Shoe trends come and go, but sometimes a trend sticks around for long enough that it becomes the defining style of an era. Today, we’d like to pay homage to some of the biggest shoe trends in the last couple decades. Whether you love these trends or love to hate them, you can’t deny they’ve had a big impact on the world of fashion.

But first, be sure to be on trend this year. The last couple years have been all about style and comfort. With the “athleisure-wear” movement thriving, more and more women are putting comfort first while still looking great. Our open-toe tennis shoes fit the bill perfectly. With lots of fun colors to choose from, you’ll always find a pair of OpeToz that fit your style. Check out our entire collection of open-toe tennis shoes today, and keep reading to learn about some of our favorite shoe trends in the past.  

Platform Shoes: Who could forget platform boots and heels? They stayed in style for so long!  Beginning at discotheques in the 1960s, the platform shoe was worn by both men and women. Platform shoes appeared everywhere from covers of teen magazines to the feet of glam rockers throughout the 70s, after which they temporarily dipped out of style in the mainstream. Platform shoes made a comeback during the 1990s when UK fashion designer Vivienne Westwood reintroduced them. Unfortunately, their big debut featured supermodel Naomi Campbell falling on the catwalk while wearing the 5-inch soles. However, this didn’t deter young women everywhere from latching on to the sky-high shoes. In the late 1990s, platforms became the signature shoes of the girl band, The Spice Girls.

Thigh-High Boots: The iconic shoes of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, thigh-high vinyl boots became all the rage in the 1990s. Soon, every “It Girl” in the 90s owned a pair of shiny black thigh-highs. In recent years, thigh-high boots have come back into style with the preferred fabric being soft, comfortable suede.

Gladiator Sandals: Since gladiator sandals have been around since the time of actual gladiators, they eventually morphed into the sandal of choice for women everywhere. Pretty much any sandal with lots of straps can be characterized as a gladiator sandal, but traditionally they are brown in color and feature several medium-thick straps going across the foot and up the ankle. This look began to pop up on runways in the 1960s, but really hit its stride in the early 2010s.

Open-Toe Tennis Shoes Are The Best Current Shoe Trend