In case you wondered who would be crazy enough to pay $530 for a pair of dirty, pre-worn, taped-up sneakers, the answer is apparently plenty of people.
A check of the Nordstrom website Mondy morning revealed that the Superstar Taped Sneaker from Italian brand Golden Goose has sold out.
The sneakers, which are only available in whole sizes, boasted a "crumply, hold-it-all-together tape details a distressed leather sneaker in a retro low profile with a signature sidewall star and a grungy rubber cupsole."
If you missed your chance, Golden Goose also offers plenty of other worn-looking sneakers for upwards of $500. Their footwear collection is described on their website as a combination of "refined and modern style with a vintage feeling."
Nordstrom customer Worokya Duncan will likely not be thrilled by the news that the shoes have sold out.
When she first saw them last week, she called them "awful" and "insensitive" on Twitter,asking, "Who’s in the room when you design these?"
Duncan wasn't buying Nordstrom's response about how they're "always looking to bring in new, different, and unique products" and " realize taste is subjective and not every customer will like every product we carry."
She tweeted back, "This isn’t about taste. It’s about not recognizing that a store, for which I have a card, doesn’t get that poverty isn’t fashionable. I grew up ridiculously poor & could not afford the 'finer' things. That my embarrassment & struggle is being marketed disgusts me."
Other people on social media chimed in that they "wouldn't even take the shoes for free" and "For the low low price of $500, you too can look like you don't have any money!"
In Nordstrom's defense, many buyers shell out extra money for new shirts that appear distressed and pants that are preripped. But scuffed-up sneakers? To some, that's taking the worn trend too far.
But Nordstrom's line for what is "too far" seems to be different than the general public's. The company recently sold a pair of PRPS men's pants, caked with fake dirt, for $425; and a pair of Topshop "mom jeans" with see-through knees for $95.
