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Move Over, Sandals: High-Tech, High-Color Sneakers Are the Shoes of the Summer

It started outside Euro fashion shows: Street-style stars would turn up in designer pajamas…and Nike running shoes. Or they’d wear a flowing dress with a pair of red-leather basketball high-tops. The look is fun, young and super comfortable. This year, go ahead and love your loafer slides and gladiator sandals, but don’t feel like you have to spend a whole day with no arch support. See our favorite new comfortable sneakers below.

Paper-Bag Shorts Are Your Figure-Flattering Secret Weapon This Summer


cariuma yellow sneaker
Cariuma

Citrus Yellow

This Rio-based brand caused a sensation during a recent pop-up at the Grove over its reasonable prices, cute styling and comfy design touches like a cap toe (great for wider feet) and memory-foam soles. We’d wear them to accent a striped shirt and Bermudas.

allbirds lavender sneakers
Allbirds

Lavender

The Allbirds brand has innovated a wool upper that isn’t itchy, is machine washable and looks like a fashion element rather than something you just threw on with your leggings. (Which makes these perfect for just throwing on with your leggings.)

vionic soft pink sneaker
Vionic

Soft Pink

These had us at the marbled soft leather uppers and perfect hue tone. But when we experienced the molded memory-foam footbed designed specially to alleviate heel and knee pain? Eternal love. We’ll be pairing these with floaty chiffon tops, jeans and ladylike separates.

Vionic ($130)

grass green sneaker superga
Superga

Grass Green

Known for their roomy fit, Superga sneakers add a note of Euro cool to your wardrobe. We’d wear these satin kicks (designed by hipster avatar Alexa Chung) with a flowy spring dress.

Superga ($79)

turquois puma sneakers
Puma

Turquoise

This is next-level girlie-girl dressing: a pair of classic suede sneakers with a big satin bow on the back. They jazz up a classic T-shirt and jeans or turn a simple sundress into a party dress.

organge sneaker adidas stella
shopbop

Orange

Yup, a bright-orange knit upper held on by wide neon-pink elastic is pretty fashion-forward, and the knit band up top hugs your ankle so there’s no annoying rubbing that might cause a blister. These bad boys are so extra, they actually match nothing. Which means you can wear them with everything.

nike red airforce ones
Nike

Cherry Red

The same Nike design tech that helped players like Charles Barkley fly through the air is going to help you make your flight when you wear these beauties to accent your all-black travel outfit and race to your boarding gate at LAX.



dana dickey

Senior Editor

  • Writes about fashion, wellness, relationships and travel
  • Oversees all LA/California content and is the go-to source for where to eat, stay and unwind on the west coast
  • Studied journalism at the University of Florida