Dan: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Dan.
Neil: Let me just sit down.
Ah!
And I'm Neil.
Dan: Neil,
are you wearing high heels?
Neil: Hang on.
Ah!
Not any more!
Dan: How did they feel?
Neil: Agony!
How do women do this?
Dan: Why on earth are you wearing them?
Neil: Well, I wanted to look fashionable and cool!
Everyone knows that high heels are the
height of fashion
– on the street, at work and at parties.
I'm ready for anything!
Dan: I'm not so sure you're right there, Neil.
Our topic for this 6 Minute English is about
the rise in popularity of the comfy shoe.
However, before we step into that,
let's have our quiz question.
Which famous sports clothing company's
first pair of running shoes
was inspired by the square pattern
on a waffle-making machine?
Was it: a) Adidas
b) Nike, or
c) Puma
Neil: Well, I have no idea, so I'm going to say
Adidas because that's got marks.
Dan: We'll have to wait until later to find out.
So, what do you think of when I say comfy shoes?
Neil: Well, 'comfy' is an adjective which is an informal
way of saying 'comfortable'.
So, I suppose we're talking trainers.
But I was always told that trainers weren't appropriate
for everywhere, like work and many formal or social
places, such as parties, bars and clubs.
Dan: Well, that certainly used to be the case,
but that may not be as true any more.
Victoria Moss is the Senior Fashion Editor
at the Telegraph newspaper in the UK.
Here she is speaking on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour
about why trainers are considered
more fashionable these days.
Is it something that's happened very recently?
Victoria Moss: Well I think it's been, sort of,
coming on for a while. And I think one thing in fashion
in the last 10 years has been a, sort of, mass
casualisation of everything. And there's been a big
streetwear trend, which has filtered through.
Dan: So, is it something that's happened very recently?
Neil: Apparently not, no.
She said that there has been a mass casualisation of
things over the last 10 years.
'Casualisation' here means 'the
process of becoming less formal and more relaxed'
– 'more casual'.
Dan: Yes! Society has relaxed its idea of what
is considered formal or appropriate.
In addition,
we're told there has been a big streetwear trend.
'Streetwear' is a style of casual clothing worn especially
by young people from urban settings – that's the city.
Neil: This trend has filtered through.
If something 'filters through', it appears or happens
gradually over time.
Dan: So, presumably, the trend for streetwear filtered
through from its specialised area into mainstream
fashion until everyone was following it.
Neil: Well, that explains why trainers are more
fashionable these days, but it doesn't explain
why people are wearing them more.
Not everyone follows fashion, you know.
Dan: Yes, Neil, I can see that when I look at you.
But you're forgetting the comfy part.
Emma Supple is a podiatrist
– a foot doctor -
who also spoke on Woman's Hour.
Here she is explaining why being comfy is so important.
What are people doing more these days
that they weren't before?
Emma Supple: So what we're actually talking about is,
actually, people, for wellness walking more and doing
more… and they're not going to do that in
a lot of high heels… so trainers
are changing the materials. There are now a lot of fabric
trainers and if you've inherited foot problems,
then that kind of fabric…
they're wrapping around knobbly bits,
and knobbly bits hurt.
Dan: What are people doing more?
Neil: They're walking more and they're doing it
for wellness.
'Wellness' is the state of being healthy.
Dan: As a result,
trainers have had to change their materials to fabric
to make themselves more comfortable.
Neil: Not only that, but if you have any foot problems,
these fabric, or cloth, trainers are better at fitting
to the shape of your foot.
That means if you have any knobbly bits,
they won't hurt as much,
which makes trainers more comfortable for everyone!
Dan: 'Knobbly' is an adjective that means 'lumpy'
– 'having many raised areas on the surface'.
Neil: So, it's the combination of a change in fashion
and a change in materials
that's made trainers and other comfy shoes
more popular than ever, right?
Dan: Exactly!
And hard on the heels of that revelation,
we can reveal the answer to our quiz question.
Earlier I asked which famous sports clothing
company's first pair of running shoes
was inspired by the square pattern
on a waffle-making machine.
Was it: a) Adidas
b) Nike, or
c) Puma
Neil, you said?
Neil: I said Adidas
Dan: Sorry. The answer is Nike.
In 1971 their co-founder
Bill Bowerman was having breakfast when he
saw the waffle machine and it inspired the
design of Nike's first running shoe.
Let's hope it was comfy one.
Neil: Aha!
It must be time to review our vocabulary!
So, first we had 'comfy'
– an adjective which is an informal ways of saying
'comfortable'.
Dan: Then we had 'casualisation'.
This describes the process of things,
such as fashion or behaviour,
becoming less formal and more casual.
Neil: Next was 'streetwear'.
That describes a style of casual clothing
that is worn especially
by young people who live in cities.
Dan: Then we heard 'filtered through'.
If something 'filters through',
it appears or happens gradually over time.
For example,
has it filtered through to you yet, Neil,
that high heels were a mistake?
Neil: Yes it has!
They didn't do anything for my 'wellness', I can tell you,
which means 'the state of being healthy'.
Dan: And lastly, we had 'knobbly'.
This adjective means 'lumpy'
or 'having many raised areas on the surface'
- like skin when it gets cold.
Do you have anything knobbly on your foot, Neil?
Neil: Probably! My feet are killing me!
Dan: I think we've found your Achilles heel!
However, it's time to go.
But we will be back.
In the meantime, you can find us in all the usual
places online and on social media,
just look for BBC Learning English.
Bye for now.
Neil: Goodbye!