, which cost $60 and come in many patterns, some as simple as a 2 tone colorway, others come in different checkered patterns. Many people at KSJC, wear these shoes all the time, Including me. Sebastian Martinez mentioned that these shoes are “comfortable, simple and easy to pair with.” Another popular design is the Classic Slip-On Vans, starting at $50 and they come in many different colorways as well as different materials such as suede, canvas and leather. Vans are often referred to as a “skating shoe,” but as time went by it became a very popular shoe when it comes to style and fashion. Many people now wear this shoe because they are nice shoes and are affordable. Although many people don’t know much about the history of this shoe, now you know that Vans originated in California and how they are made. You should represent California and get a pair at your local store and ride with the wave!
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![]() By: Fabian Reyes There is a huge debate on whether buying custom shoes are worth getting. On one side, we have people saying it is worth it because the shoe looks really nice and the time and effort put into it is worth buying, and on the other hand we have people saying they aren’t worth buying because they are too expensive and there is a risk you are taking because the shoe might not come out the way you want it to be. As you can see, the debate on whether custom shoes is divided and this article will settle the debate on the worth of custom shoes. The first person I interviewed was Jonathan C. who is a freshman at this school. I asked him, ”Do you think that custom shoes are worth it? To which he responded, “I don’t think custom shoes are worth buying only because it’s too expensive and it’s really not worth getting if it turns out to look bad then you really can’t do anything about it after and that leaves you with a shoe all messed up”. He also said, ”I like the way the shoe looks but I personally don’t feel really committed to buying custom shoes and plus where will I get the money to get the shoes customized”. The second person I interviewed was Brandon A. who is also a freshman and I also asked him if he thought that, if custom shoes are worth buying. Brandon said, ”I’m kinda in the middle of both because on one side you have the shoes being too expensive and on the other side you have the shoes looking really nice and stuff but it really does come to the end whether you are willing to spend a lot of money on your shoes” He also said, ”But if you have the money for it and you really want that then do it I don’t see why not to do it”.
In conclusion it seems as that custom shoes aren’t worth getting unless you have money for it but even then some people think that they aren’t worth buying but at the end of the day if you want custom shoes go ahead buy them it’s your choice. |