“Man, I Need Vans”

I think I got my first pair of Vans back in early grade school.  They were the classic lace-ups.  I think they were ridiculously cheap -  like $5.99 a pair or something like that.  I also remember the old ads where some kid at the end of the commercial exclaims, “Man, I need Vans!”

After I had gone through a couple pairs of lace-ups, Vans introduced the Slip-Ons.  The memory I have of Slip-Ons is that if I was playing kickball and wasn’t careful, my shoe would go flying off my foot especially if the shoes were new because mom always bought them a half size too big so that I’d grow into them.  I was reminded of this last month when my son’s shoe flew off as he tried to kick a soccer ball.  He thought it was the funniest thing.

Since I first started wearing Vans, the Vans company has changed ownership a few times.  The company spends a ton of cash on marketing sponsoring events such as the Warped Tour and the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing so the shoes are much more expensive.  But they are still every bit as cool in my opinion.

Tonight’s photos are of my kid’s beaten up pair of Vans shoes – the classic checkerboard slip-ons.  This is actually Nate’s 4th or 5th pair.  I need to see if I we still have his first pair somewhere.  That might be another post for another lazy photo day.

Do you remember your first pair of Vans?

White Checkerboard Slip-on, Perspective 1

White Checkerboard Slip-on, Perspective 2