Recently, a friend of mine was reminiscing about the music that shaped her style in high school. Obviously, you can’t be born in the ’80s or early ’90s without having a memory of the Spice Girls. These girls influenced the living hell out of fashion in the late ’90s and early 2000s. If you can’t figure out why, we’ll take care of that right now.
To detail every way in which the Spice Girls touched the history of fashion would require more words than this article could possibly handle, so today we are focusing on only one of their style legacies: the chunky platform sneaker.
Every Spice Girl is guilty of platforms, and the only one to fully escape platform sneakers was Victoria. Did Sporty Spice ever fully get on the platform sneaker train? I feel like she wore actual athletic shoes most of the time, and they were never, ever cute. (This becomes important later.) Baby, Ginger, and Scary, on the other hand, had chunky platforms on lock.
Along with nearly every other 90s trend, platform sneakers have jumped up in popularity and are showing up on more and more adult humans, many of whom were definitely newborns during the Spice Girls’ heyday.
The platforms have gotten a little bit shorter over the last 20 years, though, and the super-chunky athletic options are now referred to as “dad shoes” or “dad sneakers.” Runway models, pop stars, and celebrity fashion plates have all picked up on the resurgence, and these ostentatious kicks pair perfectly with the no-fucks-given attitude of millennial style. Remember the super-tall platform sneakers the Miley Cyrus x Converse collaboration? Sneakers are having a moment, and as a fashion comfort monster, I’m all for it.
Even the OG Spice Girl platform sneaker brand, Buffalo, is experiencing a windfall now that their brand is popular again. Not only have their sales been rising, but after reflecting on their 90s Spice Girl success, they’re looking to partner with current-day influencers to hopefully reignite their good fashion fortune. Unfortunately for us, they’re charging between $165-$250 per pair. Yeah. That’s Spice Girl money, not #brokelife money. Pass!
How the Internet is Wearing Dad Sneakers
The sneakers of 2018 don’t quite have the altitude that the original platform sneakers had, but they’re making up for it in chunkiness.
If you think these sneakers are ugly – well, many of the people who wear them would agree with you. Just take a look at the 3,000+ posts on Instagram tagged #uglysneakers and you will get a glimpse into the weird, mysterious world of ironic fashion. These dad sneaker wearing fashion people know their shoes are ugly. The difference is that they do not care. It’s truly fascinating.
So who is wearing these bulbous, marshmallow-like height enhancers? Let’s have a look.
Where to Find Chunky Platform Sneakers
People with money have been primarily springing for the new $900 Balenciaga sneakers from the F/W 2018 collection. Or, if you’re a Kardashian, a pair of $580 Yeezys. Yikes.
The saddest part about rich-people-fashion is that, when there’s one popular item, everyone wears it. It kind of sucks the fun out of fashion, you know? That’s why the majority of my style inspiration comes from my fellow broke people. Making magic out of an affordable closet is a skill to be admired and inspired by!
If you’re broke and into this trend, there’s a good chance you’ll be looking into the Fila Disruptors for about $65 for a super classic dad sneaker. If you don’t care about wearing the it-sneaker-of-the-moment, however, our favorite affordable fashion shops have a ton of fun and weird-ugly-cute options for even less.
Dad Sneakers & Chunky Platform Sneakers at Nasty Gal
Take Me to Chunky Town Sneakers |
Running Up Bills Sneakers |
Sky High Platform Sneakers |
Quick on Your Feet Sneakers |
Leopard Mega-Platform Sneakers |
*Nasty Gal is having a 50% off sale right now and, as usual, we have no idea when it ends because their website is full of “50% off*” with no follow-up * explanation.
Dad Sneakers at Boohoo
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Chunky Glitter Trainers |
Patent Platform Sneakers |
Chunky Color Block Trainers |
Chunky Sole Sports Trainer |
*Well wouldn’t you know it – Boohoo is having a 50% off sale, too. No idea when this one ends, either, because these brands are great at communication!
So, what do you think? Would you wear chunky platform dad sneakers?
Personally, this kind of voluminous shoe makes me irrationally uncomfortable. I’m a person who loves to create beautiful silhouettes, and there’s no real place for chunky dad sneakers in my world. To me, they look like someone took a brisk walk through half-set concrete.
Platform sneakers, however, aren’t totally off the table. I love adding a little bit if height to anything, especially when I can continue wearing sneakers. I also appreciate that the platform sneakers we’re seeing are keeping the profile slim. That being said, I’m not sure that anything in my closet would accommodate a pair of 3″ platform sneakers. While I loved the wedge sneaker trend, the flatform shoe shape is still a little shaky for me.
But my opinions only extend to myself, of course. When it comes to fashion, I don’t think anything shoulder be off-limits! I love seeing how people style these shoes and hey, one day they might trick me into loving them! It’s happened before (looking at you, gladiator sandals), it could easily happen again.
Would you wear these space-age trainers? How would you style them? Dive into the comments and fill us in!