Oh, the satisfying crunch of a Velcro sneaker! That very onomatopoeic crunnnnnch signifies straightforward, breezy and no-nonsense consolation. However whereas the sound would possibly counsel orthopaedic bliss, the shoe itself? It’s the very definition of unsexy, virtually visible contraception to your hooves.
I first acquired into Velcro sneakers due to my boyfriend, who’s of non-geriatric age, however is thought to channel nursing-home stylish in his fashion. Not solely are his Velcro sneakers clunky, however they’re additionally the color of day-old oatmeal and have two huge Velcro straps. But there’s one thing seductive about their ease: No laborious lace tying, actually no shoehorn wanted. And boy, are they comfy. It’s like slipping your ft right into a scrumptious cloud, with a thousand cherubic fingertips massaging your heels!
The latter proved significantly intriguing given the state of my very own ft, sore from extreme sporting of flimsy flip-flops and bruised by summer season heels – so I began to do a little analysis. Only a few celebrities have ever worn the Velcro sneaker, even on the road, though I did discover a fab photograph of Mariah Carey sporting knee-high Velcro boots in 2006 outdoors of MTV’s TRL. One other fan? Hailey Bieber, who wore a pair to LAX in 2017. However what I observed throughout my Velcro analysis is that they weren’t often noticed on runways or street-style galleries however in additional of a dude world.
Curious to search out out why, I despatched out a basic ask on my Instagram to see if any fellow trend buddies wore the footwear. The jury was harshly divided. Naturally, I obtained dozens of nos. Brynn Wallner of the watch hub Dimepiece jokingly instructed me I used to be “chargeable for all of the ugly garments in New York.” (Hey, I’ll take what I can get.) Stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson supplied an analogous however extra layered evaluation, noting that Teva is the one exception. “Velcro sneakers annoy me like Salomons annoy me,” she stated. “It’s so apparent to me – the grasp at subversion and quirky weird-girl power. Like, No. You don’t like climbing sneakers.”
