The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog in the hound family. The Basset is a scent hound that was originally bred for the purpose of hunting hare. Their sense of smell and ability to ground-scent is second only to the Bloodhound.
Converse is an American lifestyle brand that markets, distributes, and licenses footwear, apparel, and accessories. Founded by Marquis Mills Converse in 1908 as the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in Malden, Massachusetts, it has been acquired by several companies before becoming a subsidiary of Nike, Inc. in 2003.
Sneakers (US) or trainers (UK), also known by a wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but which are also widely used for everyday casual wear.
Malcolm Timothy Gladwell is an English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. He has published seven books. He is also the host of the podcast Revisionist History and co-founder of the podcast company Pushkin Industries.
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Asics is a Japanese multinational corporation that produces sportswear. The name is an acronym for the Latin phrase anima sana in corpore sano. Asics is best known for its sneakers, but also produces other footwear such as sandals, as well as clothing and accessories. It is headquartered in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.
Skechers USA, Inc. is an American multinational footwear and apparel company. Headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California, it was founded in 1992 and is the third largest footwear brand in the United States.
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. or Wolverine Worldwide, is a publicly traded American footwear manufacturer based in Rockford, Michigan. The shoemaker is known for its eponymous brand, Wolverine Boots and Shoes, as well as other brands, such as Hush Puppies, Chaco, and Merrell. The company also manufactures licensed footwear for other firms, such as Caterpillar and Harley-Davidson. In 2012, Wolverine World Wide added Saucony, Keds, Stride Rite and Sperry Top-Sider to its list of brands, after acquiring the Performance Lifestyle Group of Collective Brands in a $1.23 billion transaction that also involved the sale of Payless ShoeSource and Collective Licensing International to private equity firms Blum Capital Partners and Golden Gate Capital.
Mary Jane is an American term for a closed, low-cut shoe with one or more straps across the instep.
Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and, to a much lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.
Smart casual is an ambiguously defined Western dress code that is generally considered casual wear but with smart components of a proper lounge suit from traditional informal wear. For men, this interpretation typically includes dress shirt, necktie, trousers, and dress shoes, possibly worn with an odd-coloured blazer or a sports coat.
Keds is an American brand known for its canvas shoes with rubber soles. Founded in 1916 by U.S. Rubber, its original shoe design was the first mass-marketed canvas-top sneaker. The brand was sold to Stride Rite in 1979, which was acquired by Wolverine World Wide in 2012. Since February 2023, Keds has been owned and operated by Designer Brands.
Fashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of 1970s fashion. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade. The first half of the decade was relatively tame in comparison to the second half, which was when apparel became very bright and vivid in appearance.
Fashion in the 1970s was about individuality. In the early 1970s, Vogue proclaimed "There are no rules in the fashion game now" due to overproduction flooding the market with cheap synthetic clothing. Common items included mini skirts, bell-bottoms popularized by hippies, vintage clothing from the 1950s and earlier, and the androgynous glam rock and disco styles that introduced platform shoes, bright colors, glitter, and satin.
Knee highs are hosiery that cover the feet and legs up to the knee. A fashion accessory for casual and classic cool or warm weather apparel. Typically worn by women in many societies, they are sometimes worn with modern semi-formal attire. Unlike ordinary socks, they are generally made of nylon or other stocking materials. There were also different types and uses of knee highs for women.
Merrell is an American manufacturing company of footwear products. It was founded by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell, and John Schweizer in 1981 as a maker of high-performance hiking boots. Since 1997, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolverine World Wide. Products currently commercialized by Merrell include hiking boots, athletic shoes, sandals, jackets, knit caps, gloves, t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, and socks. Other accessories include backpacks, stuff sacks, and bags.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference is the debut book by Malcolm Gladwell, first published by Little, Brown in 2000. Gladwell defines a tipping point as "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point." The book seeks to explain and describe the "mysterious" sociological changes that mark everyday life. As Gladwell states: "Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do." The examples of such changes in his book include the rise in popularity and sales of Hush Puppies shoes in the mid-1990s and the steep drop in New York City's crime rate after 1990.
Havaianas is a Brazilian brand of flip-flop sandals created and patented in 1962. The company was founded by Scottish immigrant Robert Fraser. Inspired by the Japanese zori sandals, Havaianas became the first mass-produce flip-flops out of rubber. The name Havaianas is derived from the feminine form of the Portuguese word for "Hawaiians", the name was chosen as homage to the popular vacation destination of Hawaii. The brand is currently owned by Brazilian manufacturing company Alpargatas S.A..
The Nike Cortez is the first track shoe released by Nike in 1972, and is therefore thought to be a significant aspect to the success of the company. The Nike Cortez was first designed by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, aiming to produce a comfortable and durable running shoe for distance training and road running. The Nike Cortez was released at the peak of the 1972 Summer Olympics, and quickly gained interest by the general public. The shoe previously known as the Onitsuka Tiger Cortez was later renamed to the Onitsuka Tiger Corsair after Nike won a court battle to continue using name in 1974.
Accent Group is an Australian and New Zealand footwear and clothing retail, wholesaling and distribution company. It has more than 800 retail stores, along with 19 brands, and more than 20 online platforms.
