Like for fashion. Is this a place you dare to travel? As a look, there are few things I like better than when a really chic woman throws on some old-school Adidas with a pair of khakis and a little jacket—it’s so winningly French-people-imitating-Le-Sportswear. And I worked once with a woman who could pair her best Derek Lam dress with Jack Purcells and look like a million bucks.
And yet if I were to try wearing Jack Purcells with a Derek Lam dress? I’d look like eleven bucks. Twelve bucks tops. You’ve got to have a certain kind of body to look great in sneakers. If you’re tall, or—failing that—just have really fantastic legs, you’re in luck. Otherwise—especially at this stage in the game—sneakers as a fashion statement become a serious mutton: meet lamb proposition.
I am quite liking the Ben Simon sneakers that this very tall, pretty girl is wearing here, though. Ben Simon is like the Converse of France, and half the people I know are obsessed with this brand. A friend of mine who lives in fancy-pants Tribeca wears her slip-ons (they also come in lace-ups) to the playground, so she can chase her kids around in the sandbox if necessary and still look sportif as hell.
Umm, Jane Birkin wears Converse?
hmm…I’m turning 44 tomorrow and just last week I had on a black/white print sundress + sky blue cardi and after work when my feet were killing me, I tossed on some black/white converse (well, converse-ish…another brand not as clunky) that were in my car and I wore that ensemble to the grocery store and felt quite chic. It’s a fun summer look.
Then again, I’m not fashionable but I’m chic as I can be and quite happy with myself.
that’s a tough one…superga is a good brand and kinda cool and even some colorful running shoes with some leggings and a jacket would work but you do have to have the legs to carry it all off. we donot want to look out of step….
Gosh, now you’ve got me wondering.
I wear Bensimons with skirts (I don’t wear shorts), Jack Purcells with jeans and I’m wearing a pair of Palladiums with my maxi skirt today…I now have that sinking mutton/lamb feeling. My legs are pretty good though.
I think The Sartorialist would call them “sturdy.”
I would love to personally punch The Sart next time he calls a woman sturdy. He is a ridiculous little man.
I have a pair Jack Purcells that I never wear and a pair of Converse that I never wear and I’ve just given up. I can’t make it work.
HAHA Thank you for making me laugh today. I just left The Sart page for this.
Please do punch him, on behalf of all of us with “sturdy” legs. I’ve seen photos of him in shorts, he shouldn’t talk.
ah but he’s allowed to look sturdy, he’s a man baby…we must be delicate and tall and thin…hah
Ridiculous doesn’t even begin to describe him.
When it comes to sneakers, I tend to favor basics such as Keds, black Converse sneakers, black Jack Purcells, or Vans. You can rock them with a maxi skirt, sundress, jeans, or whatever suits your fancy. p.s. LOVE the blog. I read it daily over my morning coffee.
P.P.S Adrien–I, too, would like to give The Sart a piece of my mind.
I love ben simon elastiques, except for one thing: the slip ons only go up to size 41. I’m an american size 10 and they don’t fit.
The lace ups are cute but not AS cute.
Black Chuck Taylors. I find flats to be so child-like and unflattering (talk about needing to have great legs! Flats almost always make you look stumpy, I don’t care how tall you are!)
Chucks have always been my go-to for just the right mix of tomboy style with summer skirts and dresses.
So, I agree that it’s very tough to find flats that aren’t ghastly that aren’t sneakers (which are, to me, their own category). (I like ballet shoes but only with no bows, and, I don’t think they’d stay on my feet. I don’t have any.)
However, recently, I saw these (and I swear I don’t work for either Racked or the designer, and in fact, I doubt if I have the $$ but these look like they might be cute…)
http://la.racked.com/archives/2012/06/08/adorable_la_designer_jenni_kayne_shares_her_life_on_pose.php
My quest, well one of them, is to find a cute, wearable, pointy-toed flat that will actually stay on my feet when I walk. I don’t know if these are it, but they pass the cute test, at least in the pix. They look sort of like genie shoes. In the past, when I’ve tried on pointy flats, they tend to spread/get wider in the front, which doesn’t always work.
Even if these didn’t work in real life, and I hope they do, I applaud the designer for trying. Women need goodlooking shoes that don’t actively undermine their health the way about 95% of women’s shoes do. We really need to have another feminist movement in this country. Every day convinces me more.
Me again.
Here’s a better link for those shoes:
http://store.jennikayne.com/index.php/collection/c/shoes/P9
They are definitely not in my price range, but I hope someone else will try them and report back.
The other thing is, since I was haranguing people about health at the end of my other comment, I feel I should say how much arch supports have helped me. Crippling yourself is not sexy (not that you would…) I got diagnosed by a very nice young man in a running shoe store. You don’t have to go to an expensive podiatrist, just someone who knows what they’re about. Big, big difference in life. This might help some of you youngsters who don’t know about bunions yet. You may be able to prevent them, and you can find inserts that go with any kind of shoe, even heels!
Okay, *now* I’m shutting up!
I still wear my Converse Chuck Taylors with jeans, but would feel silly wearing them with a dress. With age comes wisdom.
I’ve never heard of “Jack Purcells” but I’ve worn Keds for most of my life. I remember my mother not allowing me to wear what was then known as “gym shoes” with a dress or skirt and that’s still the case now. I do sometimes wear them with jeans and capris but I much prefer espadrilles(sp?). Just today I saw a pic of Jen Aniston and her guy walking in Paris and she was wearing capri jeans with deep cuffs and what looked like white Keds. She looked nice except for the too short t-shirt she was wearing.
I’m afraid I have to disagree a bit, at least about the commentary on this photo.
What I think may be difficult is to look good in very short shorts, depending. The shorts in that pic look pretty short to me, and arguably, that may present an age issue.
But to me at least, the shoes do not present any sort of age issue. If the sneakers are cute, they look sporty, even on retired people. If they aren’t cute, they’ll look not-cute on a 30 year old.
Now, the question of whether sneakers *ever* look acceptable, regardless of age? That’s a whole other kettle of fish. I say yes, but some women I know firmly believe that there is no such thing as a comfortable shoe that is not unsightly. No amount of argument will sway them.
Right on. My grandmother wore kicks at age 87. She looked fab in them
That’s awesome. Interestingly, I find that some of the open-toed sandals made for retirees can be quite cute. They have that one or two inch heel, a simple band across the front of the foot, and they look fantastic!!! We have vacation photos of my grandmother and great aunt going all over Mexico in the 1950s or so, in similar shoes, looking totally sharp. (Of course, they were much smaller than I am, too, which probably helped.)
No one seems to make those now. (Well, I haven’t looked lately. I have enough sandals.)
you sold me on the bensimons, they look like the perfect skirt sneaks, but they only go to size 10, crap, not really for tall girls then, or really tall girls rather. and i feel ridiculous in converse.
Yes, I feel your pain. The converse are very cute if very thin and light (for us taller big footed girls).
Like these: http://www.dsw.com/shoe/converse+women%27s+chuck+taylor+all+star+slim+sneaker?prodId=231603&cm_mmc=GPS-_-all-_-ConverseWomens-_-231603&mr:trackingCode=CC07A056-4D27-E111-AC9E-001B2163195C&mr:referralID=NA&adtype=pla&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=22571177504&mr:keyword=%7Bkeyword%7D
yeah, but you were right about the laceless being much cuter. I think bensimons look a little Mary Janeish too, without crossing the cutesy line. Sigh, I always want what my size 11′s can’t have.
Been wearing Supergas since way before little girl bloggers started acting as if they discovered them. I’m slouching toward 50. But stylin’!
Ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it.
As someone who is still theoretically “young,” and tall, and relatively lean, shorts still make me look like a fat little boy. Unless they’re Bermudas, which I actually have no problem wearing, even off of the golf course.
As for sneakers, a Nike Air Jordan 1 Phat with cuffed jeans will always have my heart. I have to buy from the small end of the mens department, but if you can pull off the ones from the boys department (i.e., if you wear something smaller than a women’s nine), you’re really in luck.
I bought a pair of white Bensimon’s two summers ago. Every summer I find a new pair of tennis shoes to wear for the season. One year it was white Lacoste’s with an orange alligator logo on the side. This year it’s vintage coral colored Van’s I found at American Two Shot.
Oh wow. I wear sneaks all of the time with skirts and dresses. I’m not going to worry too much about whether or not I’m too old or if my legs are too sturdy (which I know they are).
Hi, I love them! Hard to break away from the Tretorn that work for all occasions but like the faded grey color in these Bensimons too. Go for it, bet they will look great. We call them plimsolls in the UK (?) and everyone wears them. Anyway its always a confidence booster when you look good and look as if you are not trying too hard!
Not loving the Bens – sawry — they look like something out of a bin on Canal Street. Like laceless Cons, Jack Ps and Superga. Loving the blog have spread far/wide.
I do. Converse low tops, Tretorns and Bensimons. In my mind I’m not too old for it, and I hope that’s the case in reality too.
You guys are actually all empowering me to believe that I can dig out my Adidas and give it a try!
I know you can pull it off, Kim.
Here in France, none of the cute girls wear Bensimons and even the Converse trick is getting super old (no seriously, Converse and Yohji? How 2005!) which makes me happy becuase old school Superagas are looking good right about now, as they should!
Well, Ines de la Pressange claims that Converse are a “religion” in Paris.
This is kinda my take on these fashion issues that mix super casual/boyish/potentially frumpy with .. well… whatever. If you’re going to wear something traditionally butch or tomboyish, mix in something girly. Like:
A crewcut & statement earrings & bright lipstick.
LLBean boots and a skirt
Sneakers of any variety and figure-hugging pants (esp capris or “cafe” lenghth) and a frilly shirt, or maybe a t-shirt dress or feminine wrap.
Just my 2 cents.
Darn, at age 52, does this mean I can’t get these Chuck Taylor’s?
http://www.converse.com/products/featured/drseuss/128986C
I’m in my 40s and own several pairs of Converse (Chuck Taylor’s), and I do wear them with skirts and dresses. I always get complements on the combo. I tend to stick with wearing them with cotton fabrics. I have very small feet and understand avoiding the look if you wear a larger size. I also think that the size of a woman’s ankle can also make or break this look.
i wonder pourquoi no slip-ons for hommes . . .
I’m 46 and wear flats all the time with skirts (although usually just with casual skirts). I have these Doc Marten’s in silver (but not the patent ones in the link) and black, my go-to flats. Super comfortable, and they wear great. I’ve had these for years and they still look new. http://www.dmusastore.com/p-3107-christina.aspx
Why are you just so damm cool Kim France, more please…