Every time I go to Copenhagen, I take approximately 100 photos of butter (there is no one that more artfully plates butter than the Danes) and 1000 photos of random girls on the street (there is no one that more creatively puts together a outfit than…the Danes). I just love how they do life over there in general. They love to layer and lather things on in a way I wouldn’t naturally and so I am constantly in awe, snapping photos to remind myself of the better ways in which I could do things.
Last summer, when I was there for Copenhagen fashion week, I noticed a common theme in all of the photos I took of cute girls wearing outfits I wanted to imitate. They were almost all wearing Salomon sneakers—while also almost always sipping glasses of orange wine and sitting alongside slices of bread and a plated mountain of luxurious layered butter…of course.
It gave me pause because I have always loved Salomon sneakers but struggled with how to necessarily style them. The initial issue comes with the fact that I am not a sneakers girl in general. My default shoe is a ballet flat. When in doubt, I prefer a dainty, more ladylike option on my feet. They are by far the shoe style I wear most frequently. But when I see the girls in Copenhagen wearing Salomon sneakers, I feel like I am missing out on something.
It’s not just because the sneakers look cool, with a signature water-proof membrane casing that makes them look stuck in a funky web of color but also that they give a effortless sporty vibe to any outfit. That makes them more fun to style with long skirts that scrape the floor and tops with sleeves that feel comically too big.
I recently unearthed my favorite pair of Salomons: a pink pair done in collaboration with Sandy Liang, which created a small but anticipated frenzy in downtown New York upon their release (they sold out nearly instantly). And then there’s the new XT-pathway 2 sneaker in all white I also own. I’ve been doing longer walks than usual these days since it’s finally getting nice out, and I’ve been itching for a shoe that makes more sense for 10k steps than a pair of baby blue Chanel ballet flats. It felt like the right time to add the Salomons into my shoe rotation. Especially now that I think I’ve cracked the code on how to style them.
The key is to style them with pieces that are the complete opposite. On their own, Salomons are sporty and casual. But when paired with something like say a Sandy Liang sweatsuit covered in fabric rosettes—as I do—they feel less sturdy and serious. It’s that kind of funky childlike zest Danes love that’s hard to bottle. And yet, wearing my Salomons in this way, with cutesy pieces in my wardrobe, by far feels like the closest I’ve ever come.
Shop the best Salomon sneakers, below.
Salomon
White Xt-Whisper Sneakers
Salomon
Taupe Xt-6 Expanse Leather Sneakers
Salomon
Pink Xt-6 Sneakers
Salomon
Black Speedcross 3 Sneakers
Salomon
Yellow & Brown Acs Pro Gore-Tex Sneakers
Salomon
Gender Inclusive Xt-Whisper Sneaker
Salomon
Gender Inclusive Xt-6 Sneaker