A USPS-inspired line of footwear and apparel from Vans will be available in stores and online this week.
The products will generate revenue for the Postal Service and help customers show their appreciation for the organization.
In announcing the licensing deal, Vans praised the dedication of postal employees, saying there’s “an inherent sense of hardiness associated with USPS employees, which has made their blue uniforms (and the instantly recognizable USPS eagle logo) unexpected icons of workwear style.”
The “Vans X USPS” collection includes four footwear styles: the SK8-Hi MTE-1, the Sk8-Hi Reissue, the Authentic and the Old Skool, each displaying variations on the postal theme. The shoeboxes are made to look like Priority Mail boxes and are lined with “co-branded” tissue paper.
Apparel items include a “Bulk Mail” pocket T-shirt and hooded sweatshirt, and a “Priority” beanie, all in navy blue.
Most of the “Vans X USPS” collection will be available at Vans.com and FootLocker.com, beginning Nov. 29.
Additionally, the collection will be available at select Vans retail locations (a list is available on LiteBlue) and about 40 Foot Locker stores.
One exception: the Sk8-Hi Reissue, which will be released Jan. 20 exclusively at Foot Locker.
Shoes range from $65 to $115 and apparel from $28 to $75.
This collection is not part of the official USPS uniform and should not be worn by postal employees while on duty. Managers and supervisors can use Postal Uniform Guidelines, the organization’s pictorial guidebook, to help ensure employees wear their uniforms properly.
“The Postal Service is proud to work with Vans to bring these officially licensed products to the public, and we hope employees will appreciate them, too,” said Amity Kirby, the USPS licensing manager. “This will be a fun, unique way for everyone to show their postal pride.”
Update (Nov. 30, 9:30 a.m.): Although the Vans website has sold out of several of the USPS-licensed products, select sizes remain available in Vans stores and at other online retailers, such as PacSun.
