# What were slip on sneakers called during the Boomers childhood? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** commercials-ads\ **Created:** [May 27, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651 "2023-05-27T01:21:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/1 "2023-05-27T01:21:07Z")
The recent Skechers commercials have triggered my childhood memories. There’s nothing new or special about Skechers. Leather penny loafers were extremely common in the 1950’s and 60’s. I wore them and had the put a penny in the top. I also had slip on blue sneakers. I wore out several pairs throughout my childhood. IIRC navy blue was the most popular color. WTH did we call them? I know there was a common slang term. I can’t remember it. Have to laugh at Skechers bs approach. _You did not invent slip on sneakers_. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4jdvEw-gkKk/maxresdefault.jpg "SKECHERS Ultra Flex 3.0 Smooth Step SKU: 9793809") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jdvEw-gkKk) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/2 "2023-05-27T01:24:47Z")
I know there are grammar errors in my post. I can’t edit with a youtube link. The dreaded embedded link error prevents saving edits ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/3 "2023-05-27T01:36:20Z")
I was born in 1955. I don’t recall ever seeing sneakers like that when I was growing up. All I ever had were Keds cloth high-tops. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/4 "2023-05-27T01:41:48Z")
I found this photo. I remember the plastic band on the side. It helped fit the shoe to my foot. [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/25/e9/c9/25e9c9f5d606a8cc9099c21906ed23ed.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/25/e9/c9/25e9c9f5d606a8cc9099c21906ed23ed.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/5 "2023-05-27T01:44:36Z")
I’d just call them slip-ons. They’re the kind of thing one might wear at the beach or around a swimming pool. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/6 "2023-05-27T01:45:42Z")
I wouldn’t call that a sneaker. I was going to say that I’ve never seen a slip-on sneaker before, but i have seen those. My mother used to wear them. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/7 "2023-05-27T01:50:29Z")
Deck shoes. > **[Vans | Classic Slip-On Navy Classics Shoe](https://www.vans.com/en-us/shoes-c00081/slip-on-shoe-pvn000eyenvy)** > > Slip-On Shoe That’s what we called them anyway. Later, when they came in more colors and designs, they were Vans, and sometimes Keds. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/8 "2023-05-27T01:55:09Z")
Deck shoes. That sounds very familiar. Thanks! They were primarily for the beach or pool. Maybe hanging out at the park. You couldn’t play basketball in them. They’d fall off. I loved penny loafers. The tassle was classy. 😄 My mom wouldn’t let me wear them to church or school. They were fine for eating at a restaurant or shopping. I wore them on dates. Now I want to buy a pair of penny loafers. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/9 "2023-05-27T02:01:19Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > You couldn’t play basketball in them. They’d fall off. I mean, except for the falling off issue, they were about equally suitable for athletics as converse or the Adidas or Pumas of the day. It was Nike that started really changing the shape of athletic shoes. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/10 "2023-05-27T02:03:20Z")
I agree. It was easy to roll an ankle in sneakers. I remember lacing up my high tops very tight to protect myself. Nike changed sports. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/11 "2023-05-27T02:16:33Z")
I was trying to verify what I remembered, and I’m having trouble. I remember Nike shoes as being different from what else was around at the time, anyway. But maybe other brands were also changing around that time? My preferred retro sneaker is the Jack Purcell, which has generally the same look as Converse, but were the state of the art _badminton_ shoe in their day. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/12 "2023-05-27T02:24:14Z")
I found this history. I played high school basketball in the mid 70’s. I can’t remember if our team wore converse or Adidas. There was sports before Nike. 😉 Link [Adidas - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas) > [@](#): > > Adidas’s Superstar and Pro Model shoes, affectionately known as “shelltoes” for their stylized hard rubber toe box, were fueled by, among others, coaches such as [UCLA](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCLA)’s [John Wooden](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wooden).[[50]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas#cite_note-50) Adidas drew about even with [Converse](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Converse_(shoe_company)) in basketball by the mid-1970s before both started to fall behind then-upstart [Nike](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc.) in the early 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![dummygladhands71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dummygladhands71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dummygladhands71)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/13 "2023-05-27T02:32:23Z")
Boomer here, I honestly don’t think they existed ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/14 "2023-05-27T03:10:43Z")
I don’t know because sneakers without shoelaces have always been a nonstarter for me. Skinny feets. I need laces to constrict the overly-loose shoe to make it fit around my foot. Hence can’t help you here. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/15 "2023-05-27T03:10:48Z")
This Boomer would’ve called them “those sneakers without laces”… BUT the real “athletic shoe” in 1958? P.F. Flyers. We really believed the commercial that promised you could [**Run Faster, Jump Higher… with P.F. Flyers!**](https://youtu.be/1rUFlXZzbE8) And back in those summer days of running out before your parents were awake, and not being home til the streetlights came on, there was _SO_ much running and jumping to do! ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/16 "2023-05-27T03:32:45Z")
I remember, and had, leather slip-ons. I don’t recall fabric ones. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/17 "2023-05-27T03:35:49Z")
The difference with these Skechers – I know because I have a pair (they call them “slip-ins” to distinguish them from slip-ons, including their own slip-ons) is that you really can put them all the way on without using your hands in any way. The back is high and stiffened to give the front of your foot leverage (maybe not a great explanation, you really have to try them to understand it). Other sneaker-type slip-ons require you to pull up the back or run your finger around the back or use a shoe-horn. Maybe some people could put leather loafers on without touching them with their hands, if the back was stiff enough not to fold in. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/18 "2023-05-27T03:38:28Z")
I missed that this was directed at Boomers. I’m a gen-Xer myself, so I’m not sure about the time frame matching up. Also, the shoes in question might be similar to shoes called sand shoes or plimsolls in the UK? I’m not sure how similar though. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/19 "2023-05-27T03:50:45Z")
Deck shoes were introduced by Sperry and were called Topsiders. You could get thrown out of Hyannis Port for wearing imitations. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651/20 "2023-05-27T04:06:50Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Other sneaker-type slip-ons require you to pull up the back or run your finger around the back or use a shoe-horn. Maybe some people could put leather loafers on without touching them with their hands, if the back was stiff enough not to fold in. I had forgotten about the back folding. It often caught on thick socks. A lot of childhood details are coming back as I read the posts. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-slip-on-sneakers-called-during-the-boomers-childhood/984651.md?page=2)