Converse The original Converse was a Marquis. No, not a British blue-blood, but an ambitious American who manufactured basketball sneakers when the sport was little more than a hoop dream. Nowadays, however, his athletic shoes are elite classics, comfort footwear which isn’t just for jocks anymore. Unlike today’s not-so-nouveau imitators, Converse sneakers have sported their star status since 1917. Chuck Taylor All Star Lift Former basketball whiz Charles Taylor taught the Marquis a thing or two about what athletes need in shoes. A high school stand-out, Taylor only played for one professional team, but would become a sports legend anyhow. The shoes named for him, with their classic laced fabric uppers and cushioned comfort should lend you some of Chuck’s all-star lift and dash. Oxford White These shoes offer the Oxford style in a tastefully toned-down shade of white, their rubber marked with understated black stripes. Although Converses are traditionally worn with rolled-up jeans by everybody from socialites to skateboarders, they also are classy enough to pair with leggings and miniskirts—even flouncy long skirts and lacey bobby socks for a fifties look. Cleanup(per)s and Rub(ber)downs Clean your shoes gently as befits sports gentility. Converse advises that you swab the shoes’ canvas uppers, rubber toecaps and rubber soles with a clean cloth lightly dampened with lukewarm soapy water. You’ll then want to stuff the shoes with newspaper and allow them to dry at moderate indoor temperatures.