To the clean, white elegance of a pair of adidas Stan Smith’s the current trend for desperately ugly, beefy trainers feels subversive. Dirty, even. With no fitness aspirations and clunky features, they look like norm-core on acid.
Much to the chagrin of fathers everywhere, these shoes (like socks and sandals and crappy tourist caps) have been charged with the epithet ‘dad’. Sounds derogatory, but it’s a compliment to the fathers who foresaw that Raf Simons, Reebok, Balenciaga, Gucci and Louis Vuitton would transform this spongey shape into the must-have footwear at Milan Fashion Week. The most popular style (without a shadow of a doubt) comes from Balenciaga and is called the Triple S Low-Tops and will set you back over £500. Luckily, adidas, Reebok and Acne have come up with more budget-friendly options that are just as scene-stealing.
But, how do you wear them? The front row-ers at #MFW have set out four very easy rules for pulling off this stomping street style star
Debrief Milan Fashion Week Dad Trainers
1 of 4Rule 1: Understand Irony
Cut through the sweetness of a girlish colour with the unapologetically unattractive step of a 'dad sneaker'.
2 of 4Rule 2: Roll Up
This attention-seeking shoe enjoys being shown-off, so roll up your denim and let the street style photographers get a good shot of this trend.
3 of 4Rule 3: Max Out
Don't just max out your credit card on this new 'It' shoe, but your skirt too. The long and short of it is, this style off-sets the dressiness of a floor-sweeping gown.
4 of 4Rule 4: Be A Match-Maker
For a long time the Queen was the last person to still match their shoes to their handbag, but suddenly this stuffy co-ordination seems ultra cool when played out with a pair of dad shoes.
Get The Look With These 8 Dad Shoes:
Debrief Dad Trainers To Buy Trend
1 of 8Tod’s, Sportivo Fringed Sneakers, £440
2 of 8Nike, Air Max 98 Sneakes, £145, Luisaviaroma
3 of 8Stella McCartney, Eclypse Rainbow Sneakers, £450
4 of 8Adidas By Raf Simons, RS Osweego III Sneakers, £290
5 of 8Alexander McQueen, 50MM Leather & Suede Sneakers, £460, Luisaviaroma
6 of 8Reebok, InstaPump Fury OG CC, £149.95
7 of 8Acne, Manhattan Multi Black, £360
8 of 8Vestments X Reebok, Rebok InstaPump Fury Sneakers, £705
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.