Re: Sneakers

Many of you may remember my talk on sneaker trends and the democratization of footwear this past spring. In it I suggested that the lines between dress shoe and sneaker will continue to blur. I also wondered if sneaker companies would capitalize on this trend as much as actual stylish clothing brands. Other than the Nike Cole Haan partnership (which doesn't really count) or brands like Puma (which still remain largely casual), we aren't really seeing brands like Adidas spiffing up their shoes to create comfortable hybrid dress shoes and I wonder why that is.

It seems like the H&M or Zara type places that sell casual footwear are the ones that are winning out. Specialty brands like Marc Jacobs, Swear, and Schmoove have also capitalized on this concept of creating sneaker like dress shoes. Does this mean that streetwear is going to swing back away from the cool of casual sneakers and back toward something "nicer?" Is this what the new oxford trend is telling us? Your guess is as good as mine.

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Tonight I'm listening to Marching Band, a Swedish indie pop rock group.