Remember in middle school when it was your first after-school dance and it was all the buzz? You knew your crush was going and you two would possibly just maybe have the chance to dance at an arm’s width apart, with room for Jesus obviously. You invited your best friend over to get ready for the entire afternoon. You took turns frying your hair off with the straightener and putting the most excessive amount of mascara on. Your dress choice was a ball gown in your head but was just an everyday dress for an adult in the realms of reality. Right before you walked out the door to get in the backseat of your parent’s car, you threw on your trusty pair of white Converse to ruin the whole outfit. Do yourself a favor and don’t make that mistake again.Â
When it comes to shoes, they can tell a lot about you and your personality. Different types of shoes suggest different types of people, and what they might be doing that day. There are certain kinds of shoes that fit certain occasions. Let’s start small: the everyday shoe.
If you’re between the ages of 14 and 24, you might still be a student, and your everyday activity consists of attending school. The most appropriate shoe for education has got to be sneakers. Year after year back to school advertisements show videos of kids in the hot new Nike sneakers or the cool new Reebok shoes. They never seem to go out of style.Â
A brand popularized back in the 60’s and still trailblazing today, is Converse. The classic hightop Chuck Taylors are always a safe bet when buying stylish casual sneakers for school. You can even feel free to dabble in the area of platforms, the Chuck Taylor All Star Lift Platform Colorblock Overlay shoes. These come in many other styles and colors and are fairly comfortable. An interesting collab to check out at Converse is the ConverseXTyler the Creator, it’s a very funky, chic, and vibrant collection of shoes.Â
Another favorite casual shoe of mine is the Nike Dunks. You simply can not go wrong with these shoes. They never go out of style and they have an endless amount of options. Every time someone gets famous they seem to partner with Nike to come out with a new design. The Air Jordans, for example, has to be one of the most famous collaborations with a fairly good-looking product. In 2007 Nike partnered with leadman of Dinosaur Jr, J. Mascis to create J Mascis’s Dunk High Pro, not a great everyday but a cool fact.Â
One of Nike’s most wearable dunk collections, in my opinion, is the NikeXTravis Scott collection called the “Cactus Jack Collection.” I think it has a great selection of neutral-toned shoes and pieces, and although it is on the pricier side, there are a bunch of regular dunks that look fairly similar. Overall sneakers are a great choice to wear with sweats, shorts, or jeans which can create a lot of outfits for class!
If you feel sneakers are a little more casual than you’d like to look, another great shoe option is boots. One great inexpensive boot is Doc Martens. The classic black look goes with most outfits and an arrangement of aesthetics. Along with boots, they also make Doc Martens Loafers type styles which are a great alternative.Â
If you’re going to work and you’re an office girly, a great shoe is the Steve Madden Loafers, much derived from the Chanel loafers that started the chunky loafer movement. They are classy, yet chic, so you can get your work done and look good doing it. Steve Madden also has affordable heels, one of my favorites being the Viable Black heels, which are more upscale for the short queens, or even for those who just want to feel powerful. I love the hardware, it makes them stand out from other generic brands. But if you’re looking for basic heels on a budget, Target has great options available too!