Keds

Keds is a brand of canvas shoe with rubber soles, introduced in 1916 by U.S. Rubber (later known as Uniroyal, then Uniroyal Goodrich, and finally acquired by Michelin), later acquired by Stride Rite, and currently owned by Collective Brands.

When choosing a name, the initial choice was Peds, from the Latin meaning foot, but someone else held that trademark. Keds were first mass-marketed as canvas-top "sneakers" in 1917. They became known as "sneakers" because the rubber soles allowed sneaking around silently.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Keds added to its range of casual shoes a line of athletic shoes called Pro-Keds for more serious use, specifically for basketball. Keds have been used by many athletes.

The brand has become the predominant slang name (genericized trademark), sometimes even formalized and integrated into languages up to and including dictionary entries, for such simple rubber & canvas shoes across Eastern Europe. This occurred several generations ago, with today's youth having no idea that Keds is an actual Western brand, and not some English or German name for this type of shoe. For example, a Russian or Ukrainian grandmother would say that, "These emo kids my grandchildren are friends with love to wear Converse-brand Keds with pink shoelaces.", and her grandchildren themselves would use the same term when discussing shoes with friends or asking for them in a shoe store. While it is true that other brands currently dominate those markets, the Keds name has been as widely and firmly lodged in Soviet-bloc consumer's memories as genericized brands like Kleenex, Post-it, or Xerox in English-speaking countries today, and the Russian and Ukrainian wikipedia entries linked to this one describe a type of shoe, with only passing mention that the name comes from the Keds brand.

1980s to late 1990s

From the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s girls wore Keds with leggings and "slouch socks", with baby doll dresses with bike shorts with or without lace and sometimes slouch socks, as part of a cheerleading uniform with only slouch socks, or in colder weather with leggings and slouch socks. They were seen being worn on television by Joanie Cunningham played by Erin Moran on Happy Days, Kelly Kapowski played by Tiffani Thiessen on Saved by the Bell, Stephanie Tanner on Full House played by Jodie Sweetin, many of the girls on Kids Incorporated, Samantha Micelli on Who's The Boss played by Alyssa Milano, Becca Thatcher on Life Goes On played by Kellie Martin, during the first two seasons of 7th Heaven by Lucy Camden played by Beverley Mitchell, and off and on by Alicia "Al" Lambert played by Christine Lakin on Step by Step. They were seen being worn on film by Frances "Baby" Houseman played by Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing, the title character in 1996's Matilda played by Mara Wilson. They are also worn by The Clique series character, Claire Lyons, and by Bella Swan in the Twilight film, The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

Late 1990s to 2006

Keds lost popularity in the late 1990s, but sales increased in the mid 2000s. "The Champion" sneaker in the traditional white and black leather and canvas uppers remained essentially unchanged, but became available in other colors and patterns. In 2006 some of the Men's "Keds Triumph" sneakers were reintroduced, though Keds have always been more popular with women than with men.

2008

Keds launched the Keds Studio, which allows customers to create custom Keds shoes using images, text, and colors provided by Keds or from the customer's own files.

2009-2011

Keds launched Keds Green in March 2009. The shoes feature organic cotton uppers, 20% recycled rubber soles, non-toxic inks and dyes, nickel free eyelets, and shoelaces made from 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

External links

• Official Site - Keds.com
• Keds Studio - Keds Studio
• Keds Green - Keds Green