Dress and white trainers

[MJFEB2026]

Dated? Or still acceptable to wear?!

It’s always good to remember that ‘fashions’ are started because the designers/retailers always want something new, so people will feel obliged to buy it, in order not to look dated. Hence the likes of barrel leg trousers.

It’s all in the cause of Making More Money! - so please wear what the hell you like.

I would say that I follow trends rather than fashion. I wear wide leg jeans for example and not skinnies. I still have my skinnies for walking in the mud with wellies on though.

I'm no fashionista but wasn't it Phoebe Philo who introduced Adidas Stan Smiths and it all went from there? The high street shops dont all just happen to have the same idea at the same time.

Fwiw I do think it looks a bit dated and I do care about things like that - not to the point of rushing out to buy a whole new wardrobe but just swapping a couple of bits eg a plain dress instead of patterned, chunkier trainers instead of more delicate ones or whatever works for you.

A pp mentioned sling bags and I can see them going the same way which is annoying as they're so bloody handy!

@Floisme I don’t understand why a style thread is so anti fashion. White trainers or sneakers was a trend started by women attending fashion shows. They are the women photographed by the magazines like Vogue and they make the trends happen. Look at bag size! Look at width of jeans. Women don’t have fashion lying around, they buy key pieces to bring their style up to date. The shops obviously have to spot trends early but ones like Zara are taking their ideas from the catwalk shoes and producing “fast” fashion copies along with basics. Lots of us get pleasure from this, others love to say how awful that is!

Earlier I posted some coloured trainers photographed by Vogue on real women. Most postered hated what the women were wearing - but seemed to have little to say about the trainers. All it demonstrated was that coloured trainers are a great choice this summer and wearing them with dresses is still a great choice. White trainers were not featured - we’ve done that look haven’t we? What’s wrong with yellow trainers for spring? I’ve got mine. Pale yellow suede. Love them.

Ignore what is in and what is out where what you like and what you feel comfortable in.

There is nothing wrong with coloured trainers but some people can't afford to buy new trainers or pieces to keep up with each new trend.
If they've already got white trainers that are perfectly wearable surely it's better to wear time than buy new coloured ones

The fashionable trainers nowadays all seem to be 90s retro style but not the trainers that were actually cool in the 90s, more like the ones you had to borrow if you forgot your PE kit 😂

I’ve honestly really struggled to find things I want to wear over the last couple of spring/summer seasons. I think in part it’s because of the rehashing of 90s fashion that’s been going on (sure my mum felt the same when I was wearing the 70s stuff!) Feels wrong to wear it again, but if you avoid that then it feels like you’re left with stuff that feels frumpy or is shapeless and oversized which also isn’t me. I don’t really know where to buy clothes any more (I’m 42)

I'm 56 & i love style & clothes & work in the Arts so have a lot of scope for wearing whatever floats my boat (as in i don't have to follow a dress code for work)

I hated the floral midi dress / denim jacket / white veja trainers / cross body faux colourful camera bag so beloved by so many women in the early 2020s

It was so ubiquitious & prolific. I once thought there was a fancy desss event in our city as there were literally hundreds of women, all dressed in this configuration, converged at the terrace bars - turms out it there was a Rod Stewart concert on...!

I have occassionally worn trainers with a column dress or skirt though its still not a look i love

I wear trousers more for day time wear.& wear & i wear trainers a lot with them. I don't have any white ones.

We were in Lucca last year & what struck me there was how the Italian women were dressed. All ages, all shapes wearing beautiful cotton dresses & simple leather sandals. They looked fabulous & the only people i saw trekking about in trainers were tourists. English speaking in dresses & trainers, German / Swedish in cycling shorts & vests & trainers - generalising but it was a clear trend

I think the trickiest thing to dress for is day time, city acitivity. I know trainers are by far & away the most comfortable things to run around in.

I am going to Venice soon & i plan to wear trainers & birkenstocks & a range of trousers & tops.

@taybert There are lots of coloured standard looking trainers! You really don’t have to buy the flatter retro ones.

TBH I didn't like any if the trainers on that post. I buy footwear to last so I stick to unobtrusive colours and classic styles, and I hate chunky shoes as they make my feet look too big.

I'm not anti fashion but I am anti fast fashion.

Are there 'trainers and trainers'?
I have flat leather white lace ups but I'd not call them a trainer.
They are more like a simple Converse but leather.

I don't like trainers that look like running shoes with massive chunky soles.

I think it's hard to compare Italian women who are out in the town and tourists who are perhaps walking all day in the city.

The reason I don't wear totally flat sandals in a city for walking is they make my legs ache after a while and if they have open toes it's very easy sustain some injury when it's very crowded.

And Italian women's dresses- the climate is more predictable. They buy more summer clothes. In the UK the weather is so variable that many women I know rarely update their summer clothes because they hardly get worn some years.

@MeetMeOnTheCorner oh yes I realise that and I have quite a few pairs, there are probably more trainer styles around than ever before to be honest, but the ones that would be considered the most fashionable are the more retro, thicker soles types.

I think it's more anti-wasting money and being dictated to - by who?

Many of us don't want to waste money buying summer clothes or shoes as they are only worn 3 - 4 months of the year in the UK.

Being sceptical, fashion is all about making money. Manufacturers have to make money so they bring out and promote new styles. Look a the latest skinny jeans versus barrel legs / wide legs.

It's the idea that there is something wrong with you if you hang onto your clothes rather than updating them- simply to put money in someone else's pockets.

Some of them are. They look ugly to me, as if they don't go with the clothes. The pic with the two women though - they both look great.

I've been wearing barefoot trainers for about 15 years now. They're slim (Merrell). I've got some lilac ones that go with nearly everything I wear, and black leather barefoot boots for smart/evenings. It's more about the rounded toes for me than thin soles though. They are comfortable, light, flexible, and I've lost my bunions! So yes, I hate traditional shoes where the toes are too narrow. The last time I wore trainers like that walking around London my feet were throbbing for about two days afterwards. Narrow-toed shoes were originally designed for the aristocracy to get their feet into stirrups, apparently. They're not good for feet!

I don’t understand the difference between following trends and following fashion. Surely trends are fashion, I think it’s the same thing entirely

Yes. A trend is fashion. It will have started via runway shows and been picked up by the fashion designers for high street and other brands. They need volume sales so they need to pick the wearable trends from the shows and push them. People in fashion will get the trend early of course and others follow. The shops change what they sell. It’s not all skinny jeans now is it? This is high fashion made into a high street trend. It’s fun.

What's the difference between the British women in the "uniform" of flowery dresses and trainers, and the Italian women in a uniform of beautiful cotton dresses and simple leather sandals?

That is so accurate about 90s trainers 😂Wouldn't have been seen dead in them, I was too busy flexing my Nike Air Max.

I just dont think fashion is what it once was....and Im not sure its ever going to go back!
Meaning extreme or uncomfortable clothes that women wore just because they were the fashion. I dont think its a coincidence that as women received more equality (and grew more comfortable with that equality) the fashions have gradually become more about comfort and less about looking flattering to others. I think trends will still come and go but we will have much more leeway in what we want to wear.

I also think that not wearing something just because current fashion says its dated (even if you love it and it suits you) is kinda shallow and really cutting off your nose to spite your face!

@BurntBroccoli , If not a jacket or cardigan over a summer dress, then what? I said "little denim jacket" not "jacket".

@RampantIvy , as I said, if it works for you, why not.
I don't know if it's your intention but you come across as someone defending your right to dress like someone in a Damart brochure from 2012.

@zantez, Kate Middleton or if you prefer, the Princess of Wales She's been married for nearly 15 years and Princess of Wales for 3.5 years.

@MeetMeOnTheCorner , in the Vogue photos the trainers don't go with the outfits. The worst outfit is the last one she looks like a bag lady with the logo on the bag not enough to stop the outfit from looking ridiculous. The gazelles look ok.
I get that the chunky trainers are fashionable but it looks like someone walking to work in some tatty old running shoes when they will change to smart shoes in the office.

The British fashion of dress & trainers at its height was far more homogenous - it was a midi, often tiered, floral, sometimes shirred flouncy dress. Mostly worn with a 'shoe' style white trainer (veja was a widespread trend) & a small cropped demin jacket. There were minor variations but it was largely this combination.

The Italian women wore a variety of shapes & styles of dresses ranging from simple sundresses with little shoulder straps to elegant knee length shift dresses & day shirt dresses. There was far greater variety but they were mosly plainer & more pared back. The odd stripe or spot but more plain colours.

I do take on board a pp's point that they have better weather for longer so def get more wear out of them. I thought the same.

I bought 2 beautiful day dresses & a skirt when i was there. There were loads of gorgeous boutiques, relatively inexpensive, all selling dresses & skirts & tops. All made in Italy. We just don't have so much of that here

@2026IsMyYearI agree about not seeing florals much in Italy. Smart Italian women are far more Max Mara styled! We find that more of a challenge. Seeing smart women is easy in Italy. Just go to a decent cafe or restaurant. Here, we dress down more readily than dressing up. Go to France and see the chic children and their wonderful clothes brands - we are not like the French either. Nothing wrong with that but we like a different style of fashion.

Did you meean to sound so sneery and supercilious be so rude?

Why does MM allow words to be crossed through?
They are still there for the poster to read.

Oh crap, I am going to Italy and have a few flowery dresses. They are really nice though 😁

Do I need to go buy some shifts?

Actually perhaps I should just go shopping there. One of my stop offs is Lucca.

That said, I was in Rome last year and in a shop. I heard the assistants go up to quite a few tourists and speak to them in English as the universal language. Then 2 came up to me and spoke to me in Italian, so perhaps I will be OK.