Until recently, a busy commuter train would be packed with people wearing low-key, unobtrusive shoes. An elegant and inoffensive pump, a sporty trainer or a polite and basic ballet flat, they were the type of shoes that said background extra rather than main character energy.
But now change is afoot. Deliberately strange designs are reaching new heights of desirability. Polarising rather than pretty, these shoes tend to be flat, a little bit orthopaedic and, according to the internet, “ugly”.
