Raise your hand if you’ve ever fallen victim to the size-ten cap. (You can’t see this but my hand is raised.) As someone who wears a size 11, shopping for women's shoes hasn't been a breeze. Growing up, many popular retailers either offered sizing that maxed out around ten or stock that was incredibly limited in sizes 11 and up — as if “big feet” were a rare thing, SMH. Fast-forward a few years to when online shopping was booming and I suddenly gained access to a much wider pool of wider shoes. Although options larger feet are more common nowadays, it can still be difficult to find the perfect (read: stylish) pair.
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This Mother's Day, show your mom (or a mother figure in your life) how much you care with a luxe fashion or beauty gift from Macy's that says, "Have a self-care day on me" or "Thanks for responding quickly to my annual panic text about where my Social Security card is." Another plus? The 10 ideas ahead start at $15, so even if your budget is decidedly not in the home ownership/off-the-cuff international vacation range, you can still treat Mom to a bit of affordable indulgence. Thoughtful and fiscally responsible? She'll be so proud.
For the mom whose WFH style is OTT.
Paris Hilton during Cabana Pre-MTV Movie Awards Beauty Buffet – Day Two at Private Residence in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by J. Vespa/WireImage)
Picture this: It’s 2003, The Simple Life just aired its debut season, and Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are wearing trucker hats. Your crush, Ashton Kutcher, was just spotted courtside at the Lakers game wearing one, too. Now you want one, specifically from Von Dutch. A short while after, The New York Times deems them “not cool.” Defeated, you put the cap in a box in the back of your closet, where it has likely stayed for the past 15-plus years.
Cut to 2021. Visible thongs, platform flip flops, candy rings, and low-rise jeans are all gearing for a comeback. Y2K trends are, to the dissent of many who grew up in the aughts, all the rage. So naturally, the headgear beloved by ‘00s A-listers is also making its way back into fashion’s good graces.
LOS ANGELES CA – APRIL 12: Rihanna is seen at Wallys on April 12, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by 007 / photographer group /MEGA/GC Images)
If right about now you wish that you didn’t part with your Von Dutch trucker hat, you can still participate in the trend: The brand just reissued many of their early aughts styles, making the second coming of the hat style inevitable. According to Ed Goldman, the general manager of Von Dutch, when the brand started to notice a resurgence of other ‘00s-era trends, they saw an opportunity for a comeback. “Our brand is taking advantage of the shift by expanding our offerings with new, elevated styles, [while] staying true to the staples that made us so popular,” Goldman tells Refinery29. In its fall ‘21 collection, the brand included other ‘00s fashion mainstays like bowler bags, low-rise flare jeans, and crop tops with decals. Goldman says the uptick in popularity this year has been so significant that it’s easily comparable to the success the brand saw in the ‘00s. “The only difference is which celebrities and consumers we see wearing [our brand],” he says.
Maybe it’s just the cyclical nature of trends, combined with Gen Z’s obsession with styles from their birth years, that’s allowed for a Y2K fashion renaissance. That, or it’s rooted in the fact that so many people spent this year in their childhood homes, surrounded by their teenage belongings. Either way, trucker hats are back — and “that’s hot.”
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LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 02: Victoria Beckham attends the British Vogue and Tiffany & Co. Fashion and Film Party at Annabel’s on February 2, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
This week, a special package from Justin Bieber arrived on Victoria Beckham’s doorstep. Inside, was a pair of lilac clogs from the recent collaboration between Drew House (Bieber’s fashion brand) and Crocs. “Will I be wearing lilac Crocs?” the fashion designer asked her 28.9 million followers while unveiling the gift. 57 percent said no. Beckham agreed: “Well that was close! I think I’d rather die, but thank you anyway, Justin Bieber.”
While we’re on the side of the 43 percent of people who said yes, we can’t say we’re surprised by Beckham’s harsh response. In 2008, she famously told GMTV that she “can’t concentrate in flats,” and avoids the gym because she can’t bear to wear sneakers. (When she threw the first pitch at a Dodgers game in 2007, her sneakers had a wedge heel.) While the designer has since embraced flats, judging by this response, she’s not changing her mind about rubber clogs anytime soon. That’s too bad.
While Posh, like Naomi Campbell, may not be a fan of Crocs, high fashion has welcomed the shoes with open arms in recent years. In 2017, the brand teamed up with Christopher Kane, who sent his iteration of the controversial style down the runway at the brand’s spring runway show. Spring ‘18 saw additional Croc appearances, with pairs showing up again at Christopher Kane and then at Balenciaga. More recently, Questlove arrived at the 2021 Oscars wearing a pair of gold Crocs, which he paired with a navy blue suit, making a case for wearing the style on the red carpet.
If you ask us, Beckham should try them on before she judges Bieber’s preferred choice of footwear. They might not be the most attractive shoes by conventional standards, but, as anyone who has managed to get a pair from the brand’s sold-out collaborations with House of Drew and Bad Bunny would tell her, they are the ultimate comfort shoe.
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