converse first string chuck taylor all star low 2012 spring / summer

these bad boys come in the traditional converse box

to be honest i'm always amazed at how small converse boxes are.

i guess they don't mind squashing their shoes a little bit ?

a thing i've noticed a lot with converse first string shoes is that they come with

a very tidy cotton drawstring bag... 

i think that's a nice touch

i also like that they have a nice printed bit inside the tongues

i'm all about little details and i think this is a good one.

one that nike and adidas are missing out on.

although these are traditional converse all stars, the chuck taylor upper

has been given a bit of a kick by using a mixture of jersey fabric and nylon

they are designed so that the inner nylon will be exposed as the outer silky layer

gets worn... altering the characteristic of the shoes as they age.

( a bit like the elusive clot air force 1's from the 1 world series )

i like the use of navy blue rubber at the joint between sole and upper

and have you spotted another sweet detail ?

that's right... the top eyelets on both shoes are made from tortoiseshell

you can't beat a bit of tortoiseshell eh ?

and the final nice touch

is the striped nylon heel loop... very tidy.

if we ever get a summer these will be absolutely perfect.

imagine how great they'll look when i've spilled some beer on them...

or perhaps when i've dropped a bit of a bbq sausage or burger on them.

maybe even a few bogus grass stains from a picnic on the heath*

but in the meantime i'll just wear them around town

bringing heat to the streets of n7

*as opposed to a picnic with heath