These really are your dad’s shoes
The trendy get their kicks from old-school sneaks
Forget mom jeans; fashion has now reached peak dad.
From Instagram to the runway, celebrities and designers are embracing the “ugliness” of oversize sneakers that many have referred to as “dad shoes” and have turned them trendy.
Dad shoes got their name thanks to their retro appearance. Most look as if they’ve come straight out of your father’s ’80s wardrobe: nondescript white shoes, paired with tube socks and Lee jeans. Many feature thick soles and an overall chunky look, which screams comfort over chic.
Google Trends shows peak searches for “dad sneakers” and “dad shoes” this summer. And the retail analytics company Edited reports a 627 percent increase in the number of dad sneakers in stock online in the past three months compared with a year ago.
“Just within this year, chunky sneakers have seen a 238 percent uptick in stock in the last three months compared to three months prior to that,” Katie Smith, retail analysis & insights director for Edited, tells USA TODAY.
Pinterest also has seen increased interest: Searches for “dad sneakers” are up 730 percent from January to date.
Though it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly who started the trend, Jane Buckingham, founder and CEO of the trend forecasting and consulting com-
pany Trendera, says brands like Nike and Adidas started going “chunkier” about a year ago.
Last August, the Adidas Yeezy Wave Runner 700 was released, which offered a much chunkier, “dad” look than sleeker shoes (like the Nike VaporMax) that were popular at the time. At the same time, Nike was brining its own bulky shoes to the party. They celebrated the 35th anniversary of the classic 1982 Air Force 1 shoe with collaborations with rapper Travis Scott and Louis Vuitton artistic director Virgil Abloh. Their thick-soled Nike Mars Yard sneaker, a collaboration with artist Tom Sachs, also became more available last year.
Buckingham says those moves influenced designer labels such as Balenciaga to make high-end versions.
Smith says “dad shoes” are selling especially well in this luxury market, with Balenciaga’s Triple S Trainers ($895) the best-selling brand across 122 brands that sell the style.
Celebrities and fashionistas also are fans of bulky buys from Gucci, which sells a logo-sided white leather Rhyton sneaker that runs more than $800, and Louis Vuitton, which offers the bulky Archlight sneaker for more than $1,000.
Buckingham says the trend is a resurgence of “retro” fashion as well as a reaction to femininity in fashion.
“Here we have this huge #MeToo, ‘go women’ thing happening at the same time as a huge romanticism and femininity in fashion. Mixing these frilly dresses with chunky, even ‘ugly’ sneakers sort of says ‘Don’t assume I am weak and all girly.’ It also says ‘ There is more to me than meets the eye.’ And millennials – in particular – are all about duality and showing multiple sides of themselves.”
Unlike other shoe trends, like the celebrity-loved see-through shoes, dad shoes also have a wider, unisex appeal.
So which young stars are rocking the trend? Jaden Smith wore a pair of Louis
“We have this huge #MeToo, ‘go women’ thing happening. ... Chunky, even ‘ugly’ sneakers sort of says ‘Don’t assume I am weak and all girly.’ It also says ‘ There is more to me than meets the eye.’ ”
Jane Buckingham CEO, trend forecasting and consulting company Trendera
Vuitton’s Archlight sneakers ($1,090) to the Met Gala in May.
Chance the Rapper performs in various brands, and Kanye and his family, including his wife, Kim Kardashian West, rep his Yeezy label.
Street style favorites Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin also have been seen rocking the look.
And the look spans age groups. Some famous dads are wearing them too, including Thom Yorke of Radiohead. He sported a pair of all-white ’80s-inspired Reebok sneakers, completing his (seemingly ironic) dad look with rolled jeans and tube socks.
Moms Stella McCartney and Celine Dion also have hopped on the trend.
The style has gone beyond celebrities as well. A quick search for #dadshoes on Instagram yields more than 30,000 results, most of which come from noncelebrities.
Dad shoes are part of the larger trend of ’80s and ’90s fashion statements that are getting another moment in the spotlight, including fanny packs, hair scrunchies and bike shorts.
And it doesn’t look as if the trend is going away anytime soon. Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted told CNBC in August that millennials continue to drive throwback-sneaker sales after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.
“The newest trend you are seeing in the high street is the mock-ups or the new models from what we had in the ’90s, so the big clunky shoes are now coming in,” he said.
“Which aren’t for everybody’s taste, but that’s the new taste.”