I've been wearing Vans for around 3 years now and they have recently had a surge in popularity. This is good if you want more colours and patterns to choose from, but bad if you're one of those people who doesn't wear things because other people do.

I've owned two pairs of the plain black colour with the white sole and one pair of the 'Van Doren' collection in that time and they are all as comfortable as each other. Admittedly, the first time you wear any sort of canvas shoes, they are bound to hurt like hell. I've had a pair of Converse for 3 years which I still can't wear for long because they rub so much! Once you've broken them in they are just the most comfortable pair of shoes you can own. I wear them walking to and from work (a couple of miles) and they are super super comfortable.

They are also so versatile. I usually wear them with jeans or denim shorts but I see many guys wearing them with chinos and lots of girls wearing them with leggings. I personally think they look best with jeans though!

It is true that they don't offer much protection from the rain, but if you don't run though any puddles they're probably about the same as any other shoes I've ever owned. You just have to not be an idiot! The price is also quite reasonable, at around £40 a pair they certainly aren't the most expensive trainers out there and with student discount you can get them for around £30. Office and Schuh usually do the largest range of colours, with office sometimes getting colourways exclusive to them.

One slight negative is that eventually the rubber on the sole starts to come away. I've found that superglue or Loctite works absolutely fine to repair them and they look good as new. To be honest, I wore them to college every day and walked around all day in them so I got a large amount of wear out of them.