FLASHBACK-The “FLAPPER” is back!

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Fashion

FLASHBACK! Visualize (for those of you reading who are old enough to remember) or imagine (for those of you reading who are too young, think “That 70’s Show” if you must) the summer of 1979.  I remember it with GREAT Fondness. It was the summer after I graduated from high school. It was by far one of the most carefree times in my life. It was all about FRIENDS, FUN and inevitably there’s an element of FASHION in my life.

I was part of a large Friend group.   We were relishing every last opportunity to be together before we all went off to our respective colleges. (Or maybe it was just me who was appreciating every moment?) I went to a lot of parties and spent time at Friend’s Family cabins “up north”.  During one of our Northern Minnesota cabin adventures, we held a certain ceremonial burning for one of our friend’s  shoes.  Our Friend (who shall remain nameless) sported a pair of canvas tennis like shoes. His nearest and dearest high school girl Friends (myself among them) nicknamed these shoes  “The Flappers!”

In preparing to write this blog piece, I called one of my BFFs to corroborate Facts.  I needed to ask her if  she recalled whether we cleverly conceived the shoe nickname or if we plagiarized the term.  Her definitive response: “We made it up!”  Following our conversation, she dug into her photographic archives and Found a photo of me wearing his BIG “Flappers” (size 12 to be exact). Perhaps I was even en route to the designated camp site for the ceremonial burning?

See Below:
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To be sure, we girls deemed these shoes super UN-COOL! We were relentless in the amount of grief we gave him about them. We disliked them so much.  Thus, a ceremonial burning ensued.  In my imaginary memory bank we are cheering and chanting: “Flappers be gone Forever”  as the shoes we considered hideous, Finally ignited into Flames!

Revealing my own shallowness,  I could be quoted for Frequently uttering the Following dictum:  “You can judge a man by his shoes.”   The type of shoe a man wore mattered to me in my younger dating years. Birkenstock wearing men were particularly taboo. Bass Weejuns (particularly those with tassels and the other little flappy “thingy”) were my Favorites.  I digress. Needless to say, our Friend was potentially unfairly and harshly judged by us.  Since I am still a Friend of his, an apology is due straightaway!

Flash Forward- THE FLAPPERS HAVE RETURNED

Yes, by virtue of their presence everywhere, I think it’s evident the Flapper trend is back-In Full Force. From the moment I saw the First trendy pair, I quietly grinned.  You know the old idiom?  “What goes around comes around.”

I saw them everywhere in NYC a few weeks ago.  It seems each time I open a retail catalogue, I see some version of them. I noticed them in a plethora of places while I was at the MOA (Mall of America) earlier this week too.

See Examples-In every color. They are available in pony hair, leather, canvas, nylon and in a variety of prints. From “camo”, to leopard, hand painted, etc. In addition, it appears nearly every designer has some variant- from Sketchers to Jimmy Choo and Givenchy. See examples:

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My acquisition admission?  I have already purchased two pair this season.  The first being a pair I spotted at J. Crew Kids while out school shopping for my children.  I couldn’t resist the sparkly/blingy little numbers.  Fortunately, I can wear kid sized shoes which are often less expensive than ladies shoes therefore helping me better justify my purchase.  How can one be less than happy and peppy when one gazes down at one’s Feet in these?

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After I bought the sparkly J. Crew ones, I saw these at Target:

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These are my double-whammy trend FIND.  Since “Mad for Plaid” is another huge Fall trend, I Felt I couldn’t “miss” on the plaid Flapper.  I believe I double scored in the trendy area while only spending approximately $16.99.

What are any of YOU thinking of this new Footwear trend? Is it your look?  Is it your style?  Was my Friend (35 years ago) ahead of his time?  A genuine trend setter? Or have the Formerly Frumpy shoes just now gone super cool?

Please Share your opinions!

This morning this pair appeared on my instagram Feed.  I couldn’t resist showcasing one last particularly artistic pair:

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HAPPY FLAPPER SHOPPING FRIENDS AND FANS OF THIS NEW FUN TREND!!!

2 Comments

  1. Melissa says

    So funny! You still look like that young girl in the pic! Keep them coming. I’m having a tough week and you made me laugh out loud….

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