Remote work and shutdowns during Covid have upended everything else, so why not our shoes?
Forget the high heels. Crocs and sneakers are the attire of choice if the dog is the only one who sees your feet. Men and women are ditching the dress shoes for comfortable Birkenstocks.
“When you’re in your home, where we’ve all felt safest during this very stressful and trying time, I think the one thing that we could control is our level of comfort,” says Patti Reilly, now a brand strategist and business coach who was a featured host on QVC for many years.
According to NPD Group, a market research firm, the sale of dress shoes is down 71% compared to this time last year.
Women are done with those painful, damaging heels when possible. “When we think back to our typical in-the-office workdays, wearing the heels and putting on the work-appropriate attire, including the bra – let’s just go there – the second we get home we just take it off,” declares Reilly. She says about 20 years ago there was a move by some designers to make fashionable women’s business high heel shoes that featured comfortable soles, but the trend didn’t catch on and fell out of favor. This might be time for a comeback.
photo: getty images