The shoe brand was a runaway success after Sean Penn wore its checkerboard slip-ons in ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High.’ A book about the company, ‘Vans: Off the Wall,’ is due out in June.
It is a simple shoe, really. A canvas slip-on sneaker with a vulcanized basket-weave sole. It has no laces, no grommets, no fancy air pumps, heart monitors or iPod jacks. But it is the blank canvas upon which three generations have shown their true colors — solids, two-tones, checks, plaids, stripes, watermelons, winged hearts, Santa skulls and peace signs. With versions that cater to fans of the band Slayer, cartoon character Homer Simpson and professional skateboarder Geoff Rowley, this is footwear capable of turning run-of-the-mill men into Imelda Marcos-level shoe hoarders.
It’s Vans style No. 98, … Details