Not Just Your Father’s Sneaker

PF Flyers: A brand of sneakers that are probably more familiar to our parents then to most of us. The company started making shoes in 1937 and had their heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. They’ve kind of fallen off since then and not a lot of folks are keeping an eye out on what they’ve been doing.

This year PF Flyers turns 70, Rachel and I had a chance to check out some of the most recent collections for PF Flyers (Fall 2007, Spring/Summer 2008) and we think its time folks started checking them out again. While I am happy to comment on their men’s line, I recruited Rachel to write on their women’s line.

I am a big fan of sneakers , although I only have about 12 pairs. I firmly believe it is not the quantity, but the quality of the shoes that matters. I skip over the Jordan’s and, well, pretty much anything else made by Nike. Most of my sneakers end up being limited-run color patterns or styles, with a few classics thrown in for good measure (like the black Adidas Sambas). I try not to buy too many pairs of sneakers a year and like to get some shoes tossed in to the mix for some slightly dressier affairs. My favorite are sneaker/shoe hybrids. You know, the ones that you could apply the Easy Spirit slogan to. That has got to be one fo the things I liked best about the new PF Flyers out there.

There were a bunch of shoes I liked in the collections and I am not completely sure where to start. I don’t want to write too much and over-shadow Rachel’s write up, so we’ll keep it short, namedrop a few styles and let Rachel take over from there.

The Number 5 line is one of the company’s core brands, and will be releasing 13 different styles this Spring. I think my favorites are the dark green and brown canvas and leather ones, though it really is a toss up. The dark brown and steel blue nubuck are also pretty awesome. Playing off the look of the Number 5s are the Number 9s, with a different, slightly more rugged-looking sole and contrasted stitching. It would be hard to go wrong with either, but the dark brown and red leather and osnaburg (kind of a coarse fabric) look pretty awesome.

The fall collection looks great with a lot of different dark tweeds, plaids and nice looking leather (even some suede). I mean how can you not like Italian canvas and leather in grays and browns? There is even one in oxblood (though the brown plaid and gold Number 5 and the blue and brown, tweed and leather Center Lo are my two favorites). I am going to stop gushing now and hand this over to Rachel, but I will be back for a quick wrap up.

Like any breathing woman, I like shoes. Okay, correction, I LOVE shoes. I am the Ilmelda Marcos of my job. I have at least 10 pairs at all times under my desk on a very nice shoe rack (trust me, if you have more than two pairs under your desk it’s worth it). So when Matt asked if I wanted to review shoes for American Madness, it was really a rhetorical question.

Unfortunately, with all of my heels and work appropriate shoes at work, my closet looks kinda sad. All that’s really left are formal shoes and gym shoes, leaving me very few options for weekend brunch and the rest of my weekend activities. I need something in between: cute but casual (read comfortable) with just enough of a heel to make me look taller than the 5 feet 3 inches I’m stuck with. That’s what I liked about the PF Flyers Journa line for Fall, There’s a definite style: low wedges in college tweeds, canvas and leather including these beauties with a subtle snake print, but they are made for everyday wear. They look like they are meant to be worn, not just from your apt to a cab to a club and then reverse, but all day Saturday, running errands around the city with no complaining at 4:00pm that your feet hurt.

And I’m back. PF Flyers are clearly back on top of their game and seem to be set to make another mark in the sneaker world. Besides all these great styles in lo-sneakers (I am not big on hi-tops these days, but they have a ton of great looking styles there as well) they also have their history. They are re-introducing the world to the sneakers worn by The Cooz himself, Bob Cousy. For those of you who aren’t Celtics fan or don’t know your NBA greats, The Cooz helped the Celts win 6 NBA championships and was voted on to 13 All-Star teams. He even was voted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1971. The Bob Cousy All-American’s are right up there with the Converse Chuck Taylors, though the Cooz actual had skills on the court. What better way to honor him then with the Celtic Green All-Americans (though the natural canvas and the blue look pretty classic as well).