Within about 20 minutes of arriving in Paris, I became hyper aware not only of the French girl uniform, but of her uniform shoe: the white sneaker. I’m not using literally figuratively when I say literally everyone, their baby, and their mom is wearing white tennis shoes of some sort. Dudes too, this trend is for everyone.

Stan Smith Adidas were a huge deal in LA about five years ago–like if you didn’t have a pair then who the heck even were you. I wanted to be cool so I skipped Stan Smith’s for a pair of Marks & Spencer’s that were “designed” by Alexa Chung, but it was the same aesthetic: low top, white puffy leather, white laces, chill round toe that looked simultaneously preppy and casual. I didn’t hang out enough in Paris over the last few years to know if they’re still riding that same initial shoe wave, or if the wave broke later here and I arrived at the beach right in the middle of it. Ocean metaphor.

The models you see the most are the Stan Smiths, vintage-inspired Reeboks, and a new round of Adidas that are designed to look like vintage-inspired Reeboks. And the Vejas: so many Vejas. Beauty is in the eye of the shoe-wearer, that’s all I’m going to say about Vejas, but to each their own. This combination is especially true of the millennials and anyone a little older, maybe a hip GenX-er. They wear them with jeans, with trousers, with dresses, with skirts. For GenZ and Millennials trying to hold on to their youth, it’s a mix of these shoes, but also more of a Spice Girls, Fila, even Skechers type of sneaker: all big and clunky, giving off Sailor Moon vibes. Still all-white.

It’s one thing to see a fair amount of kids doing something and feeling like you have a trend coming on. The sheer proliferation of this white shoe thing is a goddamn epidemic here, and I’m curious to know why.

One theory I have is comfort. People in Paris walk a lot. You have to walk everywhere, or walk to the Metro to then take that everywhere, so there isn’t much high heel-wearing, sadly. Boots are popular too as soon as the rainy season comes, but even though, white tennis shoes are everywhere on everyone in every outfit.

My other theory is that it’s part and parcel of an overall homogeneity we keep noticing in Paris. It is a very diverse and eclectic city, but it seems like trends in food, wardrobe, hair, decor are somewhat narrow. They’re not bad trends, there just isn’t much deviation from them. OR, to be totally fair and bear witness to my geographic bias: maybe there is just less deviation than there is in LA. It’s too soon to tell, and I may be talking out of my ass, but I keep getting the sense that people in Paris aren’t trying to be trend-setting supernovas of individuality quite as much as they tend to be in LA. That can be taken as a compliment to either LA or Paris, depending on how you read it.

Whatever the reason, I’m glad I brought my white Feiyue high tops that are actually martial arts shoes, and my white Onitsuka Tigers, but I’m sad that my Reeboks and Adidas are in a container somewhere in the Atlantic, to be delivered in the near future. Hopefully the trend hasn’t waned by then.

If you want to get in on this white tennis shoe trend, but don’t want to just hop on the Stan Smith bandwagon, here are some options that you might find interesting.

Tretorn Women’s Rawlins Sneaker: I’ve always loved Tretorn footwear, but never seen anyone wear them ever. How is that possible? They have kind of a retro vibe but without being campy, and look super comfortable.

adidas Originals Women’s Superstar Boost Sneaker: Yes, these are still very popular in general, but you still see them slightly less often in Paris, they’re super comfortable, and they go with everything. Also in searching for these I found out that adidas is technically written with a lowercase “a.”

Onitsuka Tiger Women’s Tiger Corsair Sneakers: Fashion girlies on TikTok are hating on Onitsuka Tigers so hard already because they foresee them being the next white Sambas. In my humble opinion, they’ve always been cool, but I have to say that because I own a few pairs. Mexico 66’s are kind of flat and less cushioned than adidas, so maybe go for the Corsairs for walking around Paris

Keds Kickstart Lace-ups: I saw a post once that said Keds were “over.” Excuse me, Keds are older than your stale opinion, my dude, and way more relevant. They will never be over. In fact, they’re back with a vengeance after they started making their old classic model again. Not ideal for rain, obviously.

Women’s Nike Cortez in black and photo blue: Everyone and their mom is currently rocking Air Force 1s, and to be honest, they are too clunky to look good with an outfit. Some classic Cortez sneakers have a cleaner profile and more low-key shape.

adidas Originals Women’s Sambas in black and arctic night: Yes, this was supposed to be a list of white sneakers but these are too cute, I had to slip them in there. If I were in the market for new tennies, these would be them.

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