Long before Keds looked like this...
... they looked like this ...
... and that is what I wore.
White Keds, black Keds, red Keds, navy Keds. Even--in a stroke of pure fashion genius--saddle oxford Keds (you know, two-tone black and white Keds).
So you can imagine my pure glee the day I discovered I had won a year's supply of Keds tennis shoes from American Girl magazine. My fourth grade heart jumped at the thought of year's supply of Keds, in every color imaginable.
My glee dampened ever so slightly when I discovered my mother's plans for my winnings.
I could forget every color imaginable.
Instead, my sensible, practical mother suggested we get my favorite Keds in varying sizes, so we wouldn't have to buy me new shoes for the rest of my school career. Think of all the money we'd save! I readily agreed, since I was in the fourth grade and didn't have much say in the matter.
By the time I was in the 7th grade, I was throwing up at the sight of the iconic white Keds box coming down from the top of my closet. It was the neverending supply of shoes. Eventually, even my mother agreed that we had reached a level of ridiculousness in our household (let's face it, I wasn't going to wear Keds down the aisle... though, now that you mention it, I came close), and we passed my Keds on to my grandmother, who may or may not still be wearing my prize earnings today.
Now it's 2010, and Mischa Barton has made Keds cool again. But despite Mischa's heavy advertising campaigns, Keds hadn't convinced me that I really needed a pair. After all, I practically lived in Keds for four years straight. And it doesn't take four years of wearing Keds to make you realize that yes, they make a squeaking noise when you walk. And yes, children will point and laugh.
A quick trip to their website, though, and I'm starting to second guess my vow to never to return to the Keds section of the store.
Mom, you were right. Keds are timeless.
Want to buy me a pair?
(Um, p.s.-- You can also design your own. So fun.)
2 comments:
i was a keds-wearer too. my favorite keds were like the ones in the last pic, but white all over. i thought i was pretty cool stuff in those shoes, the first pair of which came straight from my granny's closet! yep, that was me...nerdy, ked-wearing, bookworm, granny closet stealing, cool kid! i bet we would have been good friends as children!
so fun that you won that contest!
How fun that you won a year's worth of Keds! We always got 2 pairs - the canvas ones for playing and weekends and the leather ones for school because you could clean them easier and use white shoe polish. Needless to say, I was extremely cool, haha.
This does make me want a pair of Keds again!
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