 |
Heavy, Chunky-Heeled Shoes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1992 and I am climbing the stairs at school to my Latin lesson. The class
clown is walking behind me, and he laughs and makes a big deal about my
"70's platforms." I feel embarrassed and the next day go back to my trusty
ballet pumps. Two weeks later and everyone in my class is wearing
thick-soled chunky heeled shoes just like the ones I had worn two weeks
earlier. The class clown doesn't even remember the comment he made but I
still feel totally vindicated. Cue the rise of the fashion fad of the
nineties that was the chunky shoe!
The thick-soled chunky
heeled shoe was a true part of 1990's women's fashion and a
comfortable one too. Unlike the platform, it had a separate heel. It
was a bit more genteel than the platform but still not really that
delicate. It was however very comfortable. In my school it was worn
with tights, scrunched socks (white ribbed over the knee socks that
were scrunched down until your ankles and
|
|
|
calves
looked like a concertina) or virgin socks (short ankle socks with lots of
little holes in them like a
lace effect. Called virgin socks at our school because they were holey (holy
– hahaha)). Chunky heels outside of school were worn with mini skirts,
dungarees, cargo pants or A-line dresses. In fact they went with pretty much
anything – as much as a shoe which seemed to simultaneously make you taller
and shorten your legs could do.
Chunky heels were seen on many feet, in TV shows such as Blossom
and Friends and even in the movies with practically every female
character in the movie Clueless wearing them. One of the bonuses of
chunky heals was that they were comfortable and easy to walk in. Also, they
were sometimes styled with hefty foot friendly laces or thick Mary Jane
straps. The draw back of- chunky heels was that, even though they added
height, they reduced all ankles to blobby messes and made even the skinniest
legs look like they belonged to an elephant. So wide was the trend for thick
soles and chunky heels that even some sneakers had them. The chunkier the
shoes the better, as long as they stopped just short of platforms, even
though this trend was inspired by the 70's revival. For true authenticity in
1990's women's fashion then vintage was best.
Hey, I wonder if an old married woman like me could still get away with
virgin socks?
|
|

Follow 90s 411
|
 |