Looking Back: Did you buy your black plimsolls from Woolworths?

Groups of pensioners getting off holiday coaches will all be wearing sparkling white trainers. Bought especially for the occasion!

Whilst I recognise the reasons for today’s trend in footwear, I can’t help bemoaning the days when smart leather shoes were in vogue. My father used to spend every Saturday morning polishing his.

Trainers today have become a status symbol, certainly among young people. They have gone from sports wear to fashion ‘must haves’

It’s possible to pay thousands of pounds to buy designer ones by Louis Vitton or affordable ones from High Street stores.

Trainers have been part of the streetwear culture for long enough. Urban and edgy are the buzz words. Trainers, hoodies, graphic t-shirts and jeans are the look of youth.

It can be so uncool to wear the wrong labels although I suspect that is not a word in vogue at the moment. The language of young people today changes as rapidly as their trainers!

Can you remember when we wore plimsolls or pumps for gym at school? Mine were black and I think my mother bought them from Woolworths. They were named because the coloured horizontal band which joined the upper to the sole of the shoe resembled the Plimsoll Line on a ship’s hull!

The first shoes especially for running were made in 1895 and today there are different shoes made for every different sport.

In the US, trainers were originally known as Sneakers and amongst the most sought after were Converse All Stars as worn by basketball player Chuck Taylor.

Trainers started to become popular in the UK in the 1960s with Adidas being the front leaders. They were often a lurid blue and seemed to be made of plastic. They are re-issuing their original design this Summer as a one off. Will be interesting to see if any young people are seen wearing them!

I’ve had my share of pumps, plimsolls, running shoes and trainers over the years but my casual shoes these days seem to be anything involving a bit of sparkle! Not something my mother would ever have allowed!