My other very best shoes...

besides ballet flats and 10cm killer heels are Converse All Star trainers.  I always thought of them as a very French thing - the skinny jeans, the tightly belted trench coat and the Converse - sort of like a Parisian uniform for all.

But actually they are very much an American thing.

In 1908 Marquis M. Converse opened the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in Massachusetts and by 1910 was producing more than 4,000 pairs of rubber soled shoes a day. In 1915 came the tennis shoes and two years later Converse designed and produced the world's first performance basketball shoes - the All Star.

I tend to wear white ones in summer and black ones in winter with the occasional pink pair thrown in when I really want to shake things up a bit; I know.... I should be less staid, break out and try the other brights or even the metallics. 

The beauty of the Converse trainer -  they are for everyone, there is no no age or gender discrimination. Each and every colour or pattern is acceptable so there are no taste or fashion police issues on that score. They look cute with pretty much everything - skinny jeans, wide pants or if you are leggy enough, shorts and short skirts. High tops or regular style - both equally de la rigueur on the streets, although thinking about it maybe high tops have a slight edge. There is only one strictly enforced rule when it comes to wearing Converse and this is the great inverse of the Converse....they must be well worn, preferably dirty and slightly beaten up.

The moral of this story... I am off to buy a new pair and the adventure seeker that I am thinks she might splash out and go for.... silver. But don't worry, I won't be flashing them in public until I have well and truly scuffed them up in the privacy of my own home, xv.

image - flickr