Dress and white trainers

[MJFEB2026]

Dated? Or still acceptable to wear?!

Loads of people wear the same thing. Who's walking down the street noticing so many different styles? I work in a major city, for the most part people dress like they're extras on the set of a dystopia film.

@Firesidechatter Well exactly. We actually have not been wearing trainers with dresses for decades. Certainly didn’t in the 90s! Or with those power Armani suits the decade before. Women wore heels or “court” shoes to work and you just never saw trainers. It’s only since comfort has been championed over Jimmy Choos that’s seen the change.

Vogue always photographs trends they see at fashion shows - invited journalists and patrons. There is always a trend coming from street fashion, but it’s not your average woman who picks this up and transfers it into everyday fashion. The catwalks and street fashion usually come together to produce a trend that gets photographed and then into fashion. It’s then mass produced for general purchase.

Look at recent trends, wide jeans, heavy frame glasses, retro trainers, etc. A few years ago you could not buy wide jeans! Now they and barrel legs are everywhere. I think it’s fun to see fashion evolve with new fresh ideas.

I also think it’s fun and it’s nice to find new trends that suit your body.

i recall when skinny jeans first came in, so many complaints from women, and i recall trying my first pair on and thinking they are so unflattering. No way. Slowly that evolved to a wardrobe full of them and a reticence to change.

then belatedly I tried my first pair of wide leg trousers based on my daughter urgjng me, I thought ooh I like these and so comfy, immediatly, so much more flattering, and now I’ve a wardrobe full of them.

i tried them due to fashion. I wore them as I liked them a lot, and my reaction to wide leg was much more immediate than it was to skinny.

same with trainers with dresses, I recall it used to be you’d only do that if you’d a fast walk to the train station after work, at work you’d change into your court shoes. And it looked weird.

now, I think it looks great, but I’ve went right off white, just they became too ubiquitous, for me it’s cream or tan, not the coloured bright ones in fashion.

but not every shape suits every body, for example I don’t like barrel leg, and think it the main it looks like a scurvy inflicted sailor. So I don’t wear them. I also don’t like anything super wide, and needs to be fitted round the tum and bum.

so we all need to wear what we like, what suits us. And you can look current with a slight deviation, for example cream trainers instead of white, a straight leg instead of skinny, and so on. But that’s only if it matters to you.

for many it’s irrelevant or they can’t afford to change their wardrobe. So you see all sorts out there.

but as we age, a nod to current is much more youthful and fresh than a dated look.

Surely the adding of the denim jacket to the picture below is about being cold? So the woman in the picture would still need to add something to her outfit is she's out all day in it?

If you are referring to my post about the yellow trainers, it's the snug-fitting cropped denim jacket and white daps that would make it look dated. An oversized bomber jacket with the yellow trainers would look more current.

same with trainers with dresses, I recall it used to be you’d only do that if you’d a fast walk to the train station after work, at work you’d change into your court shoes. And it looked weird.now, I think it looks great

You were right the first time. Dresses with vintage look trainers like Converse, Gazelle, Palladium etc look ok but ordinary trainers just look like you’re a tourist.

What gets me about the look is the sheer unimaginative sheeple aspect.

Why would anyone want to wear exactly the same as everyone else? I specifically avoid it for that reason.

So many different kinds of summer jackets and shoes.. why copy others in a look that’s now part it’s sell by date.

I could have written your post. Wide or straight leg jeans and trousers are much more flattering on me than skinnies. I share your dislike of barrel leg trousers as well.

It also took me a while to get used to the idea of trainers with dresses. I never bought white ones though because everyone else had them, and white would soon look very grubby where I live. I have navy leather trainers with white soles. They go with everything I wear.

My clothes last for years, so I try to update them with something more current (££ allowing).

All trainers look ugly to me. The yellow ones with the Kemi Telford dress look as bad as any others. You, (general you) would just look like someone wearing trainers.

I agree on typical trainers, I find it quite a dated look. I like the leather plimsole look.

also I have these and they are much neater on than a typical trainer.

www.meandem.com/retro-runner-trainer-latte

I don’t disagree, but I don’t like trainers.

The classic vintage plimsoll type are quite neat and don’t offend me. They’ve always been worn with dresses.

But proper trainers are so ugly. With everything.

I agree that the chunky trainers just look like trainers to me and not 'stylish'.
I don't particularly like that KT dress (shapeless and too floral), but the trainers look like something I might have.

I think that something like white Supergas would be fine in terms of being a classic look and not look silly.

Something like a bright yellow pair of Hokas might look current but if they weren't fashionable it's not a good look.

@Aluna , I agree with you.

@Firesidechatter ,those look nice.

Yes I agree those are cute. I wouldn’t wear them, but I like them.

These are the only type of trainers my DH is allowed to wear 😙 they have to be leather & dark colour.

Control freak!

Retro Runner Trainers | M&S | M&S

My personal rule is trainers with jeans/trousers, sandals with dresses/skirts.

I can’t imagine any situation where your DH wouldn’t wear what he wants! Well I hope so!