Sneakers

Bloomberg.com: U.S.

Bloomberg.com: U.S.: Jane Hali, a New York fashion consultant, recalls the city's transit strike 25 years ago for the shoes.

It was during those 11 days that she kicked off her heels and started biking to work in sneakers. Many more women marched through the city's streets the same way, with white sports socks yanked up over their pantyhose. The style came to symbolize the New York City working woman of the '80s.

``The strike pioneered commuters wearing sneakers'' in New York, says Hali, who was an assistant manager at Macy's Herald Square department store at the time and lived in Greenwich Village. `It gave women permission to be comfortable.''

As New York's 7 million transit riders wait for word on another shutdown of the trains and buses, many people are planning to pull out their most comfortable shoes and walk if that's what it takes to get to work on Monday. A lengthy winter strike might spur its own fashion trends, including more down, shearling and fur coats for Manhattan crowds accustomed to wearing lighter-weight wool, fashion consultants say.

posted by Eugen @ 9:55 AM