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CAROLINE’S STORY

While I still call Nashvegas home, a tiny town in North Carolina called Winston-Salem (more affectionately known as “The Dash”) is where I spend most of my year as a college student at Wake Forest University. Upon first introduction, I am not what would appear to be a stereotypical sorority girl. However, second semester of my freshman year, surprisingly, one called my name, and I became a member of the Rah Rah-ing, girl bonding, chuck wearing sisterhood. My ears instantly perked up when I heard about the tradition. Stemming from the local sororities that used to dominate Wake’s campus, all girls affiliated with Greek life wear Chuck Taylors in their sorority’s colors with writing on the toes. On bid day, I laced up my new navy blue chucks, scribbled on the toes, and trembled with the fear that I wouldn’t find my place amongst the Glamazons I was now forced to call my “sisters.” Since then my Converses have turned a rather unfortunate shade of purply-gray after a much regretted splash in a fraternity pool but that doesn’t make them any less comfortable. They’ve seen their fair share of late night dance parties, early morning study sessions and treks across the mud-filled quad with girls who I’d mistakenly thought were so intimidating. My old faded blue chucks have taken me on a three year journey of higher education outside of the classroom — I’m just hoping they make it to graduation without disintegrating!

Friends, any of you who know Danny know that he is a Converse man to a fault! As such, he eagerly awaits market season so that he can catch up with the Converse by John Varvatos team, check out what’s new and improved in the line, and, of course, make nice with the people who truly understand him….the mannequins. And why shouldn’t he enjoy a little one-on-one time with them? They’re perfectly styled, certainly not as clever as he, and they’re always willing to give him the clothes off their back. It’s a rare moment, once a season, that Danny gets to stand in such good company.

And if you, like Danny, want to stand out among your own crowd of mindless friends, impress them by winning our Converse Contest. Not familiar? Click on the Converse tab under the categories on your right to read about the contest and view the front-runners thus far. There’s still time to qualify for the $10 gift card, so we recommend acting fast before Danny gets witty with his mannequin buddies and submits an entry that blows away the competition.

Before many of you even had a chance to finish reading the rules of our Converse Contest, we received this submission that combined 3 of Rachel’s favorite things: Converse, Betsey Johnson, and TAYLOR! …

TAYLOR’S STORY

My chucks walked me right into 2010! On New Year’s Eve I posted a twitpic with the caption, “Nothing feels sexier than my chucks.” And it’s true! I never feel more “me” than when I wear these bad boys — whether it’s with a dress, or jeans — or jeans AND a dress (yeah, I break the rules!). Love me some chucks!

Rachel’s Journey to the Sunshine:

Last week, my chucks took me home to Phoenix, Arizona, the Valley of the Sun. While Nashville was suffering its worst snow storm yet (what was it? 3 inches of snow?), my brother Mikey and I walked the Mexican tiles of our front yard to snap some pictures of cacti and blue skies. We were on a mission to capture the beauty and spirit of those sunny days, and we then sent those photos to Kristin. Now, whether or not we did this to make her jealous or to warm her heart is entirely unclear, but one thing is certain: a journey home in January is so much sweeter when your home is Arizona.

Friends,

As often happens in families, we feel the need to start off the new year with a little healthy competition. Because all of us wear chucks, and because we all embark on such creative adventures, we’ve devised a little Converse contest that we like to call “Where Do Your Chucks Take You?” Here’s how to get involved:

1. Take a picture of where your chucks have led you.

2. Write a story explaining the nature of your journey (as short & sweet or as long & dramatic as you choose!).

3. Email your picture as an attachment along with your story to info@twoelle.com.

4. The first 20 submissions will automatically receive a $10 two elle gift card!

5. We will also be selecting our favorite submissions and posting them here on the blog. If chosen, not only will you & your chucks be super famous, but you’ll also receive an additional $10 gift card!

6. At the end of the contest, a grand prize will be awarded. The size and nature of this prize depends on how many submissions we get. The bigger the applicant pool, the bigger the prize! (We’re thinking something like a free pair of chucks for new adventures, parties for entire groups of participants, a spotlight night on our stage for musicians with Converse stories to tell….it could be anything!) So…..get your friends involved and then reserve bragging rights when you win.

To get this little contest rolling, Rachel will be submitting her most recent Converse journey, but after that, it’s up to you! Oh, and if you don’t have that perfect pair of chucks that will lead you to greatness, it should be fairly obvious where you can get them….