American Converse

If you are gonna tie your Converse shoes, then you may need some very vintage Converse shoelaces. Am I right? Converse shoes, made of rubber and cotton, were invented in 1908 and the laces were also cotton. Now, made of nylon or polyester. So yeah. Here's some very vintage Converse shoelaces we have for auction right now. Hey Nike. you need these.

The Converse artwork is very 20s, and is in the same style as the first Coca-Cola logo, which, still survives today, no thanks to smart people in the Coca-Cola corporation, who are dumb people who sell sugar water, and are very good at rotting your teeth. If I was a dentist, I would own a lot of Coca-Cola stock. Job Security!!

Back to Converse shoes, shall we.

 The "All Star", was introduced in 1917  to get the basketball market. In 1921 Chuck Taylor became a famous basketball player when he joined the Converse company basketball team, sweetly named "The Converse All Stars".   He later went to work for Converse, and made important changes to the shoe design. His name started appearing on the Converse shoes, those high tops,  in the the Converse All Star logo in the 1930s. That, kids, is why we call them Chuck Taylors, or simply, Chucks.

But in the beginning the Massachusetts company made their All Stars all black-- the  cotton canvas with the black rubber soles.  Then came a white canvas with blue and red trim, finally, they switched out the cotton canvas for black leather and a black rubber shoe sole. Post-war, in 1949 then Converse decided to added the rubber toe guard,  make the laces and the edges all white, and there we have the Black/White Cons we love.
But wait, There's more!!

In 1957, Converse designed the  "Oxford" style, (my personal favorite). And even better........... Colors!
So yeah, Iconic Americana. Punks, sorority girls, moms, dads and kids all love their Cons! Folks will even paint them custom for you.  Then Nike bought the company, and moved production to some hellhole. That's why American made Converse are worth it.
Here is our funkomavintage vintage, made in USA, Converse selection available right now ---

US made Vintage RED Converse high top 80s sneakers cotton rubber classic shoes 4.5

and the vintage Converse Christmas Holiday version.  Red stripes, Green cotton, holly on the Converse All Star patch, and green rubber soles.
These had a tiny bell hanging at the back....feel free to add it back again!

and back in the day......funkomavintage has provided you with these sweet vintage Converse.

and a few of my faves in my shoe box right now!

 red and black flannel plaid, dark green, off-white, and some Polo tennies, and a pair Tigers for running. and some very adorable skeleton bone, Tuk red tartan plaids.

Cozy Plaid and that Xmas thing...

Not all plaids are tartans.......but all tartans are plaid....at least they are now....2 McQueen tartans from Alexander McQueen, used in charming ways.

Late fall, all of winter, because of the dark days and the Holidays makes me desire plaid even more. 

Tartan  is a check pattern made of crossed horizontal and vertical lines or threads in multiple colours. We think of Scotland when we hear "tartan". Did you know the word plaid, is from Scottish Gaelic plaide, meaning "blanket"?
 Early forms of tartan  have a history dating to  pre-Roman times.  Hallstatt culture, dating to 400 BC - 100 BC, produced tartan-like textiles in Central Europe and when the Celts entered the British Isles, they brought their talents and culture along.
Here's a list with pretty pictures of almost 400 tartans !! 
 Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the highland tartans were associated with either regions or districts, rather than by any specific clan....Highland.......Lowland......This was because tartan designs were produced by local weavers for local tastes and would tend to make use of the plant-based dyes available in that area. Want to know more? Turn to your trusty friend, Wikipedia. and donate some $$ to Wiki...You can be Scotch.....just $10. bucks will do.

 The Scottish Register of Tartans was established by an act of the Scottish Parliament in 2008, to protect, promote and preserve tartan. The Register is a database of tartan designs, maintained by the National Records of Scotland.

Dress Stewart is very popular, right? here it is.  Jaunty 60s wool cap, and a vintage CPO shirt in a soft brushed wool.

 OK. Now on to Christmas. Why are the traditional colors of Xmas.....Green and Red?
When Christianity started taking over ancient cultures, Christians took rituals from their pagan days and incorporated them into their "new" Christian beliefs and traditions.
Pagans celebrated Yule during the dark winter months and the colors of Yule are red, green and gold.
So we have the Yule log...a huge chunk of wood, or a tasty cake made to look like wood....faux bois.
December 25th was celebrated by Roman people who would hang wreaths of holly, with its red berries. This festival was  to welcome back the sun at the time of the winter solstice. Its name is " natalis solis invicti",  Birth of the Invincible Sun.
Pagans used evergreens in their homes as symbols of life during cold dry dead winters. Nothing smells so good, or looks so hopeful...as a lovely spray of evergreen foliage......or hey, how about a tree brought inside for some cheery cheer. And grog. And mead.

Xmas = Christmas, and ignorant modern people have been told that Christ is being driven away from Christmas which is....drivel. Back in the old old old old days, most peasants and many wealthy people could not write or read or spell. So...Christ was written as X. Now it makes sense, don't it?  Don't be ashamed to write Xmas. I do it all the time..and I'm a Preacher's Kid!
the other explanation is this--- The X actually comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of Χριστός. which translates to ..... Christ.

 Hey look!! Vintage Converse Christmas Holiday Sneakers !!! in Red and green....and in Plaid!! woo hoo......we came full circle.

 Here's my favorite plaids this week........


from seller ShopRabbitHole





Betsey Johnson 1970s Stewart plaid set... from seller Deltasvintage




Vintage Gunne Sax plaid dress from seller dirtybirdiesvintage









 Sweet goofy vintage cloth doll with a tartan dress, from seller VintagePolkadotcom





so....the winter coats and shirts and vintage military....coming to funkoma vintage....they are selling almost as fast as I can list them!!  

....and traditional fun cozy sweaters......coming up....
Polar Bears, snowflakes, falling snow, soft fluffy mohair, Irish fishermans, heathered wools in red and gray and berry.

Look down, What's on yer feet?

Fancy shoes, casual shoes, LL Bean boots, work boots, fashion boots.....ankle boots, otk boots, knee high boots, boat shoes,  cowboy boots, leather boots, suede boots.....wingtip shoes,  vintage Nike, vintage Converse....deck shoes, tennis shoes, work shoes and work...and not so work...