Answer this and help me stay fashionable.

September 11, 2008 4:24 PM

For a 23 year-old male, what color could I buy a pair of sneakers in and expect them to go with most things?

I need a new pair of sneakers, and I'm leaning heavily towards a pair of slip-on Vans/Converse. I'm not sure what color to get them in, though; I want something that, as I said, will go with almost anything I wear. (For the record, I tend to dress "hipster-ish," I guess; a typical outfit for me consists of a t-shirt and jeans.)

I was thinking that navy blue or grey would likely work, but I want to see what the consensus is.

posted by phaded to clothing, beauty, & fashion (23 comments total)

I'd go black, which I think would go with just about everything except brown.
posted by joelhunt at 4:32 PM on September 11

I'd also go black, but white is also a possibility.
posted by box at 4:35 PM on September 11

Midnight blue or the ubiquitous back.
posted by vers at 4:36 PM on September 11

I'd go with dark gray over navy if you wear jeans a lot; navy goes with basically everything, but I think it can look weird against denim, especially if you go with a dark wash. Or brown. They're a bit more interesting than black, though if you're wearing sneakers, I can't imagine why you couldn't do black with brown; I wear them together all the time.

White looks great, but only if you live somewhere where they won't get gross right away.
posted by SoftRain at 4:41 PM on September 11

I really like the Puma El Rey for this type of shoe. The ones I had were black with a light yellowish/green band. Really comfortable and versatile (can be worn with shorts -- sans socks -- in the summer for a boat shoesy look). And, like almost all the shoes I buy from Zappos, I got lots of compliments while wearing them. I like that they're a little bit different then normal, which I think is a good thing to look for if you're looking for a shoe that you're going to wear most of the time.
posted by rossination at 4:51 PM on September 11

Also, this isn't very helpful, but they don't have mine anymore -- the colors up on Zappos right now don't look so good. I'm assuming that they change colors and styles every year, so you might check clearance sections (or a place like Nordstrom Rack) for other colors/materials.
posted by rossination at 4:52 PM on September 11

I wear dark brown sneakers (with white stripes). They go really well with dark denim I think.
posted by drjimmy11 at 4:57 PM on September 11

If were talking about canvas sneakers, which I assume from the Vans/Converse reference, I'd go with a pair of white ones first. White canvas slip-ons would look great with a t-shirt and jeans on a 23-year-old guy. And when they get dirty you can always dye them navy blue, then on to black. It's really easy to dye canvas shoes.
posted by misozaki at 4:58 PM on September 11

Nthing black. If you go with Vans you could also try the classic checkerboard pattern.
posted by burnmp3s at 5:05 PM on September 11

All of them.
posted by Max Power at 5:07 PM on September 11

White or cream will go with anything. Grey and black are obvious choices but they won't easily match everthing, for instance raw denim, blue denim.

Converse have at the moment a fantastic model called "Foxing" based on their 1930's baseball boots. Slip on version and normal lace up baseball boots. They come in 2 colours only, milk white and olive, and the white ones go with ANYTHING, even a suit.
posted by fire&wings at 5:08 PM on September 11

Black Pumas or Golas. Black shoelaces, which you may have to buy separately.

Anything else and you risk looking like Jerry Seinfeld.
posted by plexi at 5:08 PM on September 11 [1 favorite]

I vote dark gray converse. It goes with everything.
posted by betty botter at 5:18 PM on September 11

My favorite sneaker is the Onitsuka Tiger - it has nice white/black white/black/gray versions that would look good with a lot of things.

Otherwise, I don't think it's possible to go wrong with black Converse.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 5:18 PM on September 11

Black. It's a sensible colour. It goes with anything. Well, anything black.
  -- Neil Gaiman
posted by rokusan at 5:26 PM on September 11

Oh, just please don't get black Reeboks, unless you're a waiter from the 80's. I always thought that was a terrible look, IMHO.
posted by WaterSprite at 5:38 PM on September 11

fire&wings: "White or cream will go with anything. Grey and black are obvious choices but they won't easily match everthing, for instance raw denim, blue denim.

Converse have at the moment a fantastic model called "Foxing" based on their 1930's baseball boots. Slip on version and normal lace up baseball boots. They come in 2 colours only, milk white and olive, and the white ones go with ANYTHING, even a suit."


Those Foxings are really nice...do you know of any stores I could go to to try them on?
posted by phaded at 7:09 PM on September 11

Black Chucks or Vans go fine with dark denim, even where black leather shoes wouldn't. I dunno if it's the look or all the white rubber -- probably the latter, because I dunno that the black-on-black chucks work as well.

I'd say that soccer-style shoes are firmly on their way out at this point -- the Speedcat Index has gone way down from last year, if my wife's attempts to replace hers are any indication.
posted by mendel at 7:22 PM on September 11

Take a good look at your tees. Personally, I tend to wear alot of earth tones, so I only own brown shoes. If your wardrobe is more varied, you can't go wrong with black or white. On the flip side, I used to get a lot of complements on my bright red Chuck Taylors, but those were pre-Nike CTs, so I don't do that anymore...
posted by piedmont at 7:27 PM on September 11

Charcoal grey
posted by greta simone at 5:53 AM on September 12

I bought these for the exact reason you asked. They go with jeans, shorts, and khakis. They just don't look right with dark slacks.

But then again, I might not have much fashion taste, so I might look hideous and not know it. (but I like them)
posted by johnstein at 7:15 AM on September 12

Pretty much anything is going to go with t-shirt and jeans. I wear a pair of blue adidas gazelles pretty much all the time. They are awesome. I think black sneakers look weird.
posted by chunking express at 10:01 AM on September 12

Black it is. I can always get another color later, but these will do for now. Thanks for the suggestions, all.
posted by phaded at 9:33 PM on September 13