OMG You Guys, Our Favorite Shoe From the ’90s Is BAAAAACK!

Ladies, the ultimate throwback is here. If you currently find yourself somewhere in your mid-30s to mid-40s—we know, we can’t believe it either—you’re going to remember the Slinky. It was Steve Madden’s ubiquitous black platform slide that literally everyone I knew had from the 1990s straight through the early aughts.

Here’s a little story for you: Way, way back in 1998, I nervously stood in front of my dormitory on the first day of college, wearing Levi’s cutoffs, a Gap t-shirt and New Balance sneakers. My fellow students, however, had a much different wardrobe. I was at a city school where most of the student population hailed from places like New York, Los Angeles and overseas, and their outfits were far more sophisticated than mine. Tight black shirts tucked into Diesel jeans, Gucci belts, a black backpack so many people were donning I thought it must have been a school giveaway (turned out it was Prada…who knew?) and—wait for it—everyone was wearing the Slinky. To say I stuck out like a sore, country bumpkin thumb would be an understatement.

Not that it mattered, clothes don’t define the person and I eventually adapted in my own way—via tiny t-shirts and Mavi jeans, obvi—but the one thing that all my peers were rocking that I could actually afford and did love, was the Slinky. Insanely comfortable, the platform added some much-needed height to my stature and some much-need city style to my overall look.

Fast-forward a couple of decades, and Steven Madden has re-released the Slinky in all its original glory. No tweaks, no 2017-must-have embellishments (Read: Pom poms and tassels galore), just straight up old-school Slinky. Amen to that. You can pre-order it now and expect delivery in late June. I’ll be wearing mine to a keg party and dancing my heart out to “Baby One More Time.”

Or, ya know, running errands and taking my kids to school.

PRE-ORDER FROM: Steve Madden, $69.95