The Chunky Footwear Virus
2021 has been a year full of bugs in New York City: the COVID-19 Omicron variant crashed the party, spotted lanternflies are buzzing all over the five boroughs, and chunky footwear has stomped on us so hard that it’s viral to the point of being beyond a trend. While I'm grateful to have never caught COVID, and there have been only a few spotted lanternflies sightings where I live, it's safe to say that I caught a severe case of the chunky footwear bug about midway through 2021.
For years I was all-in on slimmer and minimalist silhouettes for my footwear, but lately it seems like I can’t satisfy my appetite for chunky shoes. In my collection right now I have Jordan 1 Hi’s, Adidas Stan Smiths, multiple pairs of Nike Blazers, Yeezy 350v2’s, AND Adidas Ultraboosts. All of these feel too slender most of the time when I put them on, and I inevitably switch to one of the chunkier footwear options in my collection.
I love sneakers in general and so I’ve window shopped for the New Balance 992 – one of the OG “dad shoes” - at least once per week every week for the last few months. Maybe I’ll pick up a pair of those before it’s time to start bringing out the lighter spring clothes. For now, my go-to sneakers are usually my pair of tan Kim Jones x Converse Chuck Taylor 70s, or one of my pairs of Nike x sacai runners - I have both the LDV Waffle and VaporWaffle silhouettes.
It’s nice to have a few non-sneaker footwear options too, so I’ve also started investigating chunky loafers and boots. I thought some loafers would let me easily elevate my casual outfits, so I grabbed a pair of orange-brown leather chunky loafers from CamperLab towards the end of the summer.
These Walden chunky loafers from CamperLab can elevate a casual outfit while keeping it from feeling too stuffy. Image courtesy of Farfetch and CamperLab.
It’s cold-weather season now as I write this, and I’ve noticed chunky-soled Chelsea boots more and more on people’s feet. I’ve wanted a pair of those as well so that I have a fun boot option for the nasty winter weather that’s to come. Dr. Marten’s offers a solid chunky Chelsea option at a reasonable price point. At the other end of the price spectrum, there are some gems like these beautiful Lir Chelsea boots from Moncler – look at the CHUNK on those midsoles! Whenever wear my Explorer combat boots from Thursday Boots, I think about those Monclers and my combat boots suddenly don’t feel THICC enough.
These Lir boots from Moncler are so CHUNKY! Image courtesy of Moncler.
Thinking back on it, the last time I had a pair of Chelsea boots, they were these slim Saint Laurent Wyatt-boot “homages” from ALDO shoes. I used to love how those boots looked with my slim-fit jeans, but WOW, those things were uncomfortable as hell. I’d never buy something like those again at their current price point (they were much less expensive in 2017). Perhaps I’ll buy the Dr. Martens or the Moncler boots and write a review for a future post.
It is safe to say that non-sartorial fashion has been moving towards comfortable and wider silhouettes at light speed. For footwear, the not-so-secret formula for more comfort is to increase the size of the midsole so that there’s more room for cushioning. Once you start incorporating chunky shoes and boots into your rotation, you will find it’s very hard to go back to the slimmer, sleeker, sexier styles of the 20-teens. If you’re like me and your casual wardrobe is morphing (back) into a chunky-footwear-friendly, 90’s and 2000’s aesthetic, then it becomes quite evident that the chunky footwear bug is to stay.
