THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 24, 1995 TAG: 9502240058
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Teenology
SOURCE: BY MONIQUE WILLIAMS, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
MOVE OVER Doc Martens, here comes Skechers, the mother of all boots.
This combat boot makes all the others look like ballerina slippers. It has everything a teenager prepping for urban warfare would need: tractor soles, steel toes, heavy-duty insulation and a logger heel (that's when a chunk of wood is solidly sandwiched between two thick layers of rubber).
Shoe-crazy teenagers are snatching them up as if they were freebies. But at $95 a pop, they are likely to bankrupt most teens. When Bakers in Lynnhaven Mall had a recent sale on their Skechers (down to $28), the store quickly sold out.
``Even guys were buying them,'' says Christy Emerson, manager at the store.
For some teens, dressing up their feet in the latest is worth every sacrifice. Others, however, have to wait for sales.
``I'd love to own a pair of Skechers right now,'' says 16-year-old Julie Schaum, a sophomore at Kempsville High in Virginia Beach who's had her heart set on a pair of Skechers but who won't spend more than $50 on shoes.
And then there are those teens who, one could say, have a shoe fetish and who just can't get enough of the stuff.
Just ask 19-year-old Anna Pigott, who attends Tidewater Community College and who owns more than 50 pairs of shoes.
``I love shoes more than clothes,'' she says while lifting her pants legs to show off her latest acquisition, black ankle boots with a chunky heel.
Too bad that most people have only two feet and can only wear one pair of shoes at a time, because for some, shoemania is an affliction of the heart. Pigott even works for a Virginia Beach shoe store, where she can be very close to her addiction.
Pigott, however, isn't alone.
Schaum, too, owns more than 20 pairs of shoes. She shops for her clothes at thrift stores and doesn't like being out of step when it comes to foot fashions. She owns Airwalks, Vans and her favorites - E-Sides.
``It's real important to have the right outfit with the right shoe,'' she says.
Stephanie Stevenson, a 16-year-old junior at Deep Creek High in Chesapeake, has a passion for fashion and thinks that a great shoe adds a kick to any outfit.
``I usually try to make my own fashion statement,'' she says, ``and I like wearing combat boots with jeans and plaid shirts.
``Right now, I have to say that my Mary Janes are my favorite, but I also love my brown Vans, because I can wear them with anything.''
Stevenson wears her three pairs of Mary Janes with baby doll dresses, short pleated skirts and dresses.
This season's must-haves for girls are Mary Janes, which can also be found in black or white patent leather (at Wild Pair for $29) or in silver (at Bakers, $29).
Silver is undoubtedly the color of choice for many girls. They can even get a clunky and glitzy silver combat boot with lug sole that is guaranteed to evoke plenty of oohs and aahs (Bakers, $29). The perfect winter go-with is a thick wool thigh-high (Bakers, $9).
Popular with guys who like to toe the line are Simples (also available for gals), cool leather skate-boarding shoes that have become the fashion shoe (Sea Dream, $57).
And finally, some girls love being wild. For them, open-toed Mary Janes in a leopard print bring the jungle right down to their feet (Bakers, $29). ILLUSTRATION: [Color photos of shoes]
The popular Skechers boot.
by CNB