The Dad Shoe: The Ugly turned Trendy Phenomenon

Like most women, shoes fascinate me.  However, it is not just women who have this fetish, a term I use here loosely.  But, before discussing fashion obsessions, let’s dip our toes into the intriguing history of shoes.

Man, in the generic sense, didn’t start out wearing shoes.  In fact, he barely wore anything except for a loosely fitted animal skin.  Eventually, though, he decided to put something on his feet as a protective barrier from the elements while hunting through the forests for food.

Man’s first Shoe 

The first evidence of shoes was discovered in 1938 in the Fort Rock Caves in Oregon of all places. Based on radiocarbon dated research, these were 9,000-year-old sandals made of twisted twine from sagebrush bark.   

The oldest example of a leather shoe—over 5,500-years-old—was unearthed by archaeologists in a cave in Armenia.  Dubbed Areni-1, this well-preserved moccasin-like shoe was made of a single piece of cow-hide leather shaped to fit the wearer's foot. 

Later thong sandals—the predecessor of today’s popular flip flaps—made their appearance in Ancient Egypt. Around the same period, advanced civilizations in Mexico, China, Japan, and Africa had their own versions of sandals as well using locally sourced materials to produce them.

Stone-Age hiking boots 

The first hiking shoes were found on the feet of Oetzi, the naturally mummified human discovered in 1991 on the snowcapped mountains bordering today’s Italy and Austria. Oetzi’s shoes were of deerskin with a sole made from bearskin stuffed with hay for insolation. Modern scientists tell us his Stone-Age shoes date from 3300 BC.  

Sandals were the shoe of choice during Greek or Roman Antiquity. For the Greeks, slaves were forbidden from wearing sandals altogether as only free citizens had that privilege. Sandals worn in Roman times were a way to exhibit social status, much in the same way as owning a pair of Air Jordan 1 sneakers sparks reaction today. In fact, when worn by soldiers, the more laces and the thinner the sole of the sandal, the greater the importance of the individual.  

Toe shoes and high heels for men

During the Middle Ages, the shape of shoes started to morph. Crusaders who traveled to the East brought home new interpretations of footwear including pointed toe shoes.

Eventually, heels made their appearance on the bottom of shoes. Strangely enough, men were the first to wear them, not women. During the Renaissance in Europe there were even policies in place determining how high your heel could be depending on your ranking in society.  Commoners’ heels could not exceed one-half-inch whereas only princes could wear two-and-a-half-inch heels. The penultimate three-inch heel was reserved exclusively for kings.

In the mid-1600s France’s King Louis XIV started the fashion of red heels, but only for the nobility within his close entourage of men and women. Eventually, this fashion spread to other European nations where it became a way for royalty to flaunt their privilege and social status. And you thought the iconic red sole was invented by Louboutin?

Parading those handsome legs

Another oddity by today’s standards, was that up until the end of the 18th century, men’s legs were regarded as the benchmark for beauty. Think about all those paintings of noble men in knee-high bloomers with white stockings and high heel shoes decorated with buckles and bows! Although women of this period wore fancy shoes too, they were mostly hidden by their long dresses. Eventually, high heels would fall out of favor for men and to be worn only by women. Later, in modern times cross-dressing would change all this yet again!    

During the late Renaissance pointed-toed shoes for men were replaced with “duck-billed” or square-toed shoes while women started wearing platform shoes.   Men also began sporting boots which had already become the fashion in Northern and Central Europe.  Noble knights favored them as they were more comfortable for horseback riding and fighting.

Laced shoes made of leather and fabric and cut above the ankle became the norm for men during the 18th century. Often, women’s shoes were laced on the side. However, it wasn’t until the middle of the 19th century that any differentiation was made between shoes for the right and the left foot!

The democratization of shoes

Thanks to the invention of the sewing machine during the Industrial Revolution shoes could finally be mass produced.  The result was that footwear became available for everyone, not just the rich and noble.

The earliest versions of sneakers shoes were called “Plimsoll.” These rather crude shoes were developed in the 1800s for the British Navy. They were made of canvas with rubber soles which allowed the sailors to maneuver slippery ship decks. These shoes caught on with the wealthy as well who wore them to play tennis, a popular new sport at the time.

Fast forward and in 1892 the U.S. Rubber Company came up with more comfortable rubber bottomed sneakers under the brand name of Keds. Within no time sneakers would be mass produced. By the time Converse designed a sneaker for basketball players in 1917, the dominant popularity of sports shoes was firmly entrenched in America.

If the shoe fits

When I was a high school cheerleader in the 60s, I recall our handsome basketball team dressed alike in their marron and white uniforms with black Converse high tops.  I was recently reminded of the difference with today’s footwear preferences when I saw my grandson Matthew play a game of summer league basketball. He was wearing a pair of purple and yellow “Kobes” (Kobe Bryant’s signature shoe.) His teammates, on the other hand, each wore their own favored brand of sneaker.

Like Matthew, NBA basketball players are free to wear whatever brand or color scheme they want on their feet. Furthermore, major brands like Nike, Air Jordan, New Balance, and Adidas, among others, have all signed lucrative contracts with players to promote their shoes during games. And which teenage boy doesn’t emulate at least one basketball star and want to wear the same shoes they do?

Northern Crew is launched

When we got home from the game, I asked Matthew about the latest shoe fashions for teenage boys. He should know as not only has he been a male fashion plate since the second grade, but he also recently started his own on-line casual wear clothing, Northern Crew. 

Of all types of clothing available, Matthew likes shoes the best. Particularly sneakers.  And he has lots of them.  In fact, he told me with some degree of sartorial swagger that at any given time he owns between 45 and 50 pairs. He has even turned his sneaker obsession into a second business. Not bad for a kid who is only seventeen.   

Sneakers as a commodity investment

A natural born salesmen with the gift of persuasive charm, non-stop banter, and drive to make money, Matthew discovered a platform called StockX to sell his sports shoes.  Instead of the ubiquitous eBay which sells anything and everything, he prefers a more targeted approach. According to Matthew, “StockX resells luxury items such as shoes, apparel, and watches. They basically function as a third party who verifies that the items are real and not fakes and then, sends them to the buyer.”

But the concept is much more sophisticated than just authentication and shipping. Matthew continued his thoughtful explanation: “It is also just like the real stock market where the value of the shoes on the platform increases and decreases depending on the demand and the given value of the shoe at a particular time. So basically, I would buy low, hold the shoes and resell them when they go up in price.”

Never one to shy away from risk taking, Matthew openly confided that “Half of it is guessing and the other half is based on reading articles and seeing which shoes celebrities have endorsed to see which ones might go up in value.”

Buy low, sell high

So how does StockX make their money? They charge people like Matthew a percentage fee ranging from 11 to 12.5 percent for every sale made on their platform. To date, Matthew has profited almost $3,000 from his transactions using this platform. Although, as he explained with the seriousness of a much older businessman discussing his remaining merchandise, “I currently own $8,000 worth of shoes, at least that is their value today.” I guess that means he has some nerve-wracking speculating ahead of him to do if he plans to recoup his investment.   

To get a better understanding of the backend of Matthew’s sneaker business, I surreptitiously toured his bedroom where he warehouses his stock. Everywhere you looked there were shoes: some neatly stack on racks, some in shoe boxes piled mile high, and some casually strewn on the floor. As Matthew’s father Mark—and my clandestine accomplice—reassured me, the latter were not the shoes his son sells.  The sneakers Matthew markets are carefully catalogued and inventoried with their original boxes to maintain their maximum value.

Don’t touch my Air Jordans

A shadowbox frame on the wall of my grandson’s room holding two pairs of brand-new Air Jordans caught my eye.  “Those are worth between $500 and $800 each,” Mark chuckled.  “Would you believe, Matthew has never worn them?”  When I later asked Matthew why, he ruefully remarked, “Yes, I look at them more as a decoration and collectible for my room. They are too pretty to ever scuff and I’m waiting for the right occasion. But who knows, maybe I’ll sell them if the price is right one day.”

Move over Nike

Looking at Matthew’s room filled to the rafters with shoes reminded me of the store windows along Madison and Fifth Avenues.  Come to find out that high end fashion designers have recently infiltrated the sneaker-head market. Gucci, Prada, and the granddaddy of them all, Balenciaga, are all designing   sports footwear to pair with their non-athletic attire. Their versions hover between $500 to $900 a pair, certainly not an insignificant price.

There are basic similarities between the sneakers produced by the major sports brands and those marketed by the fashion houses: both are bold, chunky, and comfortable. From my aesthetic perspective, the haute couture versions looks bizarre, bordering on ugly. From a young consumer’s POV, however, they are “cool” and stylish.

The latest retro trend: Dad shoes

And where did this all come from, you might ask?  Well, “Dad shoes,” of course! I must admit the term was new to me.  With a little on-line research, I discovered it refers to the basic, comfortable, as well as affordable shoes fathers traditionally wore back in the 90s.  Matthew filled in with more detail about this nostalgic trend currently all the rage in fashion. “They were kind of boxy shoes that lacked style to make up for comfort.”

Rock’n the box

When I asked his father Mark how many shoes he owns, he responded without a second of hesitation, “Three:  a pair of Crocs, slippers, and white leather sneakers.” When I later questioned Matthew about his father’s choice of sneakers, he explained “My dad wears Nike Air Monarchs which are the epitome of ‘Dad shoes.’” He off-handedly remarked that his father’s lack of style “was perfectly fine because who cares when you’re that age.”

Make fun of them if you will but the fact of the matter is those funny looking, chunky sneakers are everywhere today. They have been adopted by celebrities and influencers who are rocking them on Instagram posts wearing jeans, jogging attire, or dressed up with tailored trousers, a fashionable jacket, or even a tuxedo.  In fact, the more outrageous the pairing—even mismatched shoes—the more their fans are loving it.  Why not? The idea of not having to worry about matching shoes with an outfit plus being able to wear them all day long and into the night is liberating.

Unlike the original Dad shoes of the 90s which were affordable—value has always appealed to dads—today’s nostalgic throwback comes at a high price. Top sports shoe manufacturers and haute couture brands such as Louis Vuitton, Celine, and Balenciaga are happily releasing their version of top-of-the-range Dad shoes. Add to those celebrities such as Kanye West who is juicing the phenomenon with his Yeezy brand and you can see how the possibilities of choice are infinite.

More is definitely better

However, today’s Dad shoes are targeted to zoomers, not to their dads. While comfort remains fundamental, subtlety is not part of the current fashion equation. What we see trending now are shoes which are bolder, even chunkier, and brighter in color.  Like many aspirational forms of fashion, an outrageous price tag carries some perceived assurance of stylishness for the purchaser. Alas, the retro version of the original concept of Dad shoes with its simple color palette and budget-friendly affordability is a thing of the past. That is, unless you’re willing to go shopping at thrift stores or consignment shops.  In which case, there is little likelihood that you will need to fight off a Kardashian over the last pair. Nor your fashionista grandson, for that matter.