Keds°•

Keds sneakers were the first sneakers generations made ever. Since 1916 Keds is one of the most famous brands from our times. With this company the term “sneaker” became popular, bringing to the top the use of this footwear. One of the main features Keds is recognized for is its noiseless rubber soles that allowed people to sneak up on others. In contrast with Converse, Keds became the preferred footwear for the professional tennis players, being the footwear used at thirteen tennis championships. Although Keds had all this fame, it wasn’t until 1938 when the recognized brand decided to create and launch a line of sneakers just for women known as Kedettes.

 Kedettes were the first high-heeled shoes to offer the same comfort a sneaker could.

Aside from tennis, in 1949 Keds decided to interfere in other sports and that year PRO-Keds were created.  These shoes were designed to attract more athletes, and in this case it was Mr. Basketball, George Mika, who made Keds his favorite footwear.

Although Keds had many publicity and popularity by being the footwear of several athletes it wasn’t until the 1960’s when Keds really became popular. This popularity was won when maby fashion icons decided to wear sneakers such as Audrey Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Katherine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and Jackie O; this officially declared Keds as being part of the annals of classic American style.  

After all this gained popularity, Keds became extremely popular among teens. One of the main reasons was the comfort these sneakers offered, but also that they could wear them with shorts, skirts, leggings, almost with everything. Also the popularity was so awesome that Keds appeared on TV shows like Happy Days, Saved by the Bell, Full House, Step by Step, and 7^th Heaven.

Finally, Keds became really famous eventually with many contributions from athletes and celebrities. But behind all of this, the brand also created team with The Breast Cancer Research Foundation to help find a cure for the breast cancer along the world.

Bibliography

Keds Shoes Official Site - The Complete Keds Canvas & Leather Sneaker Collection For Women, Men & Kids. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. <http://www.keds.com/store/SiteController/keds/home>.

One for One Movement♥

Blake Mycoskie is an American traveler who in 2006 went to Argentina and realized he could do something for the world. When he arrived and after being there for a few days he noticed that most of the children living in that country was barefoot, but not for fun, like many of us do, but because they didn't had anything to wear. After going through those terrible images of poor kids living in horrible conditions, he decided to start doing something for them and there is were he created TOMS.



This was a company that would give a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes purchased, naming this project "One for One Movement." That same year he returned to Argentina with almost ten thousand pairs of shoes to give.



You might be thinking "Why would he wanted to give shoes instead of food, or clothes?" Well according to his web page after doing research he found out that being barefoot was a leading cause of diseases and if the kids were wearing shoes the chance of getting diseases was lower. Also having something to protect your feet prevents cuts and sores, and I'm not talking about the pain this would cause, but about the infections their wounds might get, endangering their health. Finally, the third reason is that in schools it is mandatory to attend with shoes, if you are barefoot you can not come in, and if children can't go to school because of being barefoot, they can't receive an education, losing the opportunity to have an education and prestige.