8 Responses to "RIP : James Van Doren."

1. offthewall says:

   11/03/2011 at 7:54 pm

   Being from fullerton, ca(now live in Brooklyn) I proudly salute JVD. I will always respect a man who proudly wore his creation even long after being forced out of his own company.The adjective timeless is casually tossed about too much these days, but damn his product embodied everything that’s relevant these days: minimal, functional and effortlessly cool.

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   • mrforts says:

     11/03/2011 at 9:29 pm

     timeless.

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2. wgm says:

   11/04/2011 at 7:58 am

   reminds me of my own experience getting custom vans made at their shop in costa mesa…..have three pair, never worn. it’s too bad they changed the last. the shoe used to have a more refined toe shape. i guess the new last better suits the whole skater,dc shoes world. great photos/story

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3. non_equivalent says:

   11/04/2011 at 1:02 pm

   Late 70′s/80′s in the Valley, these were ubiquitous. Remember going to the OG Vans store on Topanga with my mom twice a year: two pairs before school started in September, and another two pairs and the end of the school year — the latter 2 ultimately getting destroyed from a summer of thrashing the neighborhood. This tradition continued well after school, until I left for NYC ten years ago, where choosing which ones made the luggage cut was a painful process. I committed to never having to work a job where I couldn’t have Authentics on. RIP a legendary dude.

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   • mrforts says:

     11/04/2011 at 1:12 pm

     “I committed to never having to work a job where I couldn’t have Authentics on.”
     …it’s a good maxim to keep.

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4. Simon Tuntelder says:

   11/06/2011 at 12:12 pm

   The comments alone are worth a post.

   You have the best readers, James. As if you didn’t know that already…

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   • mrforts says:

     11/06/2011 at 1:41 pm

     I know I do. And I am grateful.

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5. United Style says:

   11/08/2011 at 1:46 am

   I remember buying Authentics at my local Vans store in Costa Mesa, bringing them home and then stepping on them repeatedly with other shoes so that they would have that “broken-in” look.

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