Well folks, the time has come. It’s time for the age-old debate, yup, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Vans VS Converse. We all have a side (or you wear both, but we both know you prefer one over the other), I know my side and quite frankly, if you’re on the other side, we can’t be friends. Just kidding! I don’t discriminate against shoes, that would be brutal. But really, you’ve got to really step up your game in other places if you’re not with me. You know what they say: If you’re not with me, you’re against me.
You’re probably wondering what side I’m on right now. And the answer is….
I’m not telling you yet! Haha, you’ll just have to wait and figure it out as you read or be a cheater and scroll to the end of my article where I reveal it. I am a gal of many sayings so let me add another here since I just suggested that you cheat: Cheaters never prosper. (But that’s none of my business if you cheat. You do you, honey.)
When I think about comparing these shoes, I feel there are four main areas to focus on: Style, Selection, Comfort, and Quality. This is what most of my debate will be focused around so feel free to skip to the section you care the most about! With that being said, let’s get to it!
Style
Both brands have their “staple shoe” you think of when you think of that brand. But where did this style come from?
Vans
Not quite as old as Converse, Vans were born in 1966. Fifty-three years ago these bad-boys were made to be skater shoes and they still are today. The Authentic Vans have been around since the beginning and in my mind those along with the Old Skool Vans are the staple shoes for the company.
Due to the skater vibe and a bit chunkier look these tend to have a bit more edgy or laid-back style associated with them. By no means do you have to be edgy to wear these though. I know a few people who are anything but edgy with multiple pairs. Some pairs also showcase the skater vibe less and have a more casual look to them especially today since they have become so popular across all groups and not just skaters.
Converse
Converse were first made for sports like basketball wayyy back in 1908 (omg that’s 111 years ago!). This style can still be seen today as they literally still produce the same style they did so many years ago. The Chuck Taylor All Stars are some of the shoes from way back when and, in my opinion, the staple shoe of Converse.
The white Chuck Taylor All Stars are still worn today by many people and tend to have a classic look to them and add that classic look to the outfit. While they are classic, they are also versatile. These can ago with just about anything from sweats, to jeans, to a cute summer dress.
My Two Cents
Both of these brands clearly have their separate styles and vibes they give off. I feel the song Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne describes these two shoe perfectly. Obviously, the boy is Vans because he was a skater boy (duh), and the girl is Converse because she did ballet (and what’s more classic than ballet?).
Selection
Neither one of these brands lacks on their selection. Both Vans and Converse have an array of shoes from their most ionic style to newer and fresher shoes.
Vans
Oh boy. The selection is never ending. If you get on the Vans website and go to their filters, you can see just how many options you have when choosing what kind of shoes you want. There are 8 main types of different shoes styles, but within each style are so many more options.
As the name implies, these are high top skater shoes. The ionic Vans wave is featured on all of these as well.
Throwback time….Damn Daniel, back at it again with the white vans. Those white vans are part of the Slip-On collection along with multiple other colors and patterns, but the same simplistic style.
These are similar to the Sk8-Hi, but lack the high top. They also feature the Vans wave across every shoe. In my opinion, these are the chunkiest of Vans shoes.
These are the simplest of sneakers. If you thought Vans didn’t fit your style, I bet you could find a pair in this style that does. Most of the noticeable stylistic changes in this category occur in the soles. There are the normal ones, Lo-Pro which feature a shorter rubber edge around the bottom and sole, and then the Platforms which feature the exact opposite, a higher rubber edge and sole.
These very much resemble the Authentics. There is additional padding around the top at your ankle and at the toe. These also feature a skinner profile.
This style is more of a tennis shoe style. Much more support than the Authentics and most sport the Vans wave.
Each one of these styles hosts multiple different options such as collaborations, materials, patterns, colors, shoe types, high tops, low tops, and product lines. A few of their many materials include canvas, suede, textile, leather, synthetics, MTE, glitter, velvet, wool, and rubber. Some such as the Slip-Ons also have the option of suede fleece lining and if you live where there’s winter like I do, that sounds pretty nice.
Vans also recently announced and released shoes made out of recycled materials! Yay for everyone doing their part to help the planet even in little ways.
Converse
Converse has 10 main collections to choose from in their sneaker selection.
These are extremely similar to the Chuck Taylor All Stars. At first glance you may even think they’re the same shoe (I did at least). The Chuck 70s were made to have better support and be better suited for athletics. These were made to bring back the things taken out of the Chuck Taylor All Stars back in the 80s.
While looking almost just like the Chuck 70, these don’t offer quite as much support and are not as desirable for athletics. Way back when Converse were being worn more for casual wear than basketball, Converse altered some of the aspects of the shoe without changing the look giving us the Chuck Taylor All Star we know today.
This collection consists of all different Chuck shoes from All Stars to high tops to low tops to slip ons.
Converse allows you to take just about any shoe base and customize it exactly to your liking. All the aspects of the shoe you can customize include: body, embroidery, tongue, heel stripe, stitch, lining, laces, eyelets, patch logo, rubber sidewall, racing stripes, text, and keychain.
The most notable difference with this collection is that there is a double toe cap and at the end there is line on it. Some refer to this as a “toe tumor.”
This collection includes collaborated shoes and the Star Series which is more like a tennis shoe than a sneaker. The Star Series clearly has more support and cushioning than the classic Chucks.
As the name implies, this collection has more durable shoes. Some of these include water-repellent Chucks, Winter Chucks, Tumbled Leather, and East Village Explorer.
Guess what most all the shoes in this collection have on them? If you guessed “one star,” you’re a winner! Along with different shoe bodies with a single star on them, this collection also hosts the brands slip on shoes.
Every shoe in this collection is made of recycles materials!!!!!! I think this is just super cool. Looking at the shoes, you would never know. You can feel great about wearing these knowing you’re helping the planet.
These shoes were made for, well, skateboarding. There’s different styles in this collection such as slip ons, CTAS, Jack Purcells, and One Stars.
Within each collection, there is still more choices to make such as high-top or low-top, color, and material. Colors range from all across the rainbow to animal prints to other prints to neon to pastels to sparkles to everything in-between. They have six main materials that their shoes are made out of that consist of canvas, gore-tex, recycled (sweet! Save the planet!), leather, and suede. So, as you can clearly see, there is no lack of choices here either.
Sneakers aren’t the only shoe they’re producing either as they also make sandals. Although I was unaware of this until I was checking out their site as I have never actually seen anyone wearing these.
My Two Cents
Personally, my favorite part about both of their selections is the option to customize your shoes! I have never actually ordered a custom pair of either (mostly because they tend to be a bit pricier and I’m not creative enough). While on the topic of customization, let me add in here that Vans actually has a contest that you can enter where you customize Vans and then people all around the world vote on a winner! As if bragging rights wasn’t enough, you also win $25,000 and Vans will produce your design! I actually thought about entering in this because it seems super cool, but like I mentioned, I’m not creative enough to think of anything. If you’re creative though and need some dough, I’ll link the page here for you to investigate yourself! Although, if you are just now learning this from me, you enter, and you win, it’s only fair to split your winnings with me since I told you about it 😉.
Comfort
As with any shoe from any brand, different styles have different options with different comfort levels. Both Vans and Converse have options that have extra support or thicker and more comfortable soles. It’s all about finding what fits your foot which makes this comparison a bit more difficult.
Vans
Vans seems to have a wider base. This is good if you have a wide foot, but if you have narrower feet, you may be tying your laces a little bit tighter to keep them on. Some of the styles do have extra support because they are for skateboarding, but others such as the Authentics are more basic in the support and structure.
Converse
If you have more narrow feet, you may enjoy Converse more. These shoes seem to be a bit narrower meaning you don’t have to tie the laces as tight either. Although in general, the basic Converse do not seem to have a lot of support as the sole is thin.
My Two Cents
I highly recommend you go somewhere that sells both brands, put one on each foot and see for yourself (just make sure you buy two of one, not one of each). I think my advice here may lead you in one direction over the other, but ultimately it is your foot and you know your daily activities. Remember that if you like one brand’s style over the other, but find the other brand more comfortable, you may want to see about exchangeable soles or different widths.
Quality
Everyone wants to know about the quality of shoes they’re buying. No one wants to buy shoes and a month later have to go and buy new ones. Luckily, that is not the case with either one of these brands.
Vans
I’ve known people with good stories about how long their Vans have lasted them and people with bad stories. I had one friend whose Vans were falling apart. Her toe was sticking out, the sole was coming detached, it was a mess. Although, she did have them for a few years, it is not like it happened in months. I think part of the quality can be attributed to how tight Vans have to be tied sometimes. This causes extra stress on the material. This is not a bad quality review for Vans at all though. I believe the brand holds up quite well.
Converse
Let me start off by saying that my friend, who is 21 years old, has Converse from the 6th grade that are still going strong. If that doesn’t speak about the quality, then I’m not sure what does. The toes seem to hold up better and I believe this has to do with the fact that they are rubber toes. It’s a little more difficult to have your toe rip a hole through rubber than canvas.
My Two Cents
Take care of your dang shoes. Ultimately, you determine how long your shoes last. I have issues with tripping and running the toes of my shoes across the ground creating scratches, rips, and sometimes peeling the sole off the bottom of the shoe. I also turn my feet and stand on the sides of my feet which is not good for shoes either. Personally, I believe if you take care of your shoes, either brand would hold up just fine. And if for some reason they don’t, oh darn, you have to go shoe shopping and buy more.
You have reached the end!!!!
First, let me say congrats! You and I both made it through my longest post to date (At least I did because I had to write this sucker. For all I know you just skipped down here to see which side I’m on). Which, if you have not figured it out yet, I am a Vans girl. I do not own Converse, but I own 5 pairs of Vans. I know that may seem a little bias in writing this post, but after intense research (surveying my friends and their friends and a bit of Googling) I do have to say that Converse don’t seem that bad and I completely understand why someone would be on the Converse side of the debate.
In conclusion, I think I’m going to go out and invest in some Converse now. I was very much strictly Vans before writing this piece, but Converse seem to be winning me over. Don’t get me wrong here, I still love my Vans (more than Converse) and will continue to purchase those as well. I guess what I’m saying is, in the words of teen pop sensation Hannah Montana, we can have The Best of Both Worlds.
Sole Mate Shoes 