Colourful, Floral & Spiked: Fabulous Plimsolls

If you’re looking for the perfect shoe to go with your new dress, plimsolls probably aren’t the first thing that pops into your mind. Running errands or meeting friends for lunch maybe, but surely not with your new summer dress?! Judging from their ubiquity around London this spring, plimsolls could just possibly be the new incarnation of the ballet pump.

Since Run DMC  and Salt N Pepa rocked them back in the 1980s (you may need to Google them if you were born after 1983), they’ve come in and out of fashion. Converse All-Stars were the uniform for Generation X slackers in movies like Reality Bites (1994) and 1990s grunge bands like Nirvana. Vans were worn by skaters all over America.  

Suddenly though, plimsolls/trainers/sneakers – whatever you want to call them – have hit the mainstream once again. Even Samantha Cameron was snapped running around town in black Converse. And who can forget the First Lady Michelle Obama in her pink toe-cap Lanvin sneakers? As someone who has not worn anything resembling a high heel in many moons, the sheer variety of plimsolls on the high street right now makes my comfort-loving soles very happy so get going on building that sneaker wardrobe. At least you know you’ll wear them all without the possibility of breaking an ankle walking over cobblestones.

The question is, who isn’t Liberty collaborating with at the moment? I can’t deny loving the ditzy floral print and the fact that the ditzy floral print is whoring itself out around the fashion world. One of my favourites for this season is the new Bensimon collaboration with Liberty. Nike has also done a collaboration and these nifty floral high-tops are the love-child between the swoosh and the flower print.  A more affordable version can be found at Tu @ Sainsbury for only a tenner. Pair with everything from denim shorts, jeans and casual skirts and summer dresses.

I love a metallic plimsoll. Heck, I even love a bit of stud or sequin action on them. Wear metallic high tops with a summer dress at a festival or simply paired with some coloured jeans or regular blue denim. Let Elle MacPherson do the school run in three inch wedges, I’ll take some sneakers over tottering on heels any day at 8:30am. I love the Boden metallic plimsolls that come in classic silver and also metallic baby pink and purple.

Always classic and in style, a black pair and a cream pair of Converse All-Stars have been rotated in my wardrobe since grade school. Dresses down a floral dress and perfect paired with denim, add a bit of edge with studs or sequins. Add your own studs with a glue gun a trip to the haberdashery shop. Commes des Garcons did a collaboration with them this year featuring a little heart – cute quotient is high.

Superga is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year with Alexa Chung as their spokesmodel. Quite a coup for the simple and classic Italian brand, albeit one who’s been around since 1911. The plain white and pale blue 2750  are adorable and perfect for summer.

With so many great affordable plimsolls out there, is it really worth splurging your hard-earned dollars on a designer pair? Well, if the wallet stretches to designer plimsolls then why not dahlink? These black patent Christian Louboutin pair at Net-a-porter.com are pretty groovy (and they won’t hurt your feet!).

Image credits clockwise from top left: Nike Liberty Print high-tops, £72 at Liberty.co.uk, Superga 2750 pale blue, £40 at Superga.co.uk, Boden Fab Plimsolls in pink metallic, £39 at Boden.co.uk, Bensimon Liberty print tennis shoes, £58 at Bensimon.co.uk or Sarenza.co.uk, Christian Louboutin patent studded sneakers, £535 at Net-a-porter.com, Converse Comme Des Garcons Play, £90 at DoverStreetMarket.com

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Tags: Plimsolls   Posted in Fashion Style Advisor