Sneakers are the new power shoe
silk velvet, ponyskin and embroidered satin, with soft leather inside, to offset the old-school sneaker style.
They did well immediately, but right now they are more popular than ever, thanks to the trainer’s promotion to shoe of the moment. That started, arguably, when Karl Lagerfeld sent his models down the catwalk in pink trainers in 2014, but we knew it was serious when Victoria Beckham ditched her stilettos for Stan Smiths, and Fiona Bruce presented in white plimsolls. Trainers have become acceptable not just on dress-down Friday, but as bonafide office shoes and even eveningwear: in June, Samantha Cameron boldly wore her trusty Converse trainers, with a satin top and trousers, to a charity gala.
Last month, Mintel reported that, for the first time ever, women are buying more trainers than high heels. It’s hardly surprising that they have embraced the flat shoe trend. For too long, high heels were sold to us as empowering, when we all knew they were simply deeply uncomfortable. It’s true that heels lengthen legs, change your posture and elevate you to the same height as the men in the room – but that’s no use if you can’t concentrate on what’s being said because your feet are in agony. Whenever I see a woman arrive at a boardroom meeting in skyscraper heels, the first thing I wonder is: “How did she walk here?” It’s why I’m always amazed to see the female candidates on tottering around in sky-high heels – why would you want to try to compete in the same arena as men by strapping a stilt on to your foot? Suddenly, heels look a bit old-fashioned – witness Donald Trump surrounding himself with teetering women in short dresses, and the debate sparked this year when a receptionist was sent home for refusing to wear high shoes (women tweeted photos of their feet in flat shoes, in solidarity). Empowerment now is about comfort, and being able to wear shoes like men do – shoes we can walk around all day in, with no need to carry a stash of blister plasters and spare pair of ballet pumps. Supposedly, hemlines go down in a recession. I’d argue that today’s trend for flat shoes reflects our need to feel sure-footed. So yet again Mrs May, striding out in her Joes with skinny jeans and a blazer to go leafletting in Oxfordshire, got it right. Rightly or wrongly, May’s shoes have been an endless source of fascination. I love the way she refuses to kowtow to other people’s ideas of what a powerful woman should wear. From thigh-high boots to kitten heels, she understands that shoes are a great way for women to subtly express their personality – a discovery many of us make in our teens, using our footwear to bend the school uniform rules. What next – trainers to Prime Minister’s Questions? That might be a stretch too far, but Mrs May loves to keep us guessing and I can’t wait to witness her next steps.