SNEAKERS: The King of Footwears

Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sports shoes or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used for everyday casual wear.

The shoes have gone by a variety of names, depending on geography, and changing over the decades. The term “sneakers” is most commonly used in the Northeastern United States, South Florida and Central Florida, parts of Canada and New Zealand, with Nigeria not left out.

the British English equivalent of “sneaker” in its modern form is “trainer “. In some urban areas in the United States, the slang for sneakers is kicks. Other terms include training shoes or trainers, sandshoes, gym boots or joggers, running shoes or runners.

Plimsolls (British English) are “low tech” athletic shoes, and are also called ‘sneakers’ in American English. The word “sneaker” is often attributed to American Henry Nelson McKinney who was an advertising agent for N. W. Ayer & Son. In 1917, he used the term because the rubber sole made the shoe’s wearer stealthy. The word was already in use at least as early as 1887. The name“sneakers” originally referred to how quiet the rubber soles were on the ground, in contrast to noisy standard hard leather sole dress shoes. Someone wearing sneakers could “sneak up” on someone while someone wearing standards could not.

Earlier, the name “sneaks” had been used by prison inmates to refer to warders because of the rubber-soled shoes they wore. 

The U.S. market for sneakers grew steadily as young boys lined up to buy sneakers endorsed by football player Jim Thorpe and Converse All Stars endorsed by basketball player Chuck Taylor.

However, in modern fashion, one’s fashion combination is not complete without a pair of sneakers as it is worn by virtually everyone with different wares to rock it.

The sneakers, however, comes in different fancy and trendy forms which keeps every fashionista glued to the shoe market to get a piece of the latest one before it runs out stocks.

You sure do need to get yourself one as it makes you look fitted and smart.  

Watch video of trending sneakers here.