Those new to the blog are probably unaware of my devotion to the One Perfect Sneaker, the Converse Jack Purcell. (I still wish I'd bought these.)
I bought the above pair a couple weeks ago on eBay, but when they arrived, they turned out to be the wrong size! (The box was mislabeled. Oh noes!) Luckily the seller (DesignerAthletic) was able to exchange them for me, and my right-sized pair arrived yesterday.
Are they, or are they not, the perfect autumn sneaker? They're teal-frackin'-velvet, people! I am going to wear them with an orange corduroy skirt and a fuzzy brown sweater over a teal t-shirt and be blissfully happy scuffling through the falling leaves.*
*For those readers in Australia, I suggest buying a pair now and waiting to wear them until your autumn.
A Dress A Day 
Oh damn you, Erin! VELVET Jack Purcells??!! Like I haven’t spent enough time trolling ebay for vintage patterns, now you get me hooked on shoes like this? Please God, don’t tell me they come in green velvet….(I’m a hard core skirt and sneak wearer).
LikeLike
I’m a Chuck Taylor groupie, but I agree that these are lovely!
LikeLike
So now I am sucked into this vortex as well.Sigh.I do, indeed, go willingly.
LikeLike
Are these men’s shoes? What size would I wear if I am wearing 8 1/2-9 in womens?Linda
LikeLike
I bought sneaks similar to these several years ago — grey velvet beauties. I loved loved loved them, but when I put them on, they were like boats. They were like heavy, ponderous stumps at the ends of my legs.Not the look I was going for.I gave them away, sadly, as I did love the idea of the sneaker. Just not the execution.
LikeLike
Erin must wear a smallish size – my women’s 10 (see shoe conversion charts for US sizes here: http://www.i18nguy.com/l10n/shoes.html) Jack Purcells are like boats. I agree they’re heavy, too. I like them, in theory, but in practice they’re my gardening shoes.
LikeLike
Personally I like these:http://www.asicsamerica.com/onitsukatiger/products/shoes/shoes_detail.asp?gender=womens&productid=240007883I wear sneaks with skirts all the time.
LikeLike
I wear a women’s 8.5, but the Purcells run a bit big, I think. So I usually get a men’s 6.And yes, they are boatlike, but for me that’s part of the appeal. Kind of an “I am Woman, Feel Me Stomp” thing.
LikeLike
Those are the Moss Blue/Mink ones, right?
LikeLike
Hey, you have readers in New Zealand too! 😀
LikeLike
Mmmm . . I love velvet and CT’s. I do have to admit a fondness for the red/orange/yellow/black flame printed ones I’m wearing right now!
LikeLike
At the Converse web site, you can design your own Jack Purcells. As an experiment, I just designed up a pair in all black with my nick-name embroidered in red on the heel strip – quoted price: $60 US, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks. (Granted, you can get some better deals on eBay.)http://www.converse.comWarning: This is a web site with “way cool” navigation (AKA “mystery meat navigation”) that drives me nuts. Search for 100679 to see a pair of patchwork Jack Purcells. You can pick the Design Your Own option right from the shopping cart navigation “thingee” .Happy Designing,CMC
LikeLike
I am in the rehearsal phase of the production “Nunsense”, where Sister Robert Anne traditionally wears red Chuck’s. Not one to be conventional, I chose a pastel plaid high-top Chuck, which delighted my director and me, since I get to keep ’em after the show. What was even better was they were only 24 buck at Overstock.com. ;)Love the velvet-
LikeLike
Do they come in 11WW? Love ’em!
LikeLike
I’d like to see some pictures of dresses and skirts with sneakers. I can never pull that off, and I always end up favoring the sneakers and putting on jeans. The new (to me at least) ballet flat style shoes has become my answer. Old Navy has a ton that are sooo adorable and cheap enough to buy a pair for every dress. 🙂
LikeLike
What size do you wear? Email me. I have a pair in mustard in a size 9.
LikeLike
Hi! I found your blog a couple weeks ago, and I’m lovin’ it! If you didn’t have any, now you have at least one brazilian fan :)I found this link today, don’t know if you have seen it yet, ‘people’s magazine ten best dresses of 2007’. Hope you like it!( http://www.people.com/people/package/gallery/0,,20055119_20056265,00.html )
LikeLike
Oh I don’t know about waiting until Autumn, it’s 10-19C in Perth today… pretty good sneaker weather.
LikeLike
Thank you for the flashback to my youth. I used to burn through four or five pair of Jack Purcells a year playing tennis. I didn’t realize that they still made these.
LikeLike
Converse, any Converse, is great, although I’m more of a Chuck Taylor person myself. Oddly enough, I wear Converse because I have very narrow (and small, men’s 4) feet. Perhaps Chuck Taylors tend to be narrower that Jack Purcells…Anyway, hooray for sneakers!
LikeLike
I DID buy the Liberty Jack Purcells. (I’m a Liberty fan.) And…they’re slightly too small. Grrrr! I wore them for a day before I figured it out, also, so I couldn’t return them. The kill my feet after an hour or so, but they’re so beautiful. Because of all the rubber, you can’t stretch them like you would leather shoes. Anyone know a way to make them a little bigger? BTW, I love those teal velvet ones, but I’ve learned my lesson.
LikeLike
This has nothing to do with sneakers BUT if you go to the Vogue PAttern site – you can get a free pattern JUST for visiting. You have to click on a pattern and put it in your cart. If it’s free it will tell you. You just pay shipping. I found V2858 – only $3 for shipping! Free PATTERN!
LikeLike
I love ballerina flats. And now they come in so many fun colors and patterns! Never been a sneaker girl myself. The swingy corduroy skirt for fall? Love it.
LikeLike
Speaking of ballerina flats, have you seen the new Purcell “dance” flats? They look like ballerina flats, but are Jack Purcells…sort of. They’re on the Converse site, in the Purcell area, check them out. Wonder if they’re comfy? Recently Converse came out with Chuck Taylors cut out to look like espadrilles, with long laces to tie around. I liked them, but never could find any in my size.
LikeLike
I went through two pair of these between the ages of 15 and 19. I loved them and was very sad when I couldn’t find a non-platform pair in college. Going to add these to my favorite ebay searches now…
LikeLike
We had frost yesterday morning in Canberra, so I think the sneaks are still OK to wear here. Plus I have some leaves I haven’t picked up from autumn yet. Lots of kicking still to do!
LikeLike
We were at a concert the other night (Crowded House.. woo!!) and Neil Finn was wearing black leather Converse shoes.. I thought those were pretty hot til I saw these blue ones. GROOVY!
LikeLike
Those are lovely shoes. Alas, I’m a Chuck Taylor gal myself (Jack Purcells just don’t fit me well). My favorite Chucks ever are black velvet, bought in 1995. They are unwearable now (too many holes) but I still hang on to them and hope that Converse will produce identical ones someday. As for skirts and sneakers–I’ve been wearing the slip on chucks with casual skirts and it looks alright. I wear the little socks that barely peek over the top of the shoe.
LikeLike
Waimauku, I came to leave the exact same comment! & Jen just turned it into a Kiwifest :)But yeah, I totally want some of that velvet action!
LikeLike
Whomever mentioned the free patterns at VoguePatterns, thanks. I’ve got V8232 on the way now! :)And Erin: those shoes just exude Fall Joy. My personal favorite scampering shoes (that can still go with dresses!) are the Skechers Step Up! mary-janes with a sneaker sole and a double-top strap. They’re much more delicate in real life than most sporty mary-janes. See here:http://www.zappos.com/n/p/p/7256818/c/325.html
LikeLike
Wendy, I have those Skechers and I love them! I have issues with my feet and these are the most comfortable shoes ever! Just wish they made them in mossy green too.
LikeLike
Check these Chucks out:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jere7my/345070681/
LikeLike
I too wish I would have purchased those limited edition shoes.
LikeLike
I have the Liberty JPs (bought them for just about everyone in my family) and I am stopped on the street almost every time I wear them. Best sneaker purchase EVER.
LikeLike
Followin up to my own post – I just checked with Converse, and the Liberty-print JPs are *still* available, I just ordered a backup pair (I normally wear an 8.5, wear sz 7 JPs).Here’s a link that I saved pointing to the non-flash page.http://www.converse.com/zproductdetails.asp?zcatid=5&zsubcatid=&zgenid=&leftnavid=4&leftnavsubid=20&sku=1U251&bhfv=8&bhfx=8,0,0,0&bhbb=0&bhqs=1
LikeLike