One of the many strange ideas I picked up from style culture was that grown adults shouldn’t wear sneakers.
Sometimes this was implied with statements like, “Elevate your wardrobe.”
Other times, it was stated directly: “Dress like a grown-up.”
The underlying message was usually the same though.
Adulthood had a shoe.
For some reason I accepted this premise without questioning it. Maybe because I got into style culture during a transitional period in my life. But over time I started recognizing how many symbolic layers were attached to one very ordinary object.
Sneakers, while undeniably casual, somehow also became childish, masculine, lazy, and not sophisticated enough.
One shoe could fail multiple personality tests before I even put it on.
Which became surprisingly complicated for me.
I’ve always preferred practical footwear and my lifestyle is intentionally relaxed too.Yet every time I reached for sneakers, I found myself negotiating with everything they were supposedly communicating.
Was this too young? Not polished enough?
Not feminine enough?
Now the outfit math begins.
Which is a bit crazy to me now because I was never actually uncomfortable wearing sneakers. I was uncomfortable with what I had been told they represented.
Those are two very different problems.
Why do we assume adulthood has a visual uniform?
The phrase “dress like a grown-up” implies adulthood has a recognizable look.
For some, clothing is proof, but really, being an adult is more behavioral.
This pattern shows up elsewhere too. Ethical people trying to look ethical. Professionals trying to look professional.
Ironically, I’m fully grown and now wear sneakers about 70% of the time.
I’m not trying to make a point or make a statement either. They’re just the shoes I naturally reach for.
Once you stop treating every garment like a personality test, your decisions became much simpler and unremarkable.
Which I now think is a very good sign.