By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
March 8, 2000
Rocker bottom shoes.
You’ve seen them on the runways, in fashion magazines and on display in your favorite department stores.
Come spring, you’re likely to see some of Chicago’s more trendy folks kicking around town in the kicky, elfin shoes. Because the soles curl up around the toe area, wearers rock forward a little when they walk (hence the name).
Be forewarned though: These shoes are not for the uncoordinated.
“You have to be a little athletic, active-minded or young to wear them,” says Meg Rottman of Style PR, a marketing agency specializing in fashion. “They’re fun but not the easiest shoes to walk in.”
But pundits are predicting the fashion-forward set will snap these shoes up quicker than you can say, “Stilettos!”
And the look is showing up under such brand names as Enzo Angiolini, Skechers and Nine West.
“I think they’re really interesting shoes,” says Tricia Tunstall, co-owner of Phoebe 45 in Wicker Park. “Because they curve at the toe, you can see the color underneath. So if you’re wearing a black shoe with a red sole, people can see both colors when you’re walking or just sitting down. It’s a nice effect.”
Like most fashion trends, the rocker bottom isn’t new. It dates to the early 1980s.
“They came out during an era when shoe styles changed every season,” says Rottman. “This time around, they’ve been around for about a year.”
So why this surge in popularity now?
“The rocker bottom is part of the same trend that brought back the platform shoe,” Rottman continues. “When you have a thicker bottom in shoes, then there’s bottom interest in general.
Designers look for ways to expand on that theme, and one way is to play around with the toe area. There’s only so much you can do with a shoe.”
