Look down. What do you see? If you are wearing foot apparel at all, it is probably the lowly and misunderstood tennis shoe. In 1996, the sale of tennis shoes accounted for a full third of all shoes sold.
During the 1800`s the Industrial Revolution touched almost every facet of American life,
including shoe manufacturing, when the discovery of vulcanized rubber coupled with the use of assembly lines, first made sneakers possible. Goodyear gave birth to keds brand tennis shoes in 1892 thanks to these two advances in manufacturing.
Sneakers, properly defined as having canvas tops and rubber soles, were so named because of the noiseless footsteps it allotted to `sneak` thieves. Early on, the only people wearing sneakers (aside from these cunning thieves, obviously) were athletes.
According to some sources, it was actually the Brits that spurred a need for a modern canvas or light-weight shoe which gripped the ground because of the resurgence in running during the early 19th century. During the 1800`s, tennis shoes were used for lawn tennis, cricket, croquet and for play at the beach as well. The first mention of tennis shoes being sold commercially was in the Sears catalog in 1897. In 1922, Montgomery Ward touted them as `for work, play, or everyday wear.`
Not until the 1950`s did tennis shoes finally come into acceptance for everyday wear. James Dean, a Hollywood icon was photographed wearing what was to become the uniform of all teen rebels - jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers. From then on, development of specialized sneakers and their marketing took off and are now widely accepted as being the best `first shoe` for children learning to walk!
According to Consumer Reports Health Org, there are other reasons to love tennis shoes: buying shoes with flat laces will make it less likely that laces will come loose or untied; reflective tabs on the outside of the shoe can provide extra safety at night by reflecting a car`s headlights; shoes equipped with GPS can send out signals so you can find a toddler - or an elderly person - that has wandered from your sight.
Choose your shoe according to its use. A walking shoe has a flexible sole and is good for low impact activity and will allow the foot to roll from heel to toe while walking! A running shoe is built to absorb impacts up to three times your body weight and is good for stability, which guards against over pronation, which can lead to injuries. Cross trainers are the best of both worlds. They are versatile and are a good compromise between a walking shoe and a running shoe.
When shopping for a good tennis shoe, check these three important parts of the shoe to make sure they will be a design fit for you and your activities:
Toe Box - The toe box should be wide enough to spread your toes as you walk and also have a half inch of space on the top of your longest toe.
The mid-sole - The mid sole is very important to the feel and function of the shoe as it supplies most of the shoe`s cushioning. The cushioning is provided either by air cells or springy metal - make sure it is cushioned enough for your feet
Uppers - An upper can be made of a variety of materials, including leather, fake leather, mesh or some combination. Functionally, it isn`t important which is used, however, if breathability is important to you; make sure the upper is mostly mesh.
