Water-resistant Converse sneakers are here for those rainy days
Soggy Converse sneakers are pretty much a given if it starts to drizzle. But with the sneaker company's new Urban Utility line, a little rain won't dampen anyone's day.
Converse, owned by Nike, teamed up with Gore -- the company known for its GORE-TEX fabric invented in 1969 -- to create water-resistant sneakers and clothes. The shoes aren't bonafide rain boots, but they use Gore's weather-proofing technology in the seams to make streetwear a bit tougher in the elements.
Gore might be known for its weather-proofed clothing and footwear, but the company also makes medical products, cleaning products, and other fabrics.
To keep the shoe and outerwear line stylish, Converse worked with Italian streetwear clothing company Slam Jam and artist Cali Thornhill Dewitt. Some of the toughened-up shoes include reimagined Chuck Taylor All Stars and Jack Purcells.
So classics with a little something extra.
Some items from the new collection are available today on Slam Jam's site. More will be available on converse.com starting Dec. 5. The GORE-TEX "Hiker" Chuck Taylors are $150. The Converse Jump Boot, described as a "nod to military paratroopers' footwear" in a Jack Purcell mold, is $160.
A rainy day never looked so good.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
