Tennis (shoes) anyone?

When I was in middle school,  I wanted a pair of Keds. Desperately. But they were too pricey. So my parents bought the knock-offs. The shoes looked the same, but the label wasn't blue; it was white. And it said Kapers, not Keds. I was mortified. 

But now as an adult, I no longer want what everyone else has. (Cool when you're 12, not when you're, ahem, older.) In search of the perfect, under-the-radar canvas sneaks, I came across the Parisienne brand Bensimon. I didn't have to go as far as France, just Williamsburg (Brooklyn by way of Manhattan by way of Brooklyn). Once there, I went straight to Jumelle, a very Gaul boutique. The shoes were $52, not cheap, but not cost-prohibitive. Plus, when I wear them (sans socks, of course), I feel very I'm-not-trying. They just have that certain je ne sais quoi.