10 Fun Facts about Vans

“Off The Wall”

Vans is a brand that, like one of its biggest rivals Converse, started small and it’s the true example of starting with little but accomplishing big things. Something that the Van Doren siblings never imagined accomplishing, but nowadays Vans’ one of the most well-known and coveted brands by many, not only due to the variety of shoes, but also due to the comfort that they provide us. That’s why on today’s EscapeShoes blog post we decided to dedicate it to this big brand by telling you 10 fun facts about it! Shall we?

1-      The brand was founded on March 16^th 1966, on the city of Anahiem, California. Brothers Paul and Jim Van Doren (with the help of 2 other business partners) opened a small store dedicated to sports shoes for skaters. The name of the store was Van Doren Rubber Company and, on the same day as the inauguration, they sold 12 pairs of the model #44 Deck Shoes, now known as Vans Authentic.

2-      Shortly after, the brand started to sell shoes for competitions. One of its funders even became a professional runner to test the prototypes.

3-      In the early 70s, the brand became popular when the United States Department of Defense and United States Air Force started to place order of models made especially for them.

4-      The public that bought these shoes was the one that gave the brand’s final and official name of the brand, Vans.

5-      In 1976, appeared the Vans #95 model, now known as Vans Era. Created by Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta, two skaters, this model has extra padding around the collar to increase the skaters’ comfort.

6-      In 1977, the brand launched another icon, the Style 36, today known as Old Skool, the first pair with the recognizable side stripe, before known as “jazz stripe”. Shortly after in 1978, the high top version was launched, called Sk8-Hi.

7-      In 1977, Vans also created the Vans #98 model, known as Vans Slip-On. This pair had such a high level of sales that pushed them to open 70 new stores throughout California.

8-      In 1998, the brand inaugurated the Orange County store, which not only offers the brand’s complete line, but also has a wooden Skatepark with 4 300 m2.

9-      The slogan “Off The Wall” means outside the norm or out of the ordinary. Though, since the brand’s dedicated to skaters it can also mean off the floor or wall.

10-   Last year in 2016, the brand celebrated 50 years! And it continues to have the same success!

Now that you’ve seen these 10 fun facts, we’re sure that you were also curious and want to have your very own pair, right? Well, don’t you worry because at the EscapeShoes store you’ll find several pairs and we’re sure that you’ll find your match! The toughest part will really be to choose only one!