Stay in Touch
Get sneak previews of special offers & upcoming events delivered to your inbox.
Sign in
09-30-2017 02:28 PM
Some people call them "Chucks", short for Chuck Taylor Converse shoes. Then there's the "J's", for the one and only Nike Air Jordan's.
09-30-2017 03:22 PM
I hear more kids say sneakers than anything else though tennis shoes are what I call them since that is what I was taught growing up in the south. I didn't hear the word sneakers until the 80s! But I would think it'd be a common enough word that most 12 year olds would have been familiar with it! Geez, they'd probably think I was off my rocker saying tennis shoes!
09-30-2017 03:38 PM
@SilleeMee wrote:Some people call them "Chucks", short for Chuck Taylor Converse shoes. Then there's the "J's", for the one and only Nike Air Jordan's.
my 20 year old tends to call them by the brand names also......his nikes, his emericas, his vans, etc.....
09-30-2017 03:42 PM
Did you grow up in the same geographical area as your grandkids are? The reason I ask is because I don't think it is a function of age as much as geography.
I call them sneakers.
09-30-2017 05:44 PM - edited 09-30-2017 05:51 PM
I grew up in Queens and we always called them sneakers. I don't recall using any other word for them, except maybe Keds, which were a specific style.
My own boys, who are in their 30s now, seem to refer to them more by the brand names, Vans, Converse, Nike and so forth, but they surely know what I mean if I say 'sneakers'.
I asked my students what they're called and most of them said "SHOES!"
Here in sunny California, I don't recall seeing the boys in anything but sneakers, so I guess they have no distiction between sneakers and shoes? A few of them said the name brands, but the general consensus was that they're shoes. Go figure.
09-30-2017 05:49 PM
I still call them sneakers too. I wonder too what would a 12 year old would call them. My youngest is 29 and calls them sneakers. We really must be out of the loop lol
09-30-2017 07:53 PM
Perhaps sneaker type shoes are the only type of footwear they've been exposed to, hence naming them shoe.
09-30-2017 08:45 PM
I grew up outside of DC in Virginia with one parent from upstate New York and the other Canadian. I've always called them tennis shoes regardless of the brand and I also refer to carbonated beverages as soda.
09-30-2017 08:54 PM
I really think that it's regional. I see the word "sneakers" on this board, and in print all of the time. But I was born and raised in SE Louisiana, and they've always been "tennis shoes" to me.
09-30-2017 09:27 PM
I've never called them sneakers and don't know anyone who does. I grew up calling them tennis shoes.
Get sneak previews of special offers & upcoming events delivered to your inbox.
*You're signing up to receive QVC promotional email.
Find recent orders, do a return or exchange, create a Wish List & more.
Privacy StatementGeneral Terms of Use
QVC is not responsible for the availability, content, security, policies, or practices of the above referenced third-party linked sites nor liable for statements, claims, opinions, or representations contained therein. QVC's Privacy Statement does not apply to these third-party web sites.
© 1995-2024 QVC, Inc. All rights reserved. | QVC, Q and the Q logo are registered service marks of ER Marks, Inc. 888-345-5788