There’s a lot of words in this shoe’s name. What you need to know is that The Hudson’s Bay Company has come together with Converse for a new shoe in the Jack Purcell silhouette and trademark HBC coloured stripes.
Still a lot. Okay. There’s this shoe from Hudson’s Bay. It’s a Chuck, and it’s got stripes inspired by the Bay’s trademark blanket colourway. Oh, and the international fashion market is loving the evocative Canadian look.
The limited-edition shoes have been spotted at Selfridges in the UK, in the Neiman Marcus Catalogue and at the Converse Flagship store in New York. It’s pretty obvious that the boldly colourful shoe is getting popular both as a practical wear and collection addition. “For when I want that northerner in the city look.” The Jack Purcell silhouette is matched by a Helen’s low-top in women’s sizes, and unisex duck boot high tops with leather uppers.
It’s about time HBC got some international recognition, being the oldest commercial corporation in North America and all. The Bay was originally established as the hub of a a fur-route by French couriers-du-bois— fur runners— along the Great Lakes Basin, and then later as an English trading company in 1670.
Bearing the point blanket’s trademark stripes as well as antique brass eyelets and seal of quality— two seals if you buy the pair!— the shoes seem to be coming out as the cream of the HBC Collection’s crop, a signature line mixing the Bay’s history with more modern styles for a look that seems conscious of its timeliness. Fancy footwork, fur-trader. I feel an Archibald Lampman poem coming on.
The shoe ranges $120-$140.
