Do they have to be Nike?

[theshadeofgreen]

I'm a bit rubbish with fashion but want to be better.

I see everyone out and about in white trainers with things I'd usually have put heels with and am dying to happy to make the transition.

All of the 'cool' people to see seem to have chunky white Nike trainers - I love them look but do they have the be Nike to get the look right?

Is adidas acceptable with people who get fashion? Or am I stuck in the 00s?
Puma? Or is that 90s?

I'm mid 30s for context

Help please 🙏🏻

You can wear anything you like, it doesn't have to be Nike.

There's what is in for teenagers (Nike, unless the teenager is really into haute fashion and wants those hideous Balenciagas or something) and there is what is in for proper grown-ups (all kinds of things).

It depends a bit how current and how bleeding edge you want to be. Nike AF1s are a safe all-ages choice. Adidas Gazelles or Stan Smiths have enduring retro value. Vejas say "I'm 30something but I still care about fashion. A bit." New Balances say "I have my finger on the pulse" (right now, ask again next week). The hideous Balenciagas say "I am really, really into high end fashion, and have the money to buy or at least rent it."

@AquaticSewingMachine exactly what I needed 🙌🏻 thanks so much

What about New Balance 550?

I don't really wear trainers etc but I do have vans and vintage style puma. Vans look nicer.

Round here Nike is mainly worn by teenage boys. Grown women are in all sorts like Reebok, Puma, Adidas...

Liz Truss broke white trainers. I can’t unsee this

Well I suppose it's the difference between whether someone is interested in being stylish and/or having (or having the confidence to develop) their own style or just following what has arbitrarily been declared as being in fashion.

I couldn't tell the difference between any of the trainer brands. They fall into 2 categories- the really ugly ones, which look a bit silly off the sports field, or the ones that aren't ugly and what used to be called plimsolls/ gym shoes and are canvas shoes.

@FlorettaB ohhhhhhhh wel that changes things 😅😅🤣

Feast your eyes on them Balenciagas, people. A snip at £775.

I just ordered some coloured New Balance 327s. I also have:

• white Nike hitops with blue and orange accents
• black and white Adidas
• minimalist white leather slip-ons from Kin
• tan Ziggy hitop/hiking boot hybrids from Rogue Matilda.

I wear trainers with everything now, so I need a trainer wardrobe! Wearing the Nikes today to work with widelegged trousers.

Not really. The people talking about not caring what is in fashion ie current and the people talking about comfort are categorically stating they are not interested in fashion or style yet they post on a thread asking specifically about those things.

The OP was asking if Nike was in fashion.

One can be stylish without caring whether Nike or any other brand of trainers are in fashion. It's the difference between having the confidence about having your own style or wearing a fundamentally unattractive and utilitarian shoe simply because that particular brand is temporarily decreed to be in fashion.

The key to the question is fashion. Not trying to chide people for caring about it and/or not having confidence to establish their own style.

“Nike had been accused of using sweatshops to produce its sneakers and activewear since the 1970s, but it was only in 1991 when activist Jeff Ballinger published a report detailing the low wages and poor working conditions in Nike's Indonesian factories that the sportswear brand came under fire.”

This would put me off.

That is unbelievably hideous. Rogue Matilda are rather nice.

Several posters have pointed out it really doesn't matter which specific brand.

There are so many brands these days that you could choose from. They don’t ‘have’ to be anything, really. I think white trainers are just another classic staple now.

Nike has however always had a bad reputation for workplace practices.

I couldn't tell the difference between any of the trainer brands. They fall into 2 categories- the really ugly ones, which look a bit silly off the sports field, or the ones that aren't ugly and what used to be called plimsolls/ gym shoes and are canvas shoes.

That doesn't make sense. There are lots of trainers e.g. Stan Smiths, superstars, AF1s, that neither look like trainers for playing sports in, nor are canvas pumps (which is what I would class Converse and Superga as, not trainers) and I assume are what the OP is looking for.

@AquaticSewingMachine my daughter tells me that vejas are for “ mums with instagram accounts” , whatever that means. I still like them though!

I’m still surprised that the big brands are selling us fake leather trainers for £££. I bought some white leather Stan Smiths a couple of years ago but the newer stick seem to be mostly plastic now. Veja also seem to be ‘vegan leather’. And the Nike AF1 trainers. What a swizz!

Showing my age now (50) but in the late 1980s, the last time when chunky white trainers were cool (although alas accessorised with massive glittery laces etc), the only shops selling white fake leather trainers were the really, really cheap ones like What Everyone Wants! And not for Nike or Veja prices.

In answer to your question OP, like PPs I prefer a more streamlined white trainer rather than the massive chunky ones. More elegant. The Ralph Lauren ones are nice (and made of leather). Plus the sight of the gambolling horsey might shut your niece up, you never know. I’ve also got some nice white leather trainers from LK Bennett.

I live in trainers and I’m old. For me white trainers are a summer thing. In winter I wear dark ones. Navy gazelles, dark green NB or some fur lined Vans I have. I also steal my teen’s Jordans when he’s not looking.

That about sums it up! Why worry about that, though, if you like them, especially if you are a mum with an Insta? I don't want to dress like I did when I was a teen, and I doubt most people over the age of 25 do.

I forgot to mention the alt/skate options in my rundown; the checkerboard Vans are a classic choice, as are Converse in any colour, although at this point Converse have such saturation that all they really say is that this person is probably under sixty, and probably has a pulse.

A mid 30s woman trying to fit in with 15 year olds will always look tragic. Just wear what you like.

Unless you are a fashion conscious 15 year old, just wear what you want brand/style wise. Nobody is looking at your feet. Personally I think white is a silly colour in autumn with mucky leaves everywhere... I favour navy blue (not) converse or leather boots now the weather has turned

I’m mid forties and also have my eye on some white trainers. I’m going to get Birkenstock bend low though as they sound really comfy 😂

At 51 I’m way past the point of having my finger on the fashion pulse. I go for what I like now. I have the low white Nike Blazers. They’re ok but painful on the back of the ankle for some reason. I also bought a pair of Saucony Shadow 500 trainers this year and I much prefer these. Very comfortable and I feel happy every time I wear them because of the colours. I think they do them in a range of colours but I especially liked the ones I bought!