5 Things I Learnt About How To Shop For Sneakers

In case you haven’t noticed it, sneakers, trainers, kicks – whatever you call them – are everywhere. I admit I was quite narrow minded about sneakers. They were not fashion things – not a part of the fun shopping. Sneakers were general essentials, almost like grocery shopping. A chore that had to be done.

We (ok, I) have come a long way from that.

But sneakers have come a long way too. They are no longer ugly, chunky, in what was supposed to be ‘masculine’ colours (mostly brown, a colour I detest). They are now sleeker, sporty and well, almost stylish. They are made of more luxurious materials including leather and suede. They have prints and art, are personalised and basically have some legitimate fashion standing.

This has obviously come with some drawbacks – sneakers are expensive. Probably more expensive than most other shoes you (ok, again, I) own. I was recently in the market for some sneakers. The ones I liked are almost double the price I had budgeted for.

And I am not a colourful person – I hate the neons that sports companies seem to be obsessed with. Why should there be a pink and yellow neon strip in a perfectly good pair of plain shoes? And in case you are a woman not interested in buying pink sneakers – too bad. (And what I mean by that is what is wrong with you? You are a woman. Why do you not want pink shoes?)

(Bidisha loves these sneakers while they make me wince!)

Ok. Rant over. My interest was to buy sneakers I could wear out with a dress. (To clarify: I am not a jeans and sneakers outside the gym kind of girl. But I sort of wanted to be one – not with jeans but with a dress or a skirt. Jeans are too easy.) And still look chic. And wear them to the gym. And wear them for a while. And not spend a bomb. This took a lot of research so of course, that meant a blog post. This is what I learned about how to buy fashion sneakers which are also sensible.

1. Fashion sneakers cannot be too colourful. 

A maximum of three colours at the most. And two was as far as I was ready to go. And one of the two colours was white. Monochrome is another good option.

2. Do not be brand obsessed.

There is a world outside Nike and Adidas. Without going into the the whole question of whether these shoes are really better than the lesser brands, assume they are. But this only comes into play if you are going to be playing some intense tennis or football or similar sport. If you want stylish sneakers for walking and general lounging, spending on a pair of Nike tennis sneakers are a waste. Which brings me to my next point…

(However impractical green suede sneakers maybe for rainy London, these ones worn by Rannvijay are so cool! Also note the colourful socks please.)

(Also love Forum‘s very on point camo sneakers – and they are from Forever21!

3. The shoes need to be pretty but be made for the purpose you need to use it for.

Nike Roshes and the Adidas Stan Smiths and Superstars are really popular right now. But Nike Roshes are also not really running shoes and I am yet to discover the activity for which Adidas Stan Smiths were made. What are you supposed to do with sneakers which cost a bomb but are not meant for anything but normal walking? Strangely and to everyones confusion, the Nike Roshe Runs are not running shoes either. So do your research. Summary: If you need to use your sneakers for actual sport, do not buy wedge sneakers. But if you are going to use for general wear, back to point 2.

4. Shop (and think) outside the box. 

At the risk of ridicule, I admit the shoes I am wearing in the first picture in this post are Nike Roshe Ones. Which are for kids. So if you are an adult person with a shoe size less than 6 you can buy kid shoes. And get away without paying VAT on them in the UK. Who is laughing now?

5. Old sneakers are now ‘vintage’ and ‘classic’.

Most of the popular sneakers right now are based on vintage sneaker designs. You could buy these or get hold of a pair of vintage sneakers on ebay, Amazon and so on.

Or you could repurpose your old dusty sneakers.

Bidisha jazzed up her boring black Nikes with some fuchsia shoe laces.

Thats all the sneaker wisdom I have. Are you a sneaker head? Have any tips to share? Or are you looking around for sneakers to buy? Which ones are you considering?

Thanks to Rannvijay, Forum, KC and Dhara for letting me have your pictures.

– Anisha