Comfort shoes – trainers on steroids

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I don’t think of myself as old fashioned. Younger people described my stylish Oliver Peoples eyeglass frames as “Cool†and “Hipâ€. Yet there may still be a bit of old school in me. And maybe that’s why I can’t give up some customs that I grew up with.

For example, it’s always hard for me to imagine wearing multi-colored comfort shoes with a suit or a sports jacket. It is an incongruity. Could it be that I have a prudish gene floating around in my DNA?

So, a few weeks ago at the Delta Sky Club in Denver Airport, I was struck by the type of shoes the passengers were wearing. Almost all of them wore comfortable shoes in every shade imaginable. The colors would have rivaled the brightest of rainbows.



I had slightly sporty brown ECCO leather shoes. No one would have given them a second look other than at a “Tuxedo Required” rally. At any ‘gala chic’ event, my shoe style in black, polished with shiny varnish, would have competed favorably in a contest with any high priced patent leather tuxedo foclothes.

At the Sky Club, the idea of ​​a shoe column came to me. I quietly began to take pictures of as many passenger shoes as I could with my smartphone.

The Internet is full of articles on the disappearance of street shoes and the rise of comfort shoes. (To me, comfort shoes are really sneakers on steroids.)

A cultural change has taken place over the past decade. Comfort is king. This change likely accelerated with the pandemic. People who stayed home after work tended to buy mostly comfortable shoes.

This wave of popularity of comfort shoes gave birth to “sneakerheadsâ€. These people collect and trade sneakers for the price of shoes. I could have doubted the existence of such cult events. But I should have known better because a member of the family, accomplished in his field, is also a collector and trader of high-end sneakers.

How different is all of this from my college days as a cashier in a Safeway supermarket? There was a trash can in the frozen aisle full of sneakers. They sold for $ 2.99 a pair.

More recently, during a consulting project for a grocery chain, I spotted a part-time teenager with dark red sneakers. The laces were bright yellow. When I complimented him on his choice of shoes, he retorted, “I got them a good deal. Only $ 199. “

This teenager reminded me of how the world is changing. Moreover, I knew then that I had once again missed an investment opportunity. This time in the booming market for comfort shoes / sneakers. It was comparable to my misstep over 35 years ago when I stupidly sold my Apple shares.

This cultural change that I have referred to, like the rise of the comfortable shoe, is often driven by technological advances. As was the case with the now defunct Blockbuster chain, which was once a home movie and video game rental service provider.

And the American shoemaker? Does this occupation involve changes in shoe preferences? A colleague said: “I used to bring my shoes for new insoles and repairs. Not anymore. It also felt good to support a local business. This trade is disappearing. I wonder how they feel when they see their life’s work change.

He added: “We live in a disposable society, where things are replaced, not fixed. It will be interesting to see if the price of a basic shirt is less than the cost of taking it to the cleaner. Also, in the past, an oil change cost $ 30 and a brake job cost $ 300. I just did both recently, $ 2,600! I might be looking for a disposable car.

Regarding disposable cars, my colleague ended this reference with a “ha, ha”. But who knows? He might be on to something. Today, both men and women wear baseball caps and an assortment of helmets. But before the 1960s, men’s brimmed dress hats were a must.

Comfort shoes with a sneaker feel engulfed us. The dress shoe of the past is rarely worn except at weddings and funerals. If you love football, check out what the pre-game TV broadcasters are wearing. Mainly comfort shoes. Are men’s dress shoes dying or already dead? Will women continue to buy high heels?

Could the disappearance of the dress shoe affect the films? In the 1939 film, “The Wizard of Oz”, Dorothy wore ruby ​​red slippers. In the remake, “The Wiz,” in 1978, Dorothy wore ribbon slippers. What could she be wearing in a future remake? Red and silver comfort shoes?

And finally, I wonder if I am “out of step” with my thinking. Maybe I should buy a pair of multicolored comfort shoes with shiny laces, wear them to every function I go and see how I feel!

Juan Negroni, a Weston resident, is a consultant, bilingual speaker and writer. He is the Past President / CEO of the Institute of Management Consultants.

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