大象传媒

White plimsolls are everywhere at the moment. Worn by both women and men, they are paired with anything from a trouser suit, to a floral dress or a T-shirt and shorts. The Duchess of Cambridge is a fan. She wore them to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May.

But what is their history and why are they so popular?

Dr Thomas Turner has written The Sports Shoe - A History From Field To Fashion. Hannah Rochell is the author of the blog and book En Brogue. They told 大象传媒 Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour about the things that you might not know about white plimsolls.

1. Plimsolls are different to trainers

A plimsoll is technically “a canvas shoe that has a rubber sole molded on the bottom of it. It has laces”, according to Dr Thomas Turner.

“The thing that differs about a plimsoll from a more traditional shoe is that the rubber sole itself is glued and then cured in this great vulcanising oven which cures the rubber and allows it to attach and bond to the upper canvas part of the shoe.”

2. Plimsolls have been around for decades

“Plimsolls date back to the late 19th century” according to Dr Thomas Turner.

“A lot of big rubber companies started producing footwear for people, linked to the growth in popularity of sport and the ideas of fitness going around at the time.”

3. The name ‘plimsoll’ is linked to ships

“The name plimsoll comes from the Plimsoll line, which is a line painted on the hull of a ship that shows its maximum safe loading level”, says Dr Thomas Turner.

“That itself was named after Matthew Plimsoll, who was a British MP who agitated and pushed for regulation of the shipping industry in the 1870s. The rubber sole with the little line around it on the shoe looks similar to the line on the ship.”

4. The plimsoll has many different names in the UK

The plimsoll is known by lots of different words in the UK, according to Hannah Rochell.

“They are ‘bob sliders’ in Scotland, ‘gutties’ in Northern Ireland. ‘Daps’ I think is from the West Country. My dad on the Isle of Wight used to call them ‘plimmers’ with his friends. I really love that it’s just one type of shoe, but there are a myriad different ways of referring to it.”

5. White plimsolls have been a fashion shoe from the start

“White plimsolls were a fashion shoe right from the beginning”, according to Dr Thomas Turner.

“You can see in the 1920s in the US that men and women start wearing shoes that have their origins in sport for purposes outside of sport. They start wearing them in everyday situations or perhaps on holiday or in the summer.”

6. Audrey Hepburn was a fan

The white plimsoll has been popular with celebrities for years, according to Hannah Rochell.

“Audrey Hepburn wore them, John Lennon wore them with a white suit. In Dirty Dancing, Baby’s wearing a pair while she’s learning how to dance with Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Aniston in Friends wore them...Marilyn Monroe was also pictured wearing them.”

“I think they’re still really popular because they’re a very minimalist shoe, so they go with everything. They go with tailoring, they go with dresses, they go with shorts, they look good on men, they look good on women, people of all ages.

"I think it’s the fact that they’re a very democratic shoe that appeals to a broad range of people. [They] work with so many different types of clothing that they’re just always going to be a winner.”

7. White plimsolls can be put in the washing machine

White plimsolls can get pretty dirty, so how should you keep them clean?

“I keep my plimsolls clean by washing them just in the washing machine”, Hannah Rochell advises.

“I put them in a pillowcase and then that protects the drum of your machine. Pop them through on a low heat. Don’t dry them on the radiator and they come up really, really clean.

"I would say just don’t do it too many times because it may start to fade the shoe and erode the glue, but it is a really good way of getting the dirt out.”

You can listen to the full Woman's Hour discussion about white plimsolls here.

Woman's Hour is on 大象传媒 Radio 4 on weekdays at 10am and at 4pm on Saturdays. You can catch up on all episodes via 大象传媒 Sounds.