A pair of Vans trainers are likely to turn men “into Imelda Marcos-level shoe hoarders,” it has been suggested.

The Los Angeles Times describes Vans as simple shoes with no laces, grommets, “fancy air pumps, heart monitors or iPod jackets”.

However, this is what has made them so successful as they are a blank canvas ready and waiting for over three generations of designers to get their hands on them.

It is style No.98, known as the Classic Slip-On, which the news provider claims is the most successful and well-loved, with its simple shape and checkerboard design being instantly recognisable.

The publication adds that “even though the company makes a range of shoes and mind-boggling number of designs, the story of the 43-year-old brand cannot be told without that slip-on and a certain black-and-white checkerboard pattern that covers millions of pairs”.

Meanwhile, Doug Palladini, vice president of marketing, is releasing a book entitled Vans Off the Wall: Stories of Sole from Vans Originals, which is all about the brand.

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