What Ever Happened to L.A. Gear?

Ah, L.A. Gear. The high top sneaker that had street cred AND appeared super cute, evidenced by their own use at one point of star spokesmodels Paula Abdul and Belinda Carlisle. Alright, so the street cred part may be a stretch, but we thought they were totally trendy (and they came with little license plates) .  What more could a late 90s woman want? However, in the fashion world all good things must come to a conclusion, and also the once super-popular L.A. Gear sassy sneaker empire finally fizzled. However, the question is, what ever happened to L.A. Gear?

What Happened to L.A. Gear

For the uninitiated (read: those under 35) a little background: L.A. Gear was among those beautiful fashion fad arcs that began out high-end (not kidding) but trickled down fast and thankfully into cheap, attainable fashion for the mainstream masses. Founded in 1979 by Robert Greenberg (who later founded the L.A. Gear of the early 2000s, Skechers) the L.A. Gear manufacturer sold not only fashionable footwear, but a lifestyleand that in the 1980s did not need to be a part of their glitz and glam and perpetual sunshine of Los Angeles, CA? Initally launched for sale in Greenberg’s own women’s style retail shop, L.A. Gear quickly moved into department stores and by 1990 boasted sales third only to athletic footwear giants Nike and Reebok.

It’s what happened in and about 1990, nevertheless, that contributed to L.A. Gear’s downfall. And what happened, in a note, was grunge. Girls who once were into ice-cream colored harvest tops and spandex brief (L.A. Gear advertising appeared to often center around super cool girls with blonde perms and scrunchies hanging out in the soda shop) were into drab plaid, torn denim and general discontent, and all of a sudden everyone wanted to be from Seattle rather than LA.. As a company, L.A. Gear didn’t respond well to the seismic shift on fashion sensibility, and tries to branch out into men’s athletic footwear did not go well (even though Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was envisioned in an advertisement, backed by flames and sporting spandex short-shorts and large white athletic socks — or, on second thought, maybe because of the ).

L.A. Gear might have never regained the style trend status they once enjoyed, but the truth is the brand still exists, although their sneakers no more grace the shoe departments of fashionable retailers–rather, you will discover them (according to their site ) at mainstream, white bread middle America retailers like Beall’s, Shoe Carnival and Sears.

And so far as styling goes, gone are the iconic tops that are high and in their place? Brightly colored fitness shoes that seem a whole lot like each other shoe on the wall in the Foot Locker (we are sure there are nuanced differences, but they all seem pretty much exactly the same to us).

Retailing for somewhere between $40 and $50 dollars, now’s L.A. Gear shoe is fairly funds friendly, but obviously will never recapture the magic that had us spending all our spare cash on amassing the perfect collection of colored shoe-laces and scrunchable socks to achieve the quintessential L.A. Gear look.

And just if you’re a 90s baby and don’t have any idea what we’re discussing, behold this collection pictures that capture the attractiveness (or terror, depending on your view ) of the L.A. Gear phenomenon, via BuzzFeed.

Maybe try a twist on the old high-top — LED light-up shoes, if you really wish to recapture the bold shoe of days past. Yes, that sneakers that are light-up! They do possess a flair to them, although these are not for the faint of heart.

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Angela

Angela is a senior writer who’s been hanging round TBF since way back in 2007. When she is not weighing on the merits of, say, feathers as a fashion statement, Angela works as a bridal consultant in the St. Louis area. She enjoys sunsets, and long walks in Target.

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