The Samba

I've been wearing Adidas Samba's since I was around 12, and 10 years later they still remain my standard for the casual shoe. They consistently outlast my pairs of Vans and Chuck Taylor's, they are warm enough to wear most of the winter, and they are stiff enough to bike in. My favorite part about the Samba is that it still holds its own as an indoor or outdoor soccer shoe.

Adidas originally introduced the Samba in 1950 for soccer players to use for indoor training and on icy hard ground. It would go on to sell 35 million pairs worldwide, the second highest amount for any Adidas model after the Stan Smiths. 18 different variants of the Samba have been released since it was first produced in 1950, the most notable of these variants are the Millennium, Samba 2, and Samba 85. The Samba has been worn by many notable people and groups. Ewan Mcgreggor was seen wearing Samba's in the 1996 film Trainspotting. The Bouncing Souls sing about wearing sambas in their song Olé. Liverpool casuals in the 1970's were famous for wearing sambas, and it definitely has a place in hooligan culture. Even Bill Cosby has worn a pair while on the Cosby Show.