Sneakers have become a huge, and hugely popular, fashion statement. These days you can pair a great pair of low-top or high-top sneakers with just about any outfit because modern fashion is all about irregular outfit juxtapositions. Sneakers are also right in line with the Casualization trend.
I see sneakers on the streets of Seattle many, many times a day. In fact, they might be the most popular shoe on the street. Men, women and children of all ages wear all sorts of sneakers casually with sports gear, jeans, casual pants, leggings and shorts. I see girls and women wear Converse and slip-on sneakers with casual dresses and skirts quite often too.
I see far fewer men and women wearing sneakers in a fashion-forward way, like with dressy suits, trousers, skirts, fancy shirts, silk blouses, and more formal dresses. Outfits tend to be very casual, and not very luxe, when sneakers are involved.
Greg wears a pair of Converse — he has many pairs — daily in the Summer and in transitional weather across casual and dressier outfits. ALL my clients and friends in the US wear sneakers in casual outfits. Many of them wear slip-on sneakers across patterns and solids with just about any casual look that is not workout wear. The slip-on sneaker has become the covered version of the flip-flop. It’s a very easy shoe to slip on and off, and comfortable to boot. No wonder it’s ubiquitous.
I love the look of sneakers in all sorts of outfits — dressy and casual — and I think they are an absolutely smashing fashion statement. I LOVE that designers have at last acknowledged our need for comfortable and practical footwear. That said, I am not a frequent sneaker wearer. I wear sneakers when walking to and from yoga and sometimes when walking our Yorkie Sam.
Aside from that I don’t wear sneakers with my everyday outfits, or as a trendy fashion statement. I’m just not a sneaker gal. They are too sporty and too casual for my style. I’d much rather wear a comfortable pair of flat booties, loafers or oxfords in casual outfits. I wear casual white oxfords as my Summer white “sneakers”, and Timberland hiking boot sneaker hybrids as my cold weather sneakers. The exact items are shown in the collection below.
Over to you. Do you wear sneakers frequently? Do you wear them with sports gear, or with your everyday non-workout casual clothes? Do you create fashion-forward, irregular outfit juxtapositions by pairing them with dressier outfits?
