My Hunt For Cool Sneakers

...but not TOO cool🥸.

Last weekend, I was getting dressed for an evening wedding party. And after some too-foofy outfit fails, I landed on a black lace Rodebjer dress layered over a vintage silk maxi skirt. It was a good look (I wish I’d photographed it🙄). But when I got to the part about choosing shoes, I hesitated, thinking…Could I possibly get away with sneakers here?

Of course not (but I did go sort of sneaker-adjacent). I’m not sure if it’s my age or reverence for subway steps or fewer fêtes to plan fancy outfits for, but wearing sneakers—with everything—has just become a way of life. In fact, one of my dearest friends Tracy, a former J.Crew stylist, designer, and founder of the creative agency Long Weekend, is, among other things, a true-blue sneaker soulmate. The sounding board for all my late-night links, the person I field all my color-way freakouts, trends, and price points by. She is a guru for lots of things, but sneakers is where her virtuoso-status really shines.

So, in my pursuit of a good, solid fall sneaker, something I could wear all around the town, upstate for the occasional (light) trail hike, I asked her to talk through a full audit with me/us of what’s cool/worth buying/wearing/dressing up or down rn in the sneaker realm.

Hey lady...we're talking sneakers here, but really, when are we not talking sneakers? So true. It's sneakers, but it's also bigger than sneakers. It's a mindset and pretty much the backbone of my style these days. I want to be able to wear my sneakers with literally everything. And if a particular sneaker works for exercise AND a business meeting, like this Tracksmith pair I just got, that's a gold star.

Me in NYC, Tracy in L.A, bi-coastal sneaker screening in real time. For me, a trail shoe that looks good with a navy silk Tibi sock is always a winner. And, I feel like these Salomons were just chunky enough not to eclipse the trying-too-hard trendy factor. Below, eternal fave and all-star Dad sneaker (on vacation! In Vegas!), the New Balance 990 in Grey.