crooked tongues magazine News Features

TheConverse All Star is a global shoe that had 'em all coming back for replacements; from gangbangers to grebos. We're not especially trusting of anybody who hasn't got at least a couple of pairs in the cupboard, just because it's pretty much flawless. There is one slight problem though — a conventional Chuck isn't the most comfortable shoe on certain foot shapes, so when the Converse Skateboarding initiative was resurrected after a few false starts, we were delighted to see the CTS in the line, with a skate inner sole that's actually comfy from the first wear. It still hurts us that we never got our hands on the original orange low edition, but simple efforts like this UK-only edition in the logical mid-cut variation numb that pain a little. Endorsed by Jerome Campbell (if you still haven't seen the Slam City 'City of Rats' video, hunt it down), this colourway of the CTS Mid stays plain in a suede that won't get annihilated by our ruthless summer climate, with the waxed navy suede set against some off white rubber. The real killer application is in the bizarre celebration of Britain and Converse's Boston roots in that Union Jack lobster inside that memory foam tongue. Good taste footwear that retails at £65 (with a free tee) at proper skate spots like Slam City and Flatspot right now. There's more to making a staple shoe into a great skate shoe than just bulking it out and the CTS is a solid demonstration of how to turn a design classic into a new, patriotic performance piece.