From the Bottom Up: Help on Proportions and Shoes Mini Lab

Sorry about the lighting in some of these - it's rainy and dark today.
I just received a pair of super comfortable New Balance leather sneakers in a tan that bookends my hair pretty well (note: my pics are closer to the real color than the Finds pic). I really love the way the shoes feel and I think they look JFE. But I'm not exactly sure how to best roll jeans (or other pants) to get the best proportions with these as they are a bit larger in scale to me. I also wonder what jeans should be on my shopping list for fall (I already have white/cream BR jeans that I didn't get a chance to try on with these). I'm thinking I need a new pair of dark jeans but not sure if I want straight, BF, distressed, skinny or what! I plan to wear booties, these leather sneakers, my navy leather sneakers (more streamlined than these).

Pic 2 - blue jeans in skinny and BF style with various roll options
Questions:
Are skinny jeans too small at the ankle to wear shoes that are a little big?
Do they look better in the second two images with jeans that have a bit more volume at the ankle?

Pic 1 - 3 variations on tops/toppers and roll or not roll on gray straight jeans

I didn't spend a lot of time styling these outfits but wanted to just show some things that I thought would give a representation of how I might wear these without giving too much thought.

Questions:
Roll or don't roll? Are these outfits proportionately okay? Do you have suggestions on what length of tops/toppers, volume of tops, etc. that would be best with them?

I also tried to tuck the laces but there is probably a whole tutorial on how to do that properly so I'll have to read up.

Any help/suggestions greatly appreciated!

Edit - reversed pics for better display on forum

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New Balance Women's WW980 Walking Shoe

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9 years ago

greycat6

Veteran

What an interesting comparison!

I am no expert, as I struggle with figuring this out for myself. My un-expert eye likes the wider cuff of the boyfriend jeans in picture 3 on your left foot. I think it balances the heaviness of the show. The more ankle showing the better. Have you tried no show socks with these? That will allow more ankle to show.

I really like how the shoe color bookends your hair. They look like a good match to your low contrast coloring.

kellygirl

I don't think you can go wrong with any of these. (I have a white pair on the way and plan to wear them rolled and unrolled.) I do think that rolled makes them look more fashion forward and intentional. I think unrolled they tend to look more conservative--like these are the kind of shoes you wear all of the time. y'know? Great color and love the simplicity of the design.

Anonymous

I think the sneakers look great as they bookend nicely as you say. I also like them with all jeans colours. A roll looks good too. I tend to prefer a roll quite close to the ankle bone or a good bit higher, as in your left foot on the first legs-only shot.

texstyle

(website)

greycat68 - thanks for your input! And yes, I can and will wear these without socks or with a hidden nude socklet. I wanted to wear socks for trying them around the house before deciding to keep them. I agree about balancing the shoe with the wider cuff.

kellygirl - thank you for your thoughts. IKWYM and agree that rolled is more fashion forward. I need to try these with my olive cropped pants too and see how much of a roll I should do. The same question would apply to the more streamlined navy sneaks I have but since those aren't as bulky it doesn't seem as much of an issue - they are more like ballet flats almost.

Diane - Thanks! I've spent a lot of time trying to find tan sneakers that I liked enough and were comfortable. I thought I wanted oxfords but after trying several, I realized my life is really so casual that even oxfords feel "dressy" for my current day to day. I also like the higher roll so hopefully I'm on track.

Firecracker (Sharan)

These sneakers are a great find for you! I do like how they bookend with your hair. My preferences are the multiple rolls on the wider-width hems and the single wide turn on the skinny jeans. Though I do like the multi-roll on the skinny jeans, too. I like a bit more ankle showing with the boyfriends--second boyfriend pic. I agree with Kelly, you can also wear the pants down, if you need to for warmth; it looks a bit more conservative, not as cool/stylish. I like all the topper ideas here--semi-tuck, moto, relaxed blazer. You could do a slouchy pullover sweater with a faux semi-tuck at the front.
As to new jeans, what about another skinny pair with a somewhat relaxed fit--like the ones you've shown here, in a dark, dark blue wash with tonal stitching? I'm thinking a little dressed up looking for something different than these, and the skinny silhouette would allow you to wear them inside boots and outside booties. I think the skinnies you show here look fine with these shoes; they do not look unbalanced to me, especially with the roll. (Skinnies on you look like straight-legs on me--a little roomy at the ankle.)

Firecracker- thank you, I must get used to more ankle showing! I just noticed that the 2nd and 3rd pic in the feet only set is the same photo. UGH. And I already cleared them from my camera. Oh well, the point remains the same, right?
Re: jeans - yes, I keep looking at dark wash skinnies but then I remind myself of the dye rub off issue and I stop. I wonder if anyone knows of a good dark jean that doesn't have the dye transfer issue on furniture, in the wash, etc.? I thought KUT might have some skinnies for me this year but I haven't seen any that looked right (too much stretch in most of them). The dye on the darker ones I'm showing here has been pretty stable.

thimblelina

Those are about the same tonality as a pair of sheet cork & vacqueta leather captoe sneakers I wear. Since they almost a nude for me, I tend to roll my jeans to show a little skin at my ankles with them. Don't know why, just feel like it looks better. I like the outfits you put together!

Isis

spanner, and certainly no expert. I like these without a roll. Nice kicks!

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