Cool Skate Shoes for Kids

Skateboarding has been a favorite pastime for both kids and adults since the 1950s. A few years later in the mid-'60s, skate shoes were first introduced to consumers. Many skate shoe manufacturers produce both old-school-style skate shoes and signature athletic brands. As of 2010, numerous styles of skate shoes are available for kids. Some are also designed by or modeled after pro-skateboarders like Tony Hawk, Tony Alva, Shaun White, Jamie Thomas and Rob Dyrdek.

  1. Vans

    • The original skate shoe founded in 1966, Vans became popular throughout Southern California with world-renowned skateboarders Alva and Stacy Peralta. Each skateboarder designed their own custom Vans shoe in the colors of red and blue and called them The Era. Vans are one of the best skateboarding shoes due to their light weight, flexibility and waffle soles that grip. Vans are available in a number of styles, including slip-ons or laced shoes. Vans skate shoes come in a rainbow of colors, too, with royal blue and red for boys or pink and turquoise for girls. The Vans Core Skate Style shoes are unisex, so either boys or girls can wear them.

    Converse

    • In the heart of the '70s era, Converse became a popular shoe with both skaters and surfers. Converse shoes actually began in the early 1900s, but did not begin producing shoes that appealed to skaters until around 1975. By that time, Converse had stiff competition with the Vans brand, but Chuck Taylors, or Chucks, as they are better known, soon became synonymous with skaters all across the country. Kids' Converse skate shoes are a unisex-design and available in most primary and secondary colors. It's never difficult to spot Converse shoes, as they all showcase the "Converse-All-Star" insignia either across the back or on the sides of the shoe.

    DC Shoes

    • DC Shoes were actually created by pro-snowboarder, Ken Block, around 1989. Within the next few years, he teamed up with schoolmates and skateboarding brothers Damon and Danny Way, thus producing DC's skateboarding shoe line. DC makes shoes for extreme sports only like skating, snowboarding, surfing, BMX and motocross. 2001 was one of DC's largest production years, selling more than 2 million pairs of shoes. DC produces skateboarding shoes for kids, women and men. Each shoe line features different designs and color schemes. DC shoes are sold only online and through stores that specialize in extreme sports products.

    Fallen Footwear

    • Professional skater Jamie Thomas founded Fallen Footwear in 2004. The Fallen Footwear skate line can be found only online and a few select sports stores. However, Fallen Footwear is still one of the most in-demand skate shoes for young and old skateboarders around the world. Fallen Footwear's skate line is made of sturdy, quality materials, so they hold up through all of the extremeness of the sport. Thomas always wanted a design that could withstand the torture that skateboarding at times can bring upon shoes. With his Fallen Footwear line, he achieved that goal, wearing the shoes himself when he skates.