I conducted a survey on the internet, requesting people on facebook to give me the answers to 5 questions relating to my subject.
Some of the answers were quite surprising.I also trawled the internet for forums based entirely on sneakers... people giving opinions and other people advice over what shoes to buy, how they feel, how they look etc.
And to finish it off, I asked people, friends and family as well as people in the street their opinions on them. There was a range of responses, opinions from people I found wearing the shoes were quite a lot different from those who did not. I also asked my granny, as well as my 7 year old brother to get a range of responses.
I live in a place where you would very rarely find people wearing them, very farmer orientated, so I went to various cities and towns to get my research... London, Leeds, Salisbury, Yeovil and Portsmouth to name a few. A lot more helpful. I can tell you now, going up to people and asking if you can photograph their shoes gets some mixed responses. I found myself saying "I'm not weird, it's for a project" quite a lot.
These are the main opinions I found.
1. Hi-tops as a fashion is dead.
2. They look good once they've been worn a lot.
3. They've become a stereotype.
4. My pac-man NIKE dunks are so good I don't want to wear them out.
5. They do not look good on girls with short legs.
6. They are comfortable at the same time as looking good.
7. Practical and aesthetically pleasing.
8. One man's trash is another man's treasure.
9. I find them like marmite. You either love them or you hate them. There are no in-betweens.
10. Perfect for the gym.
11. Far too expensive for what they are.
12. A fashion accessory for 'scene' kids.
13. The brighter colours they are… the less attractive they are.
14. I don't wear anything else.
15. Collecting custom shoes is an expensive pass-time.
16. I adore these shoes… the way they look and the way they feel… that's a rare combination these days.
17. Collecting them is my new obsession.
18. Converse are not very well made. I bought a pair a month ago… they are falling apart already.
19. I love them because they go with so many different outfits.
20. Only certain people can pull them off and still look good.
21. If you wear converse for more than a couple of hours, your feet hurt.
22. I used to wear them every day. But the fashion has moved on.
23. So comfortable I could wear them in bed.
24. I live in them.
25. They aren't made well. Very irregular.
26. Thanks to NIKE, they aren't worth the money any more
27. Overpriced and badly made (converse)
28. The rubber wears down incredibly quickly.
29. Reebok Freestyles cause blisters.
30. Once you go hi, you never go back.
31. People who wear them look like they are going to a rave.
32. Hi-tops are for gangsta's
33. People only wear them because celebrities such as Jake Gyllenhaal and Paris Hilton have started wearing them.
34. They look better on men.
35. They look adorable on girls, big or small feet.
36. Some of the designs are really original and inventive.
37. NIKE are the ultimate classic shoe.
38. Bought some, Loved them, now hate them.
39. They look great with a good pair of jeans.
40. For my age/style, my collection of NIKE hi-tops is the best for matching shoes to a colourway.
41. Gold NIKE dunks are like the holy grail.
42. They look good if worn with the right outfit.
43. Put with different outfits, they add to the different stereotypes (i.e 'ghetto… dunks with baggy jeans and a big hood)
44. If you have large feet, they make them look like boats.
45. I bought my ultimate pair of hi-tops, I don't think i will ever wear anything ever again.
46. i hope i never have to get rid of them
47. Simple and versatile
48. Brilliant casual shoes.
49. I like buying simple ones to customise myself.
50. Dunks are probably the most hyped-over trainers on the market.
51. They are the only shoes which can get away with clashing colours.
52. They make people's feet look unnecessarily chunky.
53. They are too 80's.
54. They look a bit tacky.
55. NIKE hi-tops are taking over the shoe world.
56. They are too common in London.
57. They are rapidly losing their originality.
58. A lot of japanese people wear them.
59. They are comfortable and 'Kitsch'
60. They last forever.
61. They look ridiculous when people put neon laces in them.
62. NIKE dunks would look better with thinner soles.
63. Since Kill Bill, Asics have become cool again.
64. Reebok and Adidas combined are the only way to compete with NIKE.
65. I don't think you could find a colour that Converse All Stars don't come in.
66. It's gone so far beyond basketball now.
67. They were created to be animated.
68. They make people look like Japanese cartoons.
69. Definitely a gender bias when the shoes were being designed.
70. Sport Chic
71. They look brilliant on girls wearing tights.
72. I find it annoying that you can't get into certain clubs with a £70 pair of Hi-tops, but you can with a £10 pair from Clarke's.
73. They've got an old-school/hip-hop feel to them.
74. The hi-top design allows more space for more colours and graphics.
75. They have cultural iconography, namely Nike Dunks.
76. NIKE has almost become fetishised
77. Hi-tops ended when everyone started wearing them.
78. They were once 'cool', but now they are over-worn, it just doesn't work.
79. They became a 'classic' in 20 years.
80. They belong in the ghetto. That's where they should stay.
81. They provide good ankle support.
82. They are easy to wash without affecting the colour.
83. They make girls who wear them look like they have an edge.
84. Basketballers wear them as they allow you to manoeuvre easily.
85. They are waterproof and warm.
86. It is worth spending more money on the better labels for more durable materials.
87. Only the 'Skinny' version of the NIKE dunk looks god on girls.
88. They are impractical to pack in a suitcase.
89. Once you start collecting them, you can't stop.
90. NIKE dunks are deceptively simple feeling skateboarding shoes.
91. The tops wear out quickly if you are doing more complicated skateboard tricks. The only downfall to them.
92. They are better for thinner feet.
93. Some look like a pack of crayons left on a stove.
94. NIKE are one company that got it right when they designed a skateboarding shoe.
95. There are so many different styles and colours that even your grandmother could find a pair she liked.
96. Looks arent everything, but these feel good as well as looking the part.
97. I can only say marvellous things about my pair.
98. They clearly took a long time to perfect this design.
99. Any company that allows you to design your own shoe is a winner. I have 5 pairs, all designed by me.
100. The custom footwear option that NIKE offers allows me to design any kind of shoe, for any occasion.
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