Vans History

Vans was started by Paul Van Doren in 1966, and he opened his first store in Anaheim, California. His business partners were Jim Van Doren, Gordy Lee, and Serge D’Elia. The day they opened the store they only had displays for show, and the customers had to pick what shoe they wanted. After that, they asked them to come back the next day to pick up their shoes. Thank God we don’t have stores like that today. Vans are known for their popular "Slip On" shoe with the waffle sole, and in 1976, skaters starting skating in Vans. The skaters demanded that the Vans come in multi colorways.

They got what they asked for, and Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta, two pro skaters were the designers. It wasn’t until the slip on Vans were seen in the 1982 movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" that people desired to own a pair across the globe. Today, Vans offer 60+ styles including; Slip On, Skateboarding, Old School, Classics, shoes and more. Vans are available in stores all over the world and they made a simple shoe do BIG THINGS.

People have been sleeping on Vans for years and I know it’s a few people that truly appreciate them. They are comfortable, extremely affordable, NO HYPE, with tons of colors/designs and styles, so tell me what person in their right mind doesn’t like that? Well, I take one part back, because if you follow the "HYPE" then Vans are definitely not your cup of tea.

Vans has collaborated with Marc Jacobs, Wtaps, Supreme, Paul Frank, Stussy, Christian Hosoi, Jason Jesse, Mr. Cartoon, Undefeated, and so much more.