Aaron Hope 
How do you keep a three-quarter-centuries-old badminton sneaker relevant in a world where new technology is making kicks perform and look better than ever before? If you’re Converse, it all starts with acquiring the Jack Purcell trademark rights some forty years ago and elevating it to the heights of its ubiquitous Chuck Taylor All Star. Then a little over a year and a half ago, the One Star introduced the Jack Purcell Johnny variant with a new ‘seatbelt’ addition giving the toe ‘smile’ a run for this design’s signature element. Add it all up and crank a set out through the company’s top-tier division and you end up with something exquisite like these Converse First String Jack Purcell Johnnys that pair a translucent reinforcement with microstriped uppers for the kind of subtle yet attention grabbing look that’ll have you staring until you realize that, yes, those are tortoise shell eyelets. Quite a lot of nice details from such a simple, classic design, a sure indication that these will move quickly from First String stores like Up There.
