Confronting the Comfort Shoe + 'A Great Pair of L'eggs'
Hello WNVM-ers,
Sending out much love today. It’s been a tough week for us, especially as we realized which direction our generation is voting, which you can read more about in our news section today.
We went back and forth about sticking to this week’s regular programming, but realized that we find comfort and support within our Substack community. So we want to pay that forward and give you something very low-stakes and distracting to read about: ugly comfort shoes. Read on if you need some fluff, otherwise come back when you’re ready.
The time has come — we both find ourselves in a situation where we need comfort shoes. But the fashion gods are smiling upon us, as the “ugly shoe” phenomenon heads into a new, but also past, stage: an ‘80s and ‘90s redux. From a softer pair of goth kid-preferred Doc Martens to updates on the ‘90s music idol-beloved Wallabees, newly-imagined retro comfy shoes are truly having a moment — and we each write about our feelings about it. (Plus, we’ll need shoes we can run in — you know, in case we need to flee.)
And in comfort news You Oughta Know, pantyhose in the egg are back, Morrissey and Robert Smith are making waves, and our boyfriends Pedro Pascal and Richie from “The Bear” embrace their Gen X-ness.
Believe It or Not, I’m Walking on Air
These comfy shoes make us feel so free-ee-ee 🎵
By Fawnia and Cheryl
FAWNIA’S ‘90S UGLY FOOTWEAR REVIVAL
When grunge-y collegiate fashion hit its peak around ‘94 or so, I absolutely haaated Tevas and Birkenstocks — especially the latter worn with socks. I remember actually stashing my East Coast boarding school-bred boyfriend’s Birks deep in his closet to prevent further fashion transgressions.
But, two decades later, after a slew of indie cool runway collaborations, Birkenstock became fashion. At New York Fashion Week in September 2013, I remember cornering then-Director of Product Development Shelley Glasgow backstage. She told me Birkenstock would always “stay true” to its brand ethos, and “we’re not an UGGs. We’re not here today and gone tomorrow. We’ve been doing this since 1962.”
Well, I suppose selling out would be inevitable; luxury conglomerate LVMH bought Birkenstock in 2021. As for me, I must be highly susceptible to fashun trends because looking at my Instagram grid from the past, oh, nine years, if it's sandal season, I’m wearing Birks. I suppose at least I was an early-adopter on this round of ugly shoes.
But, heading into 2025, the ugly shoe trend seems to be circling back to my anti-Birks era — the ‘90s — and this time I’m all in. After three years of staying home, wearing soft pants, and accumulating like five pairs of the formerly much-reviled Tevas, I sold off all my outrageously high heels that I never wore in the first place. (I also discovered, while taking this mirror selfie at Happy Isles, that I literally cannot stand in heels higher than one-inch. Owner Lily Kaizer had to prop my teetering self up just to stand on the platform.) Plus, with these current collabs, I can revisit my carefree younger years, but with seasoned fashion experience — and our signature Gen X-cultivated DGAF attitude.
Birkenstock x Union
Following a 2023 collab with ‘90s surfer/skater label, Stüssy on a shearling-lined slip-on, Birkenstock will release a new shoe style with classic streetwear label, Union. Owner Chris Gibbs has been a Birkenstocks devotee for three decades — starting as a teen in Ottawa when he’d take inspiration from his Canadian and West Indian heritage to style his Birks in self-expressive, distinctive ways. The collaboration pays homage to the ‘90s NYC club scene, where Gibbs wore his comfy sandals to presumably dance all night, and jump on the slide, at Club USA.
Birks x Union unveils the Bimshire ($295), a blend of the Boston’s closed-toe silhouette and the Zurich’s double-strap design, contrasting suede and leather textures, and two colorways: beige taupe and shadow gray that’s more a dusty rose to me. Available at store.unionlosangeles.com and birkenstock.com on November 7.
John Fluevog x Anna Sui
In college, I was so proud to buy my first “investment” heels: black, slightly orthopedic-looking platform slingbacks from John Fluevog on Newbury Street in Boston. (Proto-ugly shoes?) They went with everything, like my Disney character-covered jeans from Riccardi (omg, it's still there), and my black flares that I’d wear to Europa and M80. I could dance in those shoes! Around that time, I’d also browse and look longingly at the babydoll dresses at the Anna Sui Greene Street store, which closed in 2015. Well, in a pairing out of my ‘90s dreams, longtime friends Fluevog and Sui just released a capsule of two denim styles: a lace-up tall boot ($799) with a manageable platform heel and a Mary Jane ballet flat ($349). The butterfly appliqués take inspo from Sui’s colorful, ‘70s-meets-grunge Spring ‘93 collection, featuring Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista on the runway.
“The ‘90 were an exciting time in fashion when people weren’t afraid to take risks and be a bit bolder with colors and unique styles,” founder John Fluevog tells WNVM, name-checking the Fluevoger-beloved ‘90s-born Grand National and Memento Chrysalis from the Sui collab. “Today’s fashion is about personal style, and I feel many people are gravitating toward ‘90s-inspired styles to take some of those bold looks and make them their own.” Available at fluevog.com and annasui.com.
Natacha Ramsay-Levi For Ecco
My mom definitely wore Ecco shoes. I mean, she was always chic and elegant, but she prioritized comfort and practicality over trends. (My dad was the fashion girlie parent.) I’ve since become my mom in the comfy shoes department, but now I can have it all! Because Natacha Ramsay-Levi — former Chloé creative director and Nicholas Ghesquière’s right hand at Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton — just released her third of four collections for the Danish ergonomic shoe brand.
“You know, you enter [your] 40s and you realize you just want to make the things you believe in,” Ramsay-Levi told Elle, at a launch event, adding, “This is good for me. And for people who like exciting shoes? Good stuff is actually very hard to find.” Fashion and function? Nineties poster child and my forever fashion icon (I mean … ), Chloë Sevigny approves, and I need these stacked heel loafers ($295). Available at us.ecco.com.
Comfy Classic Doc Martens
Dr. Martens, quintessential footwear choice of punks and general counterculture, has actually been owned by a private equity firm Permira since 2014. In July of this year, the British heritage brand stepped (sorry) out of its comfort zone — and into mine — with a new version of its classic styles in a soft, pebbled leather, i.e., comfy Docs. My basic ‘90s self never attempted the iconic 1460s that looked so good on Aldo and his roommate/döppelgänger Louie — with their floppy butt-cut hair, FreshJive baseball caps, and ginormous Stüssy t-shirts. I succumbed to a less inspired Nine West dupe. It's finally my time, as Dr. Martens was nice enough to give me a pair of 1460s in the soft Ambassador Leather ($170) to try out. They were great for a rainy trek through chaotic Times Square to see Oh Mary, but at first I was like, “These just don’t feel as cool as the OG.”
But, in early October, I tripped over my open dishwasher door and fractured my toe in two spots — and continue to make it worse — so I’ve been stuck wearing an actual orthopedic shoe. For the good foot, I’ve been switching between one Birkenstock Boston (with socks *gasp*) and said 1460, and I’ve never been more appreciative of comfy footwear. I’ve embraced Gen Z big pants, which somewhat obscure my ortho shoe, but the signature Dr. Martens yellow stitching peeks out just perfectly. I even got a compliment from another Gen X-er when I wore it — yes, just the one boot — with tall retro tube socks and my Missy Elliott concert t-shirt as a dress. Because the ‘90s are so back. Available at drmartens.com.
We are two Gen X journalists who analyze all the '80s and '90s nostalgia in current pop culture, fashion, and beauty. Read more stories like this one here!
CHERYL’S SHOE SHAME
In grade school, there was nothing I wanted more than caramel brown suede GASS shoes, the ones that had the name embossed on the gum bottom and left its brand mark in the snow when you walked, announcing to everyone that you were cool as shit. I got the Sears knockoff version, because my parents thought spending extra money on name brand stuff was dumb.
Recently, I realized my footwear has come full circle, because I’m now essentially wearing the middle-aged equivalent of rubbery GASS, except no one thinks I’m cool and it’s not really what I want. Along the way I’ve had to confront my own snobbery, new physical limitations, and a personal style reset.
I am a recovering shoe snob. I started writing about and attending fashion shows in New York and London in 2010, after a career change from nurse practitioner to 40-year-old fashion blogger. (It’s a long story, but this is how Fawnia and I met — she was having a similar career shakeup.) A few years later, I started covering the beauty industry instead, but my love for shoes has not waned. Recently I tried on some pairs that I kept from the early 2010s footwear golden years, but they were so treacherous and uncomfortable that I would need supplemental health insurance to wear them now.
Like an asshole, I used to make fun of my friends who loved Birkenstocks before they were co-opted by the fashion set. But for the last five years, because of injuries, a switch in my style with a move towards more uniform dressing (shirt dresses, jeans or leggings, oversized button-up shirts, blazers), weirder feet than I had pre-menopause, and a desire to not wear sneakers all the time, I’ve been hunting for shoes that I think are good-looking and comfortable.
I live in NYC and walk a lot, so they have to stand up to that. The no-support ballet flats that are all the rage now are really not great for feet that have been through it. And yes, I do now own three pairs of Birks, but I need real shoes too. I wasted a lot of money and Band-Aids, until I finally swallowed my misplaced pride and waded into the dreaded comfort shoe category.
Here is my mea culpa, and for all the people I judged, I’m sorry. Pre-bunion karma has come for me.
Oh god, Aerosoles
Aerosoles launched in 1987, and company lore states that founder Jules Schneider started it during an NYC transit strike when women were commuting in sneakers and carrying their uncomfortable work pumps. Schneider was part of a private equity group that bought a small brand owned by Kenneth Cole called What’s What, originally marketed to teens, and then reimagined it as Aerosoles.
I’d always thought Aerosoles were dowdy, and, honestly, some of the styles still are. But I own [number redacted] pairs of them, because they are just so stinking comfortable, and the styling has improved. I think my gateway into the brand was a pair of black patent leather Mary Jane platform heels with a squared off toe that my friend and I convinced ourselves could pass for vintage Prada. [Note from Fawnia: This tracks because I wore chunky black and silver platform sandals to an exhibit opening party, and another journo said, “I love your shoes, are they Aerosoles?” Me, “Um … no… They’re CHLOÉ.”]
Aerosoles passed through many owners, revitalizing its design after a 2017 bankruptcy. Its most popular style, the Camera ($99), a timeless/boring (depending on your sensibility) two-strap platform sandal, comes in 18 colors/materials. The Strategist has written about its slightly fancier sister, the Cosmos ($99), multiple times. I own both. And while there is no evidence that Michelle Obama has worn Aerosoles, her stylist, Meredith Koop, follows the brand on Instagram, which I take as a good sign because I love her styling work.
Pros: The toe boxes are roomy enough for my mangled feet (I go down a half size because of this), the foot bed is always cushy, and the soles are a bendy rubber that never require breaking in. Even heeled styles and super flat sandals are comfortable from the first wear. Like at a vintage store or shopping for fast fashion, you need to have an eye for the stuff that’s really good, but I’ve found styles I genuinely love. The prices can go past $250 for boots, but there are often sales, and it has a generous loyalty program, so I rarely pay full price.
Cons: I think the signature curved buckle hardware is tragically ugly, but I put up with it and buy styles where it’s less noticeable. (Tolerable here, unacceptable here.) While a lot of the shoes are made of real leather, there are some that aren’t; sometimes even different colorways of the same style will be faux but priced the same. Finally, they will make you feel a little bit sad no matter how cute you convince yourself they are because you know they are still Aerosoles.
Yep, Clarks too
This UK brand was founded in 1825, but is best known for its Wallabee and Desert boot styles. Wallabees, released in the 1960s, became popular with Jamaican rudeboys and musicians, and then they spread to hip-hop musicians like Wu-Tang Clan, which popularized them in the ‘90s. At the same time, Britpop lads like Oasis and the Verve wore them too.
In 2023, Clarks released the Torhill line, a Wallabee-inspired shoe with that moccasin-like upper and a ribbed rubber sole that the brand says is inspired by the ‘90s. I was in London last year, and a pair of the Bee style ($120) in black suede stopped me in my tracks when I saw them in a window. I bought them immediately.
They are as comfortable as a sneaker but look more elevated and not as…sneakery. I’ve walked miles in them. They must be selling well, because the brand is producing them in more daring colors now, and I’m sorely tempted by this burgundy patent leather pair. This year I added an ankle boot version ($140) in army green.
Clarks also does a ton of collaborations with designers and “cool” entities like Kith, a strategy I wish Aerosoles would try. I bought some puffy leather ugly-cute velcro sandals from its Martine Rose collab that I get compliments on constantly from people of all ages. I haven’t tried any of the dressier styles, but I may venture there next.
Oh, and the Bees have the Clarks name embossed on the sole. Now I’m just waiting for it to snow.
You Oughta Know
Exit polls show that the Gen X age group is the only generation in which the majority voted red. What’s even more shocking is that 50% of women aged 45-64 voted Republican. (A majority of white people in our age group did, which is not at all surprising.) As Joy Ann Reid said on MSNBC, “My generation, Generation X, the people who grew up on WWE and Hulk Hogan and Donald Trump, did this.” Some of us did not watch enough “Sesame Street,” and it shows. -CW [NBC News]
New Wave news: The Cure just dropped its first new album in 16 years, earning the interview-shy lead singer, Robert Smith, a New York Times profile. There is great stuff in there about his process, his fight against egregious Ticketmaster fees, feeling old, and the fact that he has never owned a smartphone. In other angsty auteur news, Morrissey, who historically inexplicably allows fans to come onstage and hug him, had to cut his recent show in Dallas short. Enthusiastic fans rushed the stage and injured a bodyguard. Be gentle, people. -CW [TMZ]
In a moment out of our Gen X dreams, The Fantastic Four: First Steps co-stars Pedro Pascal and Richie Jerimovich, I mean “The Bear” Emmy winner Ebon-Moss Bachrach were each other’s plus-ones at the Cure’s new album release concert at the historical Troxy music hall in East London. In anticipation of the new album, Songs of a Lost World and a 2025 tour, Robert Smith et al played a three-hour, 31-song set. A solo Pascal was even caught grooving out in the stands. (Someone please make a gif.) Maybe Richie snuck out to see Taylor Swift. -FSH [Pedro Pascal Daily/Twitter (or X, ugh)]
We are thinking about pantyhose for the first time since 1991, because L’eggs is relaunching. Yes, the drugstore hosiery brand historically housed in plastic egg containers is back. The new private equity firm owners tapped “Gen Z whisperer” and Parade underwear founder, Cami Téllez, to reimagine the brand for a new generation. Expect lots of tights and “shapewear-inspired” (we are not calling it control-top anymore) styles. You can also buy the tights in nude shades (we are not calling them pantyhose anymore), which Téllez says are like “tinted moisturizer” for the legs. And yes, the eggs are allegedly coming back. Will they still be used for school crafts and as fake boobs? We can only hope. -CW [WSJ]
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Oh the shoe love and nostalgia here!! 🙌 The Docs!! (You took me right back to sixth form college and wearing electric blue and pink suede chunky brogues!) LOVE the pics of you both, and that’s so funny about the Aerosoles/Prada situation, respectively! 🤣I STILL have a block when it comes to Clarks, though, deeply rooted in being made to wear the ‘sensible’, wide-fitting ones for school when all I longed for wedges like my best friend Loretta. Loved this so much. XO
GASS shoes were, indeed, the coolest. I gave up on heels when I turned 50. I walked all over Seattle for over 20 years and wrecked the balls of my feet. I feel like there should have been PSA commercials for this. “Here’s your feet on heels. Any questions?” And Gen X should have watched more Mr. Rogers too.