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As a kid I rarely wore sneakers (the nuns didn't like them and my being slightly overdressed for decades since is one of the many strange legacies of Catholic school). But when I did they were usually Chucks. Bright "optical white" chucks for T-ball games (you could throw them in the washer and they'd come out bright white again, even if you slid into home base...which I rarely did). Black Chucks later, when I wanted to look less like a big kid.

But by the time I got to high school resurgent punk, grunge and gangsta rap had kept Chucks cool.

I liked them because they were simple, easy to maintain and (if, like me, you spent more time in the school newspaper office than the basketball court) it could take you a long time to them out.

But when I got to college and began running and boxing, I turned to New Balance sneakers. It had been years since I bought a pair of Chucks when, just a few months ago, I went looking.

To my susprise the price had spiked. In 2000 (when I bought my last pair) the average pair of Chucks cost $25. Today it's hard to find a pair anywhere for less than $40. By contrast I'm still paying essentially what I did in 2000 for a pair of New Balance. Forty dollars wouldn't seem outrageous if I were buying a pair of modern, sophisticated athletic shoes, I suppose...but these were Chucks. They're made out of...you know...rubber and canvas. Have been since the first World War. What happened?

One word: Nike.

The shoe giant bought Converse in 2003, changed the design a bit (they're now one-ply canvas instead of two and no longer sport the "Made in the USA" tag) and jacked up the price.

For some of my friends the higher price wasn't what was so outrageous -- that's become par for the course with many things we love. It was that Chuck Taylors, the quintessential American sneaker (manufactured in Lumberton, N.C. until 2001) were, like Levis, no longer made in America. And because we're talking Nike, they feared this might mean overseas shops with questionable human rights records.

When asking around about alternatives I came across No Sweat Apparel -- a company devoted to making all sorts of clothing and footwear in sweatshop-free conditions. On their website they sell a number of different, really good Chuck-style sneakers bearing the "No Sweat" logo rather than the traditional All Star. But it was never the logo that made Chucks cool.

Unfortunately, because they're a fairly small company, the shoes cost about as much as you'd pay for a pair of Nike-owned Chucks these days. For some of my friends, though, it's enough to know where they're coming from.

Right now, if you go to the company's website, there are a number of great pairs in their clearance section for as little as $15 (including a beautiful pair of Carolina Blue low-tops). Just ordered a red pair myself on clearance and will let you know how they compare to the original once I get them on my feet.