The adidas Stan Smith shoe has come a long way since it’s debut in 1971.
It’s origin goes back as far as 1963 when adidas released their first tennis shoe, the first leather tennis shoe based on the original idea of Horst Dassler, son of adidas owner, Adolf “Adi” Dassler. The first tennis shoe would be named after tennis player Robert Haillet.
In 1967, the green foam padding was added at the back of the shoe to protect the achilles tendon and thus, giving the classic adidas green and white fairway sneaker which still thrives today.
But while it did endorse Robert Haillet back in the 1960’s, by 1971, no. 1 ranked tennis player Stan Smith became the new face of the tennis shoe.
While the late ’70s would feature Stan Smith on the tongue and Haillet on the top, the Haillet name would be removed in 1978 and officially, the shoe would be known as the “adidas stan smith”.
The shoes would thrive for four more decades and it would be one of the most popular tennis sneakers of all time and despite millions of purchases in the past decades, back in 2011, adidas stopped marketing them. But yet, in countries such as France, these shoes would be seen as among the pinnacle of sneakers that one should own.
Of course, in America, the lull of no release of adidas stan smith shoes for years, would lead many fans of the shoe line to be adamant that adidas bring it back.
And sure enough, the adidas stan smith shoes returned in 2014.
While I recalled having adidas stan smiths when I was younger in green and white, I wanted to give white and dark blue a chance.
These adidas stan smith shoes are absolutely awesome. The look and feel is a major plus, you can see the grain of leather, padded heel is still at the end and the shoes are well-stitched.
The shoes are made in India and no one should think this is a detriment as they are well-made. The shoes are true-to-size and they are very comfortable.
I absolute love these sneakers as they continue to have the classic look of the originals and are stylish and appealing.
Personally, I feel that any sneaker fan should own an “adidas stan smith” pair of shoes.
Definitely recommended!
