The Sneakers we wear with our jeans

[JohnM]

Got it.  I was curious because, if I recall, I wear larger sizes than you in other shoes (e.g., 10.5 or 11 in most USA sizes and 11.5 in running shoes).

[Double 0 Soul]

Phwoar!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185873064911

[Broark]

Seems like the vintage market is crazy regardless of what the item is!
Those do look like they're in good shape though.

[Lorcan]

Came across these Converse Addict runners that seem to get the 1970s silhouette more than most modern interpretations. Hadn't realised they'd done anything other than Chucks.

https://store.silver-and-gold.com/?pid=186259626

Edited September 28, 2025 by Lorcan

[Double 0 Soul]

This is the og version from 1976

[mlwdp]

NB is churn out some ugly stuff.

 

 

[Maynard Friedman]

Converse Lucky Star with some Ande Whall solid black Buffalos. I bought these a few years ago but just started wearing them this week after throwing out some Japanese PF Flyers (lasted about 3-4 summers but the canvas at the back of the heel wore through completely to provide additional ventilation, although they were fine elsewhere) and some Chinese PF Flyers (lasted 1 summer, the inner canvas heel lining wore out, the rubber underneath split and ripped my socks, the rubber at the sides was splitting too, although the sole had plenty of life - overall, absolute shite). I hope this new pair is more like the former!

[l13902733261]

Salomon PNS collab

 

Edited October 16, 2025 by l13902733261

[Double 0 Soul]

Ladies and Gentlemen.. I give you a vintage deadstock Dunlop Green Flash 1555

The earliest British sports shoes were developed in the 1830s by The Liverpool Rubber Company, marketed as 'sand shoes' to the Victorian middle-classes who wore them to the beach.. becoming more commonly knows as 'plimsolls' because the rubber foxing tape resembled the plimsoll line of a ship.

In 1888 John Boyd Dunlop a Scottish veterinarian noticed how uncomfortable his son looked while riding his tricycle over stones with solid rubber tyres.. he experimented by glueing strips of canvas to strips of rubber.. inflating them with a football pump and so the pneumatic tyre was born.

in 1910, he introduced the Dunlop golfball, in 1917 the Dunlop tennis racket and in 1927 the Dunlop Green Flash which unlike the plimsoll of yesteryear had a herringbone style sole to offer more grip on the court..

Herringbone, no less!

 

 

 

The first iteration..

 

..as worn by Fred Perry to win Wimbledon consecutively in 1934, 35 and 36

 

 

and many British school children as part of their PE kit in the 60s 70s and 80s .. and so became much maligned  as we all became more accustomed to fancier progressive sports shoe brands from Europe or air-cushioned tech from America who didn't stick to their pre-war (if it ain't broke don't fix it)  aesthetic..

 

 

Green Flash didn't really deserve this reputation, they're a damn good shoe for £39.99 much better made than Vans .. but y'know what school kids are like (little bastards!) .. along with Gola, they had a brief resurgence with the indy-kids, projecting poverty chic in the mid-90s, then all but disappeared.

 

 

I bought these (deadstock c2001) in 2016 after a misty-eyed walk down memory lane with the good folk at Denimbro.. Heechy, Gee, Mr B. Mayno's, Plug, Smiffy and Toots

 

 

Alas.. i heard the 'Green Flash' arm of Dunlop became part of Arcadia group belonging to disgraced retail-spiv Philip Green so the 2018 re-issue was the last roll of the dice.. I'm sure they'll make a return at some point.. they're as British as Fish 'n Chips!

 

 

I've always had a soft spot for Dunlop.. If you ever type Dunlop into a Denimbro search.. you'll find page after page of me wearing Dunlop wellies.. i'mean, i had a lot of very fancy hand crafted footwear in this era but living adjacent to a woodland.. i spent the first 8yrs of my kids life ankle deep in mud, rivers or the shit from various farmyard animals, so i tended to wear £6.99 Dunlop wellies for the most .. oh! and CSF tux.

Tuxed into the wellies of course

Edited November 19, 2025 by Double 0 Soul

[Dr_Heech]

I had a pair of these (in the late 1970s, sturdy to start with but not that comfortable l found. Mind you l was a stick thin bony 11 year old then so everything was uncomfortable). Nice little bit of history there fella, thanks for the education.

[mlwdp]

Love the brand Challenger and like the 440 so I bought this collab.  Might take even take up skateboarding again lol.

 

edit: 

Came in.  Not paying $$$ on StockX or Goat for these.  Glad I got my size.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2025 by mlwdp

[mlwdp]

Not bad Converse:

https://sneakernews.com/2025/12/18/atmos-converse-all-star-legacy-denim-pack/?amp
 

 

[bod]

Does anyone remember this brand

“Simple”

Just popped up on my IG which jogged my memory on having had a pair around 1998

[Double 0 Soul]

I remember them! .. looking at them now, they^ look like a decent pair of shoes, better than my memory serves

It was hard to pigeonhole 'Simple' lots of different folks wore them.. they look like a mid-90s sketeshoe, before skateshoes became chunky / exaggerated / ugly.. but i don't remember skaters wearing them, my local skate joint didn't stock them.. i remember them being sold at Aspecto and the like (back when Aspecto was a semi-respectable cloth9ng store) do you remember where you bought them @bod ?

edit- little write up here in the skateshoe bible

 

 

 

Edited January 1 by Double 0 Soul

[smoothsailor]

I thought they were more desert boot looking.

remember an old friend asking for a pair of simple shoes, the local Al Bundy came with to him simple pair looking shoes

[bod]

@Double 0 Soul could have been Aspecto where I bought them, they were a solid shoe but maybe felt a bit clunky compared to the Vans Bricks I was wearing at the same time

Edit.. I remember the heel tab used to sometimes turn up under my jeans which ended up pissing me off

- just noticed that these listed on eBay have an Aspecto sticker on the box

Edited January 1 by bod

[Maynard Friedman]

I used to frequent Aspecto in the late 80s when it was on Bridge St. The manager (I think, can’t remember his name) was a Blackburn Rovers fan.

[bod]

@Maynard Friedman great shop it was, I frequented in the mid 90’s and particularly remember they stocked Evisu, Moschino, Kath Hamnett, Paul Smith 

[Maynard Friedman]

I bought a few Paul Smith tops in there and a number of Smedley jumpers too plus Chevignon jeans and Grenson shoes. But more relevant to the thread, I bought some Acme deck shoes there.

I think they had a shop on King Street too. Is that right?

[MJF9]

@Maynard Friedman @bod who knows lads we may have crossed paths there.  I also used to frequent the one in Leeds from the early 90s.  Back in the old days when a trip to a brick-and-mortar was a way of life

[bod]

@Maynard Friedman I had to look that up - the King St. shop sold footwear only, sort of remember it now but it mustn’t have lasted long in the grand scheme

[Maynard Friedman]

That was where I got the Grensons (with Commando soles) from, possibly the Acmes too. They were great deck shoes, very Vans like, I wonder if they’re still made?

[ATWM]

4 hours ago, Double 0 Soul said:

I remember them! .. looking at them now, they^ look like a decent pair of shoes, better than my memory serves

It was hard to pigeonhole 'Simple' lots of different folks wore them.. they look like a mid-90s sketeshoe, before skateshoes became chunky / exaggerated / ugly.. but i don't remember skaters wearing them, my local skate joint didn't stock them.. i remember them being sold at Aspecto and the like (back when Aspecto was a semi-respectable cloth9ng store) do you remember where you bought them @bod ?

edit- little write up here in the skateshoe bible

 

 

 

They were definitely a thing and you still seem them on occasion.

There were two skateshops near where I grew up. Naturally, one was much more respected than the other in terms of legitimacy. The ‘crappier’ skateshop stocked Simple shoes, and it was part of their problem in terms of local reputation. No actual skaters wore Simple. They were sort of the mark of the poser in that they were worn by people (in my area) who co-opted common skate aesthetics but would rather hold a skateboard and smoke a bowl then actually try anything, ever. Went commonly with JNCO’s, which no actual skaters wore, and were also generally looked down upon. Big silly generalizations which I’m sure were wrong in all kinds of ways, but this was the common perception among me and my friends in suburban Chicago mid to late 1990’s. 

Never knew that the Gonz was on board with them, even for a minute. 

[Double 0 Soul]

Family affair this week

Outdoors.. Nike Elite 78 Repro & AJ1 Chicago 85 Repro

Indoors / Extreme Cozyness

Yoko's, Made in Dublin from 100% Siberian Wool

 

Edited January 24 by Double 0 Soul

[oomslokop]

patrick star

 

[Talan]

This has probably been asked many times already, but anyway... What sneakers are the absolute best to buy while you're in Japan? Thanks)

[Double 0 Soul]

What style are you looking for?

[Talan]

1 hour ago, Double 0 Soul said:

What style are you looking for?

Definitely nothing too special or too expensive, just good quality and comfort. I do not think replicas of famous models from the past would appeal to me. Nothing too eye-catching. 

[Double 0 Soul]

Are you taking Converse / PF / Pro Keds kinda sneakers .. gym shoes?

..but better made that arn't going to fall to pieces in a heartbeat?

Muted colours..

RMC are very well made and also come in black.. they used to be sold with black or white laces if you thing the white are a bit much

Buzz would be a cheaper low version

I'd also recommend J.Lofgren but they're rarely in stock at this time of year.. if you want to go in store, try them on.. numerous places stock the above^

 

[Talan]

14 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

Are you taking Converse / PF / Pro Keds kinda sneakers .. gym shoes?

..but better made that arn't going to fall to pieces in a heartbeat?

Muted colours..

RMC are very well made and also come in black.. they used to be sold with black or white laces if you thing the white are a bit much

Buzz would be a cheaper low version

I'd also recommend J.Lofgren but they're rarely in stock at this time of year.. if you want to go in store, try them on.. numerous places stock the above^

 

These keds are definitely good, but I would rather choose something more contemporary, less historical. What do you think about Onitsuka Tiger, Mizuno, or ASICS?