April 1, 2010 · filed under miscellany
back when boyz 2 men were cool
I love this post about middle school and shoes over at angry chicken. For me, middle school was full of angst, probably because there was this whole awakening about what was cool, and the intense need to be cool that definitely didn’t exist when I was a kid. Trying to be cool can make you do some really dumb things.
That blog post chronicles shoes that were cool from 1983 to 1986. I was in middle school a decade later, from 1992 to 1995. And yet, so many of the fashionable shoes were the same.
The first shoes I HAD to have (after a childhood dressed in hand-me-downs and items from Target) were a pair of Vans. Keds were not okay, and the Payless version of Keds were definitely not okay. They had to be Vans. I had a maroon pair, and I wore them until my big toe poked through, and even then probably for a few more months.
The next pair of shoes I remember loving, absolutely adoring, were a pair of Converse One Star sandals. In fact, I loved them so much, I completely wore through two entire pairs and I’m pretty sure my mother hated them with a fiery passion. I’m sure there are more weird memories about these shoes that will get left in the comments. But oh, I loved them so!
I also remember having some Dr. Scholl’s wooden sandals, thinking they were somehow good for your feet. But that can’t possibly be true, right? There is no padding! Ah, I’m such an old lady these days.
Surely I’m missing some quality early 90′s shoe fashions. What did you wear on your feet in middle school or high school in the 90s? Doc Martens? KSwiss? Adidas? I eagerly await your answers to help me get through to the weekend!
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oh, hello
miller everett
Eric's Mommy
April 1, 2010 5:16 pm
Doc Martens baby! Also plaid Chuck Taylors.
Ellen
April 1, 2010 9:10 pm
- Doc Martens — I had a dress code at school and these were deemed the “cool” yet dress code appropriate shoe to wear. I had a brown pair with two buckles and I wore them for about 6 straight years.
- Airwalks! I was DYING to have a pair because I thought they were so cool (I was not a skater of any kind), but the only pair I could get were these dark-green ones. I think I wore them for a year. Ungrateful.
- I never had a pair of these, but does anyone remember the Skechers high-heeled sneaker trend? Ughhhh. Why on earth was that a good idea again?
I definitely remember those Dr. Scholl’s, though — the ads were all over Seventeen and YM but I never owned any.
Jane
April 2, 2010 4:55 am
Junior High was all about the Keds (with no socks) but that was the 80s… I also had several pairs of black china flats – at least that’s what we called them.
I had Vans in college and Dr. Scholl’s post college and also as a young child. My mom always had a pair of Navy Blue Dr. Scholl’s growing up.
liz
April 2, 2010 7:43 am
High-top black converse all-stars. Swoon!
Definitely had some Keds, but wasn’t really the Doc Marten type.
Also, I didn’t wear the Dr. Scholl’s, but like Jane, my mom had a pair of them my whole childhood! Maybe even multiple pairs.
alyndabear
April 2, 2010 11:22 am
I had those Converse shoes!!!
Never got the others – I just remember jelly shoes. Tragic!
Korinna
April 2, 2010 1:10 pm
Commenter Ellen mentioned YM magazine–!!!. How much did I LOVE that magazine?
Anyway, for shoes it was all about the Keds with that little blue square confirming that you were most def. NOT wearing Payless version.
Oh! And the cute soccer team boys (swoon) always wore the Adidas soccer shoe.
lesli
April 2, 2010 7:09 pm
Jelly shoes! Pink
And Doc Martens with baby doll dresses.
I loved the 90s
Mom
April 3, 2010 12:20 pm
Janet is NOT KIDDING about the One Stars. They were attached to her feet 24/7 and I hated them. But, since I was such a wonderful mom, I picked other battles to fight. Lost them too…
Kyla Roma
April 4, 2010 6:15 am
Oh my goodness, those Vans look so comfy!! lol
I was out in the country most of my time, so I was usually wearing boots I could wear around the horses- but when I moved to the city I made up for lost time by wearing lots of skate shoes lol
Andrea - Caffeinate Me
April 6, 2010 11:19 am
I had the same Converse sandals and wore them all the time, even though sandals were prohibited at school. Remember those black Steve Madden slides were the top was basically one large piece of elastic? Well… they still make those. It’s amazing.
kristin
April 6, 2010 12:38 pm
I was in jr. high (what we call middle school) during the same years. K-swiss were all the rage at our school!
Doc Martens were cool in high school. We tend to get the fads a bit latter than the rest of the country!
My 3 yr old has a pair of jellies and loves them. I love that she loves them.
I think you should do a series of posts about the different fashions/fads of that time!!
Betsy
April 20, 2010 10:24 am
Lowly old me in the Midwest misses you!
heidikins
April 21, 2010 1:44 am
Definitely Dr. Martens, and I happened to have a father who bought me shoes to show me he loved me. I had five or six pairs of them, different styles, different colors, all fabulously clunky.
I also wore those 1″ platform almost-converse shoes all. the. time. I think I had about 12 different colors–red, yellow, orange, lime green, baby blue, navy blue, plaid, striped, covered in skulls-cross-bones, covered in lady bugs, white, black, silver sparkle, probably a few more in there that I’m missing.
Laws, reading over this it’s no wonder I have a shoe-addiction as an adult!
xox
Tanya L
April 27, 2010 7:41 pm
I loved this post. What a trip down memory lane. Not to be forgotten: my freshman year shoes made out of like picnic basket wicker that were platform and Rocket dog. They got frayed and beaten up on Bourbon Street. Eek. Earlier on, how can we forget the pump or L.A. gear hot pink high tops? Vans must have been a west coast thing cause I vaguely remember the skater kids in jr. high wearing them but they never really hit the midwest like they did in the West I guess.