Photos by Jola Adesanya
Shoes: Nike Vandal 2K in Hyper Magenta
Fashion Mechanics is a series about my personal thoughts, feelings, and connections to pieces in my closet. It explores the deeper meanings, attachments to, and sentimentality of fashion.
When I was 5 or 6 years old and lived in Louisiana, I went to a day camp in the summertime while my parents worked. I was with a bunch of bad, but very cool kids everyday and even though I was a bit of a goody-two-shoes, they let me hang around them and watch them goof off and make dances to songs by the Hot Boyz. One girl had a pair of super clean, white platform sneakers, so typical of the 90's, and I asked her where she got them from. I made sure to tell my mom the exact name of the place she told me and I got hit with the "no" so fast I got whiplash.
To me, the platform sneaker was the ultimate shoe of the 90's. Dad shoes are up there, sure, but who didn't rock a lifted shoe back then? Me. I was the only one. Britney had them and so did Baby Spice (my favorite Spice Girl back then. I've since switched my allegiance to Posh and Sporty). I love my mom, but I was truly robbed of the experience of wearing that iconic style when it was actually iconic.
Being a lifelong member of the short club standing at 5-foot 2-inches, I love a good height boost. But in all honesty, I've never been one for heels. I can walk in them if they're 4-inches or lower, but only for so long until my right ankle starts to give out. It's sad, but true. The majority of my footwear consists of sneakers and since I am now financially independent, I've invested in several pairs of platforms to make up for the FOMO I experienced as a kid.
The Nike Vandal 2K is currently my favorite platform offering aside from the classic one by Superga. It's stacked, but has a design that's simple enough to style with most pieces. I don't usually like my footwear to be too busy or have twenty different colors, so these are cool, but still easy enough to wear. I also have them in their first iteration, a shiny blue and red colorway, and in all-white, which is my favorite.
I have an attachment to platforms that also exists beyond sneakers. As corny as it sounds, it's because that style is so reminiscent of my childhood. When the trend finally dies, I'll probably still be wearing mine. But, let's be real. As long as the 90's are back and have been for a few years now. Platform sneakers (and, love em' or hate em', chunky dad shoes) are going nowhere.
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