Charlie Has Worn the Same Pair of Shoes in Every ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Episode

You gotta pay the troll toll to get into this boy’s soles.

Out of all the many underdressed characters of the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia universe, the one you’d be most surprised to see wearing brand new and not-dog-shit-covered shoes is undeniably Charlie Kelly. After all, all of Charlie’s shirts have holes, his underwear is literally rotting and he likely hasn’t done laundry since the show began, as there’s a zero percent chance that the shithole roach motel that he and Frank Reynolds call home has a single functional washer or dryer on the premises. Frankly, it’s a minor miracle that Charlie even has shoes, let alone wears them – the man doesn’t seem to consider a toothbrush to be a must-own item, so it’s anyone’s guess as to what else is missing from his inventory.

As such, you have to wonder what the in-universe origin story is for the pair of black and red Vans Sk8-Hi sneakers that Charlie has worn in almost every single episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia since the pilot. In a since-deleted Instagram post from 2018, actor and Always Sunny co-creator Charlie Day showed fans a close-up picture of the sneakers, writing, “I bought these kicks in 2004 and I’ve worn them in pretty much every Sunny episode since” — but we all know that Charlie Kelly has never stepped foot in a shoe store.

Maybe Charlie found his Vans in the trash, or maybe he found them through faith — trust in God, he’ll give you shoes.

Of course, for as rudimentary as Charlie’s fashion sense has been through 16 seasons of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, there have been plenty of occasions that called for a more ostentatious outfit than his usual Vans, dirty jeans and ripped, stained T-shirt look. For instance, Charlie sported a new look when he made a surprise appearance in a yellow and white suit and top hat at the end of “The Nightman Cometh” and failed to convince The Waitress to join him in this thing called matrimony. 

However, given the lack of colorful suits and tuxedos piled in his putrid apartment, it’s fair to assume that the many pairs of dress shoes that Charlie has worn throughout Always Sunny’s more formal moments have been rentals, and the Vans are the only pair that he outright owns.

Honestly, maintaining a single pair of Vans for almost two decades without losing them in the sewer or the shoes simply rotting off his feet is quite an achievement for the abortion-surviving illiterate janitor. In many ways, Charlie’s shoes are like Paddy’s Pub itself — somehow still intact and operational despite their disgusting appearance and even though Charlie’s in charge of its maintenance. 

Charlie likes life in Paddy's Pub.