Style Foul: Sneakers with a Suit

Now, before you protest too much (But Megan, JT pulls off sneakers with a suit all the time! Why can’t I?), let me provide the visual I was accosted with coming off the train the other day:

Apologies for the terrible photo, but this paunchy, middle-aged man was booking it. Despite the blur, can you see why he was able to go so fast? Because he had on running shoes. With his suit.

These weren’t “hip, cool actor/musician breaking the mold and sporting sneaks with his suit to an awards show” kind of sneakers. These were Melanie Griffith in Working Girl kind of sneakers – the big blobby white ones resembling loaves of bread on your feet that were so unfortunately inescapable in the 80s.

But that was a different time. And gender. Women wore these eyesores before comfortable-but-cute footwear options became available. Now us ladies have cute ballet flats or discreet slip-ons to keep our feet in check before we swap in heels at the office. And while I’ve seen the odd woman or two in midtown still carrying the torch for this “I am businesswoman, hear me roar” look, I’d never before seen a man in sneaks and a suit.

So why the overly comfy kicks for this guy? Really. What was this man swapping his sneakers out for at the office? A pair of ankle-turning sky-high pumps? A toe-pinching platform wedge perhaps? No, tucked away under his desk probably sat a pair of…dress shoes. With a sole that would give him about as much height as the tennis shoes he had on.

Style Takeaway:

1. If your dress shoes hurt badly enough that you need alternative commuting footwear, you probably need new dress shoes.
2. In general, unless you’ve just been nominated for a Video Music Award, seriously think twice about trying to pull off sneakers with a suit.