It seems Rita Ora and Rihanna are single handedly spearheading their very own sneaker chic movement.
You’ll spy either one on red carpets or out and about, wearing prissy dresses or short shorts with Jordans, ditching the ridiculously high, platform heel in favor of comfortable trainers.
Of course the ‘tomboy’ aesthetic has been around in celebrity circles for years. Everyone from Kelis to Ciara and Amber Rose has been spied in Jeremy Scott sneaks, and girls like Vashtie and Teyana Taylor stay in casual wear.
But Rita and Rihanna have taken it to another level, wearing Jordans and Converses with absolutely everything. While most ladies wear a pair of sneakers to dress down, these ladies cling to athletic footwear with decidedly feminine ‘fits.
Comfort is key–why should we be killing ourselves to walk around in vertiginous heels? And as a ‘survivor’ of bunion surgery, I can tell you foot problems are not the business.
But are you down for the ‘sneaker chic’ look? Would you rock a skirt with sneakers? Is it Hot! or does it make you go Hmm….?
August 29, 2012 9:16 am
I love sneakers! Miss those days working at Footlocker and getting 30% off!
August 29, 2012 9:18 am
ahhh youth ! I love the energy !
August 29, 2012 9:22 am
Sneakers are nice and comfy but not with everything. Like that animal print dress rita has on is extremely cute but those sneakers ruined it AND they don’t match lol
August 29, 2012 9:50 am
Its crazy how Rita Ora is now Chic but just a few days ago her style was a No thats hmmm…
August 29, 2012 9:50 am
I love it, I’m a mom of multiples and yes I loooove dressing chic, pressy, and trendy but comfort is KEY. Although I’m soo a sky high stiletto girl I so still crave a fresh pair of cute sneaks… So I would say Hot!!! It secretly express yes I’m a Fly girl but with some EDGE :)
August 29, 2012 9:54 am
I rock my kicks all the time but Rita takes it to a new level. If your going to wear a gorgeous dress dont ruin the look by throwing Jordan’s on. Have a balance to your style.
August 29, 2012 10:02 am
nah b, im good with my heels, my sandals, and my flats. You can keep the sneakers. Maybe i can deal with converses, or wedge sneakers. But as for the bulky Jordans and Nikes, no ma’am!
Blessings
August 29, 2012 10:07 am
Its all about having the right balance and the right “elements”.
every event doesn’t call for sky high heels so this trend is great!
August 29, 2012 10:08 am
I LOVE sneakers, I’m all for this! You just have to know when to rock them and when a pair of pumps might be best. #justsayin
August 29, 2012 10:18 am
its funny how the fashion industry and celebrities jump on the bandwagon of something thats been going on for years and its oh so hot and new….i love sneakers and have worn all kinds since I was in middle school. I like how rihanna wears hers. i like to wear sneakers with feminie things but ms. ora not so much
August 29, 2012 10:26 am
I hate this trend, it’s ridiculous. I understand dressing down and wearing sneakers with jeans and a casual like Ciara and Kelis. But this wearing big, bulky and FUGLY jordans with cute, chic dresses is just disrespectful. It was horrible when Lily Allen did it ages ago and it’s horrible now, not here for this trend at all.
August 29, 2012 10:28 am
And Miss Ora is the worst, main offender. Saw a pic of her wearing the ugliest outfit I have seen in ages! She’s too pretty for all that :-(
August 29, 2012 10:43 am
LOVE EM’! Check my sneaker collection out on my instagram Alexislovesme
August 29, 2012 10:55 am
I alternate between high heels and my kicks (Jordans, vans, nikes, pumas) . I’m very girly but also a bit of a tomboy so I like to do both. It is so comfy and super stylish….Jordans are classic of course! I have a pair of 3′s but I totally want a few more pairs.
August 29, 2012 11:11 am
melissa looks better than both rita and rih, and looks just as comfortable. i’ll do a flat sandal or lower heel, but not sneakers with a dress.
August 29, 2012 11:12 am
I think it’s awesome! I always rock sneakers or flats and there are so many color ways that it’s hard not to have a closet full. Also as a quarter-lifer I still love my kicks and now have a job where I can afford the ones I actually want :)
August 29, 2012 11:27 am
I agree its all about balance. Girls have bern wearing sneakers forever but its all about balance. Sneakers like chucks and vans which are slimmer can be more appropiate for wearing a skirt or a dress while bulky shoes like jordans should probably be reserved for just jeans and shorts. There are sneaker brands like sam eldeman, ash, and jeffrey campbell that have more “adult” sneakers in leather and suede as well.
August 29, 2012 11:30 am
but if you want to reference someone that gets the “sophisticated sneaker look” right every time you may want to feature cassie
August 29, 2012 11:42 am
Sneakers with dresses are for high schoolers, unless you’re going to some festival where you’re going to be standing the whole time. The look screams immature if you ask me.
August 29, 2012 11:47 am
Yay! The old comment section is back!
August 29, 2012 11:49 am
@Sun. Kissed Yep! Disqus failed on two counts: 1. Didn’t import old comments. 2. Didn’t work with Mobify. So we had to ditch it. I kinda liked it for a minute, but it just didn’t work with what we’ve got going.
August 29, 2012 11:53 am
I like the old comment section way better tbh. Glad it’s back.
anyway, the trend is okay SOMETIMES. you can’t wear it with everything. you have to know when you step in a pair of heels.
August 29, 2012 11:59 am
Glad the old comment section is back. :-)
Love this chic way to roll.
August 29, 2012 12:02 pm
I hate this trend. Sneakers come of juvenile to me, something a midleschooler/higschooler would wear. Most if these outfits look off because of the sneakers. Also hightops make some ppl look like they have stubby legs.
August 29, 2012 12:06 pm
The sneakers with dresses are a hmm. Esp in the summertime. Feet need to breathe!
Also glad about the comments. My old bootleg work computer wouldn’t even let me comment yesterday.
August 29, 2012 12:11 pm
I agree with the old comment section being best! Its old school, and I don’t like change lol.
It’s funny this article pops up today because for the past week I have seriously been contemplating on whether or not I should start buying sneakers!
Ive always kind of hated any sneaker that went beyond vans and converse. (Seriously, seeing women walking around the city in athletic shoes and work attire makes me cringe) But now that I’ve moved to New York & I have classes all completely spread out around times square I completely understand why women have been rocking knee-length pencil skirts with nikes!
This look works well for Rita & Rihanna, but there is a thin line between coming off as “Ghetto” or a “trendsetter” and nationality has very little to do with it.
It’s cute depending on how your carry yourself but with so many females praising the basketball wives and those love & hip-hop women I REALLY hope this trend doesn’t catch on.
August 29, 2012 12:11 pm
Comfort is key for sure but I think sneakers can’t go with everything, I’d rather were nice flat sandals. Still these ladies do look nice in their sneakers, they make it work,
August 29, 2012 12:20 pm
Jeeeeeez Claire are you trying to send Teyana Taylor into another twitter rant? J/K. If I had to give credit to someone form starting a “sneaker chic” movement it would be Lily Allen. She’s been rockin Jordans with little cute dresses since she came out.
August 29, 2012 12:34 pm
Rita Ora is the worst at it… the end !!
Everyone else im used to seeing them in sneakers, especially Teyana and rihanna… rita comes off as trying to hard.
August 29, 2012 12:37 pm
Yay the old comment section is back…Strike is over…lol! I prefer cute flats over sneakers.
August 29, 2012 12:41 pm
And to think when I wear flats with a skirt or dress I feel under dressed lol.
August 29, 2012 12:42 pm
Too high-schoolish for me. And again, Rita Ora always looks bad.
August 29, 2012 12:42 pm
Cute on them. I gave it a hot but I prob won’t be doing it myself. :)
August 29, 2012 12:55 pm
i love a good sneaker but to wear them with everything? trippin.
August 29, 2012 12:59 pm
I HAVE always loved sneakers, because of my size I tend to shy away from them at times but yes! Sneakers, sneakers, sneakers, and MORE Sneakers. But let’s not front Teyana Taylor has been rocking Sneakers for YEARS Rita and Riri are just doing it now cause it’s more ‘trendy’. Teyana rocked them years ago during her super sweet 16 remember?
August 29, 2012 1:28 pm
Hate this look! It reeks juvenile something a midleschooler would wear. Plus it makes their legs look stubby.
August 29, 2012 1:35 pm
The only thing Teyana can be remotely credited for is wearing sneakers to red carpet events but then what do you say about Vashti Kola (sp?) who is also the queen of casual red carpet attire? The idea that anyone should be given props for wearing sneakers is ridiculous. I’m from the DMV and everyone ALWAYS wore sneakers growing up and during college before there were blogs and tumblr teaching people how to dress. Plus most of the time that we see Rihanna, Ciara, etc wearing sneakers it is their day-to-day attire and they are paparazzi shots. Teyanna has nothing to worry about Rihanna will be wearing coveted designer duds and while she’s wearing sneakers. rme
August 29, 2012 1:45 pm
oh boy! the old comment section is back! yippie! I must say I was going to conform to the change but I love this way better lol! I wear a boys size 6! :) I must say these kiddies are keeping Jordan rich!
August 29, 2012 3:19 pm
They are just sneakers lol! Yay for the old comment section!!!!!
August 29, 2012 4:16 pm
There is nothing wrong with rocking sneakers, but throwing on a pair of Jordans with EVERYTHING is tacky. I was a major sneakerhead during my teenage years so to see female celebs rocking Jordans and Chucks all of a sudden is a snoozefest. We middle class folks have been there and done that. Lol
August 29, 2012 6:54 pm
I don’t mind sneakers in general but the way the examples paired the sneakers up with certain outfits were bad examples IMO so maybe that is why people are running away from the look. I think when done right a fresh pair of kicks with the right outfit is HOT
August 30, 2012 10:38 am
I love it! It is so easy to throw on a pair of heels with any dress, but pairing a girly, feminine dress with a pair of kick AND making it work?! That’s style! Round of applaud! (Waka Flocka Flame voice)
August 30, 2012 10:51 am
Is it me or does Rita Ora come off as try waaaaay to hard? I don’t know there really try a “push” this girl. I find her to be sooo random and her look doesn’t match her music at all. I’m over this whole sneaker thing too,like stop trying to make the masses look like fools because we all know they will follow whatever these girls do.
September 2, 2012 8:29 pm
It’s funny because all of a sudden celebs are starting to where sneakers, now it’s considered fashion. Women wear sneakers all the time in their day to day life (running errands, going shopping, lounging) I think there has to be a happy medium. Is it okay for women to wear sneakers? absolutely! But should you pair sneakers with beautiful dresses? not in my opinion. And this celebs are jumping on the Jordan band wagon. I say leave the jordans for men and the youth.
September 3, 2012 8:18 pm
I wish I could rock the sneakers but I already have a young face and they make me look like im in high school…im damn near thirty.
September 12, 2012 7:45 pm
rita ora does it like no other