What Shoes to Wear With Skinny Jeans: Your Complete Guide If you’re a fan of skinny jeans (which we’ll assume you are!), you’ve probably faced this dilemma at least once during your life: You’ve put together a super-cute outfit with your favorite pair of skintight jeans, and you have absolutely no idea what shoes to wear with them. Depending on the occasion, strappy heels might feel too dressy, flat sandals can sometimes look too bulky, and you feel like you just can’t pull off sneakers. We get it—so much so that we’ve racked our brains for eight amazing ways to wear a plethora of different shoes with skinny jeans. Each kind pulls off a very different (but equally stylish) vibe, and hopefully these tips will help the next time you’re feeling shoe stumped. Scroll down for your complete guide to what shoes to wear with skinny jeans! Sign up for our newsletter and receive exclusive stories, breaking news, sale alerts and much more straight to your inbox!

When deciding what sneakers to wear with skinny jeans, taking a great big FAT cue from street style stars & fashion bloggers is always a good idea. The trick to styling sneakers with most outfits (skinnies included) is by following a few sneaker styling rules. When specifically thinking sneakers with skinny jeans in 2016 (going on 17!), you’ve really got to put those into practice so you 1) don’t look like a sloppy tourist & 2) keep an element of chic to your look. Are you ready for this?! Ok, so you’ve got your skinny jeans from last season. Or possibly the previous one. And to interject, yes, even though flares are coming on strong for 2016/2017, skinny jeans have indefinitely left their mark. Some sneakers have as well. But what are the aforementioned sneaker styling rules you ask? Well, there are a handful devised by yours truly, listed below. Now comes the part about which sneakers with skinny jeans look best. Luckily, there are quite a few. Listed below are my favorites casual non-running shoes to wear with skinny jeans right now, in 2016.

Adidas’ Stan Smith sneaker has been quite the hit for the past couple of years. If sales have any say on the matter, they’re still going strong as are the Adidas Superstars. The Stan Smith in every color (my fave as you can tell is white!) looks great with any smart casual outfit. It’s called “Stan Smith fashion” for a reason! And yes, this sneaker style look particularly fantastic with skinny jeans! But you don’t need to stick with this exact sneaker: Remember what I said about actual running shoes? Well, these Nike Air Max, Air Mas “Thea” and the whole Nike Roshe family of sneakers are actual sports shoes, as in used for running. But remember what I said about seeking out a trendy sneaker? Well, the Air Max (“Thea” being more streamlined) is a great “real” fashionable sneaker to wear with skinny jeans. As are Nike Roshes. Possibly because they doesn’t look too much like a solid athletic shoe, even though they are! Although the Air Max Theas had their rise in popularity a year or two ago, the sleek style is still keeping its place in the spotlight, coming in all sorts of colors & print too, for Spring 2016.

However, I think these fave Nike sneakers looks best in a black & white versions or monochrome tones for Fall & Spring. Great paired with black skinnies,  a menswear-inspired coat & haute looking structure hand bag! I have a particular weakness for New Balance sneakers.  I love how they come in so many styles & colors. running shoes vs trail runnersReally, the possibilities are endless! clarks shoes uk sizeAlthough the 574 is the brand’s most popular lifestyle design, they’re not optimal for skinny jeans. runner's world best running shoes 2012Because with their wide fit & larger toe cap, they’ll look really clunky unless you have small feet compared to your ankle/calves (or just teeny feet to begin with!).

Here are my suggestions for the best New Balance sneakers for skinny jeans: Superga’s classic “Cotu” casual sneaker has been around for what seems like forever! But they made a comeback last year & as the Stan Smiths, are a great runner to wear with skinny jeans. The great thing about these sneakers is that they’re relatively inexpensive & because they’ve become a cult favorite, you’ll be fashionably pairing them with your tight jeans for quite some time. Best to choose a leather version for Fall/Winter & canvas ones in the Summer. Slip-on sneakers are great shoes to wear with skinny jeans & the greatest thing about them is the variety! So many styles, prints & material to choose from, you will probably have trouble picking just one! Of course, there are many other sneakers & brands that work well with slim jeans. But aesthetically speaking, these are the 5 best branded styles that come to mind. But as I said previously, when a certain sneaker look is “in” there will be a plethora of copy cat versions (both high & low) to suit most needs.

So don’t feel you have to stick to a particular brand when designer X has made an even superior looking sneaker! It’s just always to think skinny jeans with tennis shoes vs slim jeans with running shoes. Even though some runners to do look fab (yeah, I know, confusing!!). In sum, when it comes to pairing sneakers with jeans, skinnies are the ones that really require a more prominent attention to footwear detail. Because the pant is so straight & skin tight (hardly there, really) any particular good or bad shoe detail will show & even look exaggerated. With flare jeans, you can get away with so much because you can’t see the shoes & the boyfriend jean’s, looser fit will mask a few footwear flaws. So folks, only the perfect sneakers with skinny jeans will do! Which comes to my point about not including the much beloved Chuck Taylor by Converse. And this is my reasoning: I’ve never been a fan & truly believe only 1% of the population can pull them off. With skinnies, maybe 0.1%!