Happy Feet

It’s been 30-plus years since sneakers as a fashion statement got their improbable start when the New York City transit strike of 1980 had legions of career women hoofing it to work with broad-shouldered suits on their backs and high-tops on their feet. Little did they know then, those women were creating a look that would last — even if it was a dubious look at best — and one that has reemerged ever stronger in the designer market, where high-tops are kicking ballerina flats off their casual-chic perch. 

 

“The high-top trend has been bubbling up for some time, and, as trends go, it usually takes a few seasons for them to take hold,” says Holli Rogers, fashion director of Net-a-porter.com. “I think it’s most prevalent now, since this year we have seen a resurgence of trends from the late Eighties/early Nineties and the high-top sneaker is certainly associated with that excitement.”