Have you noticed lately that everyone seems to be wearing white Adidas sneakers? Whether they are the plastic toe-capped, classic striped ones or the white leather tennis sneaker with the green back, it seems that designers have transformed sneakers that we all wore in elementary school into the newest trend. So I did what I do best when it comes to trends: I went out and bought three pairs. (The first pair I had to buy on eBay for $150 — double the price — because they were sold out everywhere.) I am not ashamed of my actions, nor am I ashamed that I have now convinced five friends to buy them as well. Chances are, regardless of the time and place, I’m in my Stan Smiths. Bars, class, dinner, gym, work — why take them off?
Image credit: http://www.sneakerfreaker.com/
Voted the No. 19 most influential sneaker of all time and shoe of the year in 2014, the Adidas Stan Smith with green backing is now a closet staple. The tennis shoe dates back to 1963, when Adidas issued its first and called it the Robert Haillet, after the French tennis player. The shoe was so successful even after Haillet retired that Adidas rebranded the shoe in 1971 after Stan Smith, an American tennis player who was No. 1 in the world at the time. The transition from Haillet to Smith was rough for Adidas — they had Smith’s photo on the tongue with Haillet written above it. Confusing, I know. In 1978, the shoe was officially called the Stan Smith and only featured a photo of Smith and his name on its design. It was a popular shoe in the 1980s and 1990s, gaining a spot on the Guinness World Record for selling over 23 million pairs.
In 2010, Phoebe Philo, the creative director at Céline, wore the classic green-backed Stan Smiths to spring fashion week, sparking its popularity once again. In 2013 Gisele Bündchen was featured naked in French Vogue wearing only the iconic green Stan Smiths with white socks. Marc Jacobs has been wearing the shoe to his own runway shows for years. Even Raf Simmons designed his own version, costing $455. Almost all the models at the various fashion weeks in 2014 were wearing the shoe.
The Stan Smith was the first all-leather tennis shoe, and it is perfect — sleek, white, and minimalistic with just a faint pop of color. More importantly, I have yet to see someone’s legs look bad in them. And men: Don’t think that this sneaker is isolated to women, because it's not. While the sneaker does come in a variety of colors with the option of customizing your own, the green will always be the most classic (they added a green foam back to help with Achilles injuries).
Basically what I’m telling you is, get to your closest Adidas store (or eBay) and succumb to the inevitable.
I may or may not have just purchased yet another pair.
