The high-top is a

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture ...

that extends slightly over the wearer's

ankle The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joi ...

. It is commonly an athletic shoe, particularly for

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. It is sometimes confused with the slightly shorter mid-top, which typically extends no higher than the wearer's ankle. High-tops also should not be confused with shorter-length boots such as ankle boots, since high-tops usually refer to

athletic shoes Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

, although can also refer to other above-ankle shoes such as some hiking boots.

Converse All-Stars Chuck Taylor All-Stars or Converse All Stars (also referred to as "Converse", "Chuck Taylors", "Chucks", "Cons", "All Stars", and "Chucky Ts") is a model of casual shoe manufactured by Converse (a subsidiary of Nike, Inc. since 2003) that was ...

, Nike Air Forces 1, 2, and 3,

Reebok Freestyle Reebok Freestyle is an athletic shoe style introduced in 1982 by Reebok. The Freestyle was the first sneaker designed (by Angel Martinez) and marketed for women. It helped Reebok into the mainstream athletic wear market and fashion scene along w ...

, Reebok BB4600, Nike Air Yeezy and Foggia Hi LTD from Fila are examples of high top sneakers. Others include skateboarding sneakers, such as the

Vans Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...

Vault Hi Fi LX which are quite supportive to the wearer's ankles and are useful to those with hypermobility and fallen arches.

Design

While most high-top sneakers take the form of either the

or Nike Air Forces 1, 2, and 3, high-top CVO (Circular Vamp Oxford) cover the ankle and also have a circular vamp. They come in both lace up and slip-on, thought the slip-on version is very rare. In

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...

these would be high-top plimsolls again either in lace up or slip-on. Various manufacturers and models exist, including

Keds Keds is an American brand of canvas shoes with rubber soles. Founded in 1916, the company is owned by Wolverine World Wide. The original shoe design, the Champion, was the first mass-marketed canvas-top "sneaker". History Early history In 1 ...

Pro-Keds Keds is an American brand of canvas shoes with rubber soles. Founded in 1916, the company is owned by Wolverine World Wide. The original shoe design, the Champion, was the first mass-marketed canvas-top "sneaker". History Early history In 1 ...

, and

Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...

. These exist for all genders and all age ranges. The shoes have recently come back in style in 2014, especially white ones. Some dress and casual shoes may also be as high-tops.

Gallery

A classic Black pair of Converse All Stars resting on the Black & White Ed. Shoebox (1998-2002).JPG, A pair of Converse All-Star high tops Adidas Conductor High Olympics 1988 re-edition sneakers.jpg, Adidas Conductor High Tops, a fairly popular set of high tops

References

* ''The Sneaker Book: 50 Years of Sports Shoe Design'', 2005, . 1980s fashion Athletic shoes {{Shoe-stub