Did you own any of these classic 90/2000s footwear styles?
Did you own any of these classic 90/2000s footwear styles?
Ah, high school. Where it felt like you spent an eternity waiting to get out into the real world, a place, it turns out, where boring shoes pound pavements, and go mostly unnoticed - compared to the outstanding kicks you sported in your youth.
Back in the day, your worries may have been small, but at least your shoe collection was vast and defining - that's provided you fall into the Gen Y and early Millennials category.
You wore your ridiculously thick, white-soled Pulps to the school social, your Etnies to the dairy with your mates and, during school hours, you scuffed around in your Roman sandals with the backs cut off.
While you may have outgrown the shoes, you'll no doubt cherish the memories you made in them forever.
The beauty of these particular shoes was that they were cool at the skate park as well as being mum-approved for formal family occasions. Paired with wide-legged jeans and a long-hanging skater belt, these were coveted kicks for sure.
Side note: Are you as stunned as we are to learn you can still buy these bad boys?
Globes
Globes. Photo / Ebay
In high school no shoe was too large. The Globe Tactic was a shining example of the extreme skater boy look that rolled rampant in the school yard.
But it was short lived. The world just wasn't ready for the giant Globe. And it may never be.
Beaded mesh slippers
Chinese slippers. Photo / Amazon
Cheap as chips, these mesh slippers seemed to become a trend out of nowhere.
When your toes busted through the fronts, you were only $5 away from a brand spanking new pair that would see you through the next four to six weeks.
Platform sneakers - Pulps or Sketchers
Platform Sketchers. Photo / Etsy
Blame the Spice Girls for this trend, which peaked after the movie Spice World (which you totally owned on VHS).
The look was quickly copied by 90s shoe giants Pulp and Sketchers.
Skechers to Pulp were as Gucci is to Glassons. Alright, maybe not that extreme. But that little 'S' on your Skechers was important to help give you some next level street cred.
Etnies (white with pink)
Pink and white Etnies. Photo / Pinterest
Etnies were a classic high school "bad girl" shoe. You may or may not have extended your look to full-blown Avril Lavigne circa Sk8er Boi but, either way, in a pair of Etnies you were instantly cooler. And you could absolutely pull off a sweet Oli 360 on your skateboard.
Rainbow foam platforms
Platform rainbow sandals. Photo / Etsy
Rainbow was good. Platforms were good. So what more could you possibly need in a viral shoe trend back in high school? Literally nothing.
Bata Bullets
Bata Bullets. Photo / Pinterest
A self-confessed Bata Bullet expert had the following to say on the iconic shoe:
• Durable and great for using as brakes when you hooned down the hill on your fishtail skate board • Fast entry and exit with velcro straps, which made them perfect when running to the pillows for SSR in the library • Lightweight • Cheap • Water repelled from the faux leather uppers.
Comfy, always a size too big, and the standard uniform shoe since forever, you were a legitimate badass if you folded down the backs of these awful sandals. And you were even naughtier if you cut them off completely to turn them into slides.
Platform loafers
Platform loafers. Photo / Pinterest
If they were good enough for Rachel from Friends, they were good enough for you.
Plus you felt like a real "adult" every time you wore them and they made your pedal pushers look fly.
Spice Girl-inspired sandals
Spice girls sandals. Photo / Pinterest
Sporty and Baby Spice turned these shoes into a viral trend. They worried mothers the world over as they watched you teeter off to your friend's 13th birthday party in a pair.
