Your grandpa’s walking shoes are the latest millennial and Gen Z status symbol

Your grandpa’s walking shoes are the latest millennial and Gen Z status symbol

Walking shoes are getting new life in the soles of millennial and Gen Z men.

From Keen's Uneek sandal to the Merrell Jungle Moc, these 20- and 30-somethings will don any footwear "that you could pilfer from a retirement-home denizen," The Wall Street Journal's Jacob Gallagher wrote.

The trend is born out of the desire for comfort over aesthetic during the work from home life, Gallagher said. "People just want to be a little bit more cozy," Stefano Gugliotta,the 29-year-old behind the Obscure Sneakers Instagram account, told Gallagher. "I think that practicality is what people are gravitating toward right now." 

Footwear is just the latest retail sector that the work-from-home economy has transformed, having already fueled the comeback of tie-dye apparel, the rise of the day gown, and a renaissance of the lingerie category. In December, both UBS and Bank of America noted the uptick in sales for footwear retailer Nike during the pandemic. Its web traffic was up by 36% for its first quarter, and then up to 40% for the next three months, per Bank of America.

Nike said on its December earnings call that it was seeing permanent shifts toward digital, athletic wear, and health and wellness amid the pandemic, and