BOSTON — Linus Ullmark was an American Hockey League goaltender in Rochester, N.Y., when he decided to upgrade his style.

Roughly eight years ago, Ullmark discovered an Instagram account that blew up overnight. Tom Marchitelli spent years as a hedge fund accountant wearing expensive clothes and trusting his stylist. But with the encouragement of his wife, he decided to start his own business and show off his outfits. His Instagram and Twitter accounts, Gents Playbook, soon rose in popularity online — as did his client base of NHL, NFL and Major League Baseball players.

When Ullmark found him, Marchitelli already was working with his then-NHL teammates Jack Eichel and Evander Kane, among others. Ullmark was getting married later in the year, and he needed a suit. Marchitelli agreed to meet Ullmark in a Buffalo, N.Y., hotel room.

“He wanted a light-gray, three-piece suit,” Marchitelli said. “Very classic, very simple compared to what he’s wearing now — which is great because it’s been a style progression.”

This has gone hand in hand with Ullmark’s career progression, as he’s gone from an unproven Buffalo Sabres netminder to a Vezina Trophy-winning goalie with the Boston Bruins

Ullmark might share the net with Jeremy Swayman on a first-place Bruins team in the…

I couldn’t tell you the first time I wore a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars. I do know that I haven’t stopped wearing them. And neither have many, many others worldwide.

Odds are you have owned a pair. Your parents probably did, too. Even their parents probably rocked Chucks. I started back in the 1980s, growing up in South Central Los Angeles and Long Beach. They were about $30 back then.

I saw my favorite rappers wear them and mention them in songs. My peers wore them. They looked good with Dickies or denim. Some of my friends opted for the low-top version, high socks and shorts. Those who liked skateboarding and surfing wore them, too.

As I viewed my collection of Chucks, I wondered why I, and so many other people, continue to wear them. It’s nothing fancy: canvas with a rubber sole. It’s inexpensive — you won’t find a standard pair of Chucks sold on the secondary market for hundreds of dollars. Yet, a shoe that retails for about $65 remains a staple in fashion and culture.

Everyone from celebrities to the average citizen wears them … but why?

“It’s still the greatest shoe of all time: it transcends culture,” said Jeremy Kirkland, host of the “Blamo!” podcast, which discusses aspects of fashion. “It transcends every breadth of American culture,…