Provided are, among other things, shoes having elastic tongue-securing straps. In one representative embodiment, a shoe includes: (a) a sole; (b) an upper, extending above the sole, that includes a front section, a left side, a right side, a rear section, and a tongue that originates from the front section and extends rearwardly between the left side and the right side; (c) a left elastic strap that extends from a left side of the tongue and: (1) extends through a loop that is securely attached to the left side of the upper and has a distal end securely attached to the sole, and/or (2) has its distal end securely attached to the left side of the upper; and (d) a right elastic strap that extends from a right side of the tongue and: (1) extends through a loop that is securely attached to the right side of the upper and has a distal end securely attached to the sole, and/or (2) has its distal end securely attached to the right side of the upper, with the left elastic strap having a proximal end fixedly attached to the left side of the tongue and the right elastic strap having a proximal end fixedly attached to the right side of the tongue.

A rapid-entry shoe having a heel arm configured to transition between a collapsed configuration, for easy donning and doffing of the shoe, and an uncollapsed configuration, for securing a foot inside the shoe, the shoe having a resilient member configured to bias the heel arm toward the uncollapsed configuration.

An upper for an article of footwear includes an upper body having a first side and a second side opposite the first side. The upper body defines a throat between the first side and the second side. Further, the upper body defines an opening extending through the second side. The upper includes a lace extending across the throat between the first side and the second side. The upper further includes a dynamic support coupled to the upper body at the first side. The dynamic support extends across the throat from the first side to the second side. The dynamic support extends through the opening formed in the second side. The lace is attached to the dynamic support at the second side to apply tension on the dynamic support toward the second side when the lace is tightened.

Articles of footwear may include an upper formed from one or more upper parts, wherein at least one upper part defines an ankle-containing portion of the upper and at least one upper part (the same upper part or a different upper part) defines an instep-containing portion of the upper. The foot-insertion opening of the upper (which may include a closure system) may extend: (i) from a first side of an ankle-containing portion of the upper, (ii) around a rear heel or ankle area of the upper, (iii) along a second side of the ankle-containing portion of the upper, and (iv) to an instep-containing portion of the upper. One or more additional straps (e.g., an ankle strap, one or more interior bootie straps, etc.), fasteners, and/or locks may be provided to engage the upper/footwear with the wearer's foot.

A shoe lace replacement overlay system, including a shoe, wherein the shoe includes a shoe base, a shoe lace region, a notch area such that the notch area includes an elastic member, and first shoe replacement overlay attachments; and a shoe lace replacement overlay having a top side and a bottom side, wherein the top side of the shoe lace replacement overlay includes a shoe lace replacement overlay base having a first edge and a second edge, a plurality of eyelet strips, a plurality of eyelets, an elastic member located substantially between the plurality of eyelet strips, and wherein the bottom side of the shoe lace replacement overlay includes second shoe replacement overlay attachments such that the first shoe replacement overlay attachments and the second shoe replacement overlay attachments interact with each other in order to retain the shoe lace replacement overlay on the shoe lace region.

An article of footwear includes an upper that has a body extending over at least a portion of a first side and a second side of the upper. A laceless fastening system includes a strap having an anchored end fixed at the second side and a distal end selectively remote from the upper. A first fastener is fixed to an outer surface of the body on the first side. The first fastener is less elastic than the body. A segmented second fastener is fixed to the inner side of the strap. The segmented second fastener includes a proximal segment and a distal segment closer to the distal end of the strap than the proximal segment and spaced apart from the proximal segment along the strap by an exposed portion of the strap. The segmented second fastener is less elastic than the strap.

An article of footwear includes an upper defining a throat configured to receive a foot. The article of footwear also includes a sole structure coupled to the upper. The article of footwear further includes a panel having a first side coupled to the upper for movement between an open position and a closed position. The panel exposes a portion of the throat in the open position and covers the portion of the throat in the closed position. The article of footwear also includes a strap having a first end and a second end opposite the first end. The first end and the second end are disposed on a first side of the upper with a body portion of the strap disposed between the first end and the second end surrounding the upper.

An article of footwear may include an upper configured to receive a foot of a wearer, the upper including one or more elastic portions and one or more substantially inelastic portions. The footwear may further include a plurality of lace receiving members fixedly attached to an outer surface of the upper on the inelastic portions of the upper. Also, the footwear may include a sole structure fixedly attached to the upper. In addition, the footwear may include a motorized tensioning system including a motorized tightening device and a tensile member extending through the plurality of lace receiving members, the tightening device being configured to apply tension in the tensile member to adjust the size of an internal void defined by the article of footwear by drawing two or more of the plurality of lace receiving members closer to one another.

A rapid-entry shoe having a heel arm configured to transition between a collapsed configuration, for easy donning and doffing of the shoe, and an uncollapsed configuration, for securing a foot inside the shoe, the shoe having a resilient member configured to bias the heel arm toward the uncollapsed configuration.

An article of footwear may include an upper configured to receive a foot of a wearer, the upper including one or more elastic portions and one or more substantially inelastic portions. The footwear may further include a plurality of lace receiving members fixedly attached to an outer surface of the upper on the inelastic portions of the upper. Also, the footwear may include a sole structure fixedly attached to the upper. In addition, the footwear may include a motorized tensioning system including a motorized tightening device and a tensile member extending through the plurality of lace receiving members, the tightening device being configured to apply tension in the tensile member to adjust the size of an internal void defined by the article of footwear by drawing two or more of the plurality of lace receiving members closer to one another.