The best Vans shoes you can buy right now

Cut open the Vans brand and it’ll bleed California. From the sneaker designs to the ad campaigns, every aspect of the brand pays homage to The Golden State, which explains why it attracts the kind of good-vibes creatives – think the baristas, the skaters, the street artists, the tattooists; the rockstars of the street and stage – that you’d expect to find wandering around West Coast cities. Specifically in Anaheim: the city where Vans began.

How was Vans founded?

After cutting their teeth at the Randolph Rubber Manufacturing Company, Paul Van Doren and James Van Doren – supported by their partners Gordon Lee and Serge Delia – established The Van Doren Rubber Company in 1966 in Anaheim, California. The company was of note from its inception as it was the first to sell shoes from the same space they were manufactured in. 

Initially, the brothers decided to offer just three silhouettes – one of them being the #44 Deck Shoe, a model now known as the Vans Authentic, that originally cost just $2.99 for women and $4.99 for men.

Word quickly spread about The Van Doren Rubber Company, resulting in hundreds of people queuing outside the Anaheim store every day and new stores opening in various locations across California. With more consumers came more feedback; with more feedback came more tweaks to the products – the most pivotal being the replacement of the original diamond outsole that was prone to cracking with the now-iconic waffle sole.

Vans began to make remunerative moves in the early-‘70s, especially after skateboarders espoused the trainer and turned it into an emblem of their subculture. In 1975, renowned skateboarders Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta worked with Vans to design a trainer specifically for skateboarding – the first shoe to be designed by skateboarders for skateboarders. Dubbed the Vans #95, now known as the Vans Era, the shoe was identifiable by virtue of its padded collar, ‘Off the Wall’ logo and customisable colour combinations.

Thanks to the success of the skate trainer – and the Old Skool, Slip-On and SK8-Hi silhouettes, all introduced between 1977-1978 – Vans was able to successfully end the decade with over 70 stores to its name. From here on out, the brothers began to sell their shoes worldwide through dealers and retailers. Not bad for 14 years of hard work, wouldn't you agree?

What are the best Vans shoes you can buy?

There are plenty of readily available Vans on the market, from the Vans trainers you’re doubtlessly familiar with (e.g. Authentics, Old Skools, Eras etc.) to recently introduced silhouettes such as the Vans Slip-On TRK and the Vans Rowan Pro. Check out our top 12 picks below.