STOCK HUNTING 101; DATE my VANS lessen 2

 we continue our stock hunting 101 tutorial dating original vans based on footbed markings. preceding the boxed logo footbed was the mysterious white vinyl 'heel pad'. what could be mistaken for a damaged insole, the presence of which has caused confusion & raised questions regarding functionality. an unusual feaure if without function, SVD indeed revealed its use is to prevent heel friction from eating away into the footbed. used from day 1 in 1966 in various manifestations i remember the elusive crooked tongues interview with the aforementioned stating the vinyl was used til 1988 however they can be seen on half cabs, so we believe our estimate for use of the unmarked heel pad from 1986 til 1992 to be more accurate. we like to refer to the heel pad as the 'seal of quality' whereby from 1992 onwards production standards could already seen to be compromised, even before stateside manufacture ceased.

 note well that styles #59 & #69 of the crescent island collection feature a tan heel pad while style #60 & #70 feature brown.

 

 the heel pad can have the tendency to harden & peel away on older models however evidence can normally be seen of its once presence.

STOCK HUNTING 101; DATE my VANS lessen 1

lessen 1 of our stock hunting 'date my vans' tutorial looks at footbed markings & starts with the last known made in usa incarnation before production went offshore.

this boxed logo template was used throughout the 90's however the 'made in usa' text is of course key & was thought to be utilised from 1992-1995. hereafter starteth the lessening.... & here endeth the lesson.

as an aside.... you can also find the size of your originals in ink just above the top right corner of the boxed logo on the inside left of both shoes.

vintage VANS olive suede SIERRA CHUKKA style #52 MADE IN USA hiking N lug sole US8 suicide machines VANS SONG

"Well, you're just like a club fag, wearing Doc Martens Get a pair of chukka's or some checkerboard slip-ons Worship Jeff Spicoli not Chris Cornell Get a pair of vans or God will send you to hell To hell, to hell
Well you think Doc Martens are the coolest invention Since someone sliced a loaf of bread in someone else's kitchen The plain truth this is that you just plain suck So why should I tell you not to waste a hundred bucks

Vans in my head, vans on my feet My sole is on the ground when I'm walking down the street Two, three, four Don't wear no Doc Martens can't wear no Birkenstocks Just a crummy old pair of Chuka boots and a smelly old pair of socks
Well if you want to wear them, you don't have to ride a skateboard You can even wear them with a pair of old cords Someone'll probably tell you that they're not in trend Just tell them that's the reason why you don't have any friends No friends', no friends'
Now I don't wanna hear about alternative footwear And I don't wanna hear about your new hair-do See, I don't give a shit about you stupid motherfuckers 'Cause I just wanna get a pair of olive green Chuka's
Vans in my head, vans on my feet My sole is on the ground when I'm walking down the street Two, three, four Don't wear no Doc Martens can't wear no Birkenstocks Just a crummy old pair of Chuka boots and a smelly old pair of socks
Vans in my head, vans on my feet My sole is on the ground when I'm walking down the street Two, three, four Don't wear no Doc Martens can't wear no Birkenstocks Just a crummy old pair of Chuka boots and a smelly old pair of socks"

vintage vans style #52N sierra chukka

olive suede

ecru scene

made in usa circa 1994

new with defects (without box)

US8/UK7

probably not the olive green chukkas the suicide machines are talking about but that song is funny as shit. some lessons in there for you kids. get a pair of vans or god will send you to hell!

& check the album art from which you find this song. the trainer spotters out there may recognise something!

BUY-IT-NOW! ¬

http://theothersideofthepillow.bigcartel.com/product/vintage-vans-olive-suede-sierra-chukka-style-52-made-in-usa-hiking-n-lug-sole-us8

vintage VANS 2-tone red & blue DOGTOWN canvas ERA style #95 MADE IN USA 80's US10 skate bmx shoes holy grail

 to clear up any confusion caused by our trick photogrpahy last week, in case we haven't since made it crystal....
(via @vector bmx)

 "ultra rad tennies"!

vintage vans style #95 era

2-tone royal blue & red dogtown canvas

made in usa circa 1987

used in box

US10/UK9-9.5

let the pictures do the talking & the rad tennies do the walking. royal blue instead of navy but they still resonate dogtown. the box lists US10.5 however is not the original however is included. as such, post-off-the-wall. picture yourself in these shoes!

BUY-IT-NOW! ¬
http://pillowheat.com/collections/front-page/products/vans-style-95-us10-1

STOCK HUNTING 101; vintage VANS carbon DATING SYSTEM

you may be wondering how we can be so specific in our estimate of the date of the #95 just listed here, to know the exact day of production??? well if you missed our release yesterday our new feature, STOCK HUNTING 101; VINTAGE VANS CARBON DATING CLASS STARTS TODAY!

the only way to know the exact date of production is either the presence of a receipt or that pictured above. thought to be a quality control protocol we instead like to refer to it as a 'birth certificate'. little is known about these & the length of use however they are very rare however seem to be only used in the eraly 80's & perhaps only for custom orders. rather than about controlling quality (as there was no such need when production was so uncompromising) we understand it to be more about stock control of the multitude of customs by this stage of the 80's.
as such, if you want your vans dated by us in the absence of a 'birth certificate', simply email/PM us or hash tag your instagram pic with #DATEmyVANS. here endeth the lessen.

vintage VANS dogtown royal blue & red ERA style #95 MADE IN USA 80'S kids US3 off the wall skate bmx

vintage vans style #95 era

royal blue & red dogtown canvas

customade in usa 28.09.84

used in box

US3/UK2.5

somewhere along the timeline vans were producing many 2-tone #95s in royal blue & red as opposed to the original navy blue & red dogown edition. of course the 70's were a simpler time of primary colour blocking. i guess it was the 80's & 90's expansion into pastels & palettes more reflective of the time. people attempted to pass these off as dogtowns but without the authenticity. alas they still look fresh.

BUY-IT-NOW! ¬

http://pillowheat.com/collections/front-page/products/vans-style-95-us3-1

STOCK HUNTING 101; THIS is the future.... OF THE PAST

 in conjunction with our stock hunting tutorial 101 & THIS feature comes a highly anticipated 'app' designed to facilitate hunters & collectors in their plight, based on various markings, to date their original vans. when we started out it was more or less trial & error when judging date of production, so we were forced to formulate a framework on our own. we still utilise much guess work however perhaps now we can tentatively call it an educated guess. there was & still is no frame of reference available to position your made in usa vans on the rich timeline which is why we feel obliged to educate the masses. there are too many haters out there our objective from the beginning was to share some secrets & bring the deadstock community together rather than dividing it.

now this reference will be far from conclusive & although we will request some help from steve van doren, much of the specifics remains an unknown quanitity. if you trace back through the blog you will find some of our estimates were way off & perhaps we did embellish the odd product for hype value but our only concern now is accuracy. we receive regular emails from hunters & punters wanting info about their vans. please remember however we specialise in made in usa originals so anything post 1995 is 'lessening' which is anyones guess. we will be taking requests & perhaps offering more homework assignments to test your skills with prizes for the strong students. we have big plans for this concept & hope to see a more comprehensive form in a wider publication at some point. as such, we are proud to present our vintage vans carbon dating system. THIS is the future..... OF THE PAST!