In the early 1960s Paul Van Doren worked on the American East Coast manufacturing shoes. Not content with this, Van Doren developed the idea of manufacturing shoes and selling them direct to the public. In 1966, Van Doren launched his first Vans shoe store in the Los Angeles suburb of Anaheim, approximately 20 miles inland from Huntington Beach, offering 3 styles of Vans shoes. Vans shoes sold like hot cakes and in the first year Van Doren opened a new retail store almost every week. It was in these early days that the patented Vans waffle sole was created, with its diamond pattern and vertical lines. |
