Didn’t we kick these boots to the curb?
A pair of controversial heels from the 2010s are making a comeback just in time for fall.
Jeffrey Campbell’s Lita boots are back en vogue as fashionistas welcome the revival of “Tumblr summer” — an ode to the popular blogging site that glorified indie sleaze in its prime just a decade ago.
The brand resurrected the formerly stomped-out trend, along with an accompaniment of early 2010s styles “because we saw the resurgence of these trends on the horizon,” a representative from the brand told The Guardian.
The Litas, which retail for $195, have sold approximately 430 pairs since the relaunch mere weeks ago, giving customers an opportunity to purchase a pair if they didn’t get the chance all those years earlier.
“I FINALLY HAVE ADULT MONEY TO BUY THEM,” rejoiced one user on TikTok.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment so I can heal my inner child who couldn’t afford them,” agreed another.
“I saved my shoes for 10 years for this exact moment,” someone else commented.
The towering, lace-up booties were the epitome of style when they first launched in 2010, and by 2013, the brand had sold 160,000 pairs, according to the Daily Beast. The shoe was even declared the trendiest footwear for a wedding day after the company debuted a bridal collection, according to Fashionista at the time.
TikTokker Erin Miller, 35, told The Guardian that, back in 2011, the shoe embodied a certain edginess that she loved.
“All I wanted was a skull scarf and studded Lita boots,” she recalled. “When Lindsay Lohan wore the pair to Coachella, I thought it didn’t get any cooler than that.”
But the prolific booties, which came in a wide range of colors and patterns, also received harsh criticism, earning titles like “the world’s ugliest shoe” — so perhaps it’s not all that unsurprising that the Lita is back, now that “ugly shoes” are cool.
“You either loved them or hated them,” Miller said of Litas.
To Mark Hunter — a photographer better known as Cobrasnake who documented the hottest party scenes in the 2010s — “art is subjective,” and even if the Lita is “ugly,” there’s a reason it’s appealing to some.
“As a guy, I always just thought they looked uncomfortable, like a horse hoof,” Hunter, who saw the Lita take over the most fashionable underground parties at the time, told The Guardian.
“In retrospect, I think the Lita represented the DIY spirit of the era, where fashion wasn’t about fitting in; it was about standing out.”