The Comfortable, Affordable, Cool Sneakers Every Man Should Own

Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. We may earn a commission from these links. Here’s how we test products and why you should trust us.Getty Images5 min readTraditionally, wearing sneakers meant one of two things: You were either working out or chilling out. They didn’t speak to your identity, or say much about your sense of style or standing in society. But now, in an age of casualization and comfort, your choice of sneakers and how you wear them speaks volumes. Thankfully, there are more options than ever, but that doesn’t necessarily make choosing any easier.The rise and fall of the Adidas Samba encapsulates the challenge. Out of nowhere, the decades-old soccer shoe became an “it” shoe a couple of years back (and even earlier when you factor in the early adopters). If you were wearing Sambas, it meant you had your finger on the pulse. It also conveyed a certain reasonableness. We’re not talking about $1,000 designer sneakers, but classic indoor soccer shoes that cost a tenth of that.But fatigue set in. Ubiquity breeds familiarity, and eventually—inevitably—the cool factor of any once-hip item begins to fade. The Samba’s big moment passed, and all those contrarian early adopters moved onto other sneakers (like those extremely low-profile ones that just have to be murder on your arches). These days, wearing a pair runs the risk of signaling that you’re a little out of touch. It’s not as bad as squeezing into a too-tight suit like it’s 2013 all over again, but it’s on the same spectrum.Neil Mockford//Getty ImagesAdidas Sambas, seen here on Paul Mescal, are well past their tipping point.There is also the matter of sneakers—the shoes that created a subculture of sneakerheads who drop hundreds or thousands of dollars on reseller sites like StockX. That market has cooled, but you will still find men wearing pricey Nikes. At its extreme, what wearing these risks saying to the world is that you have replaced any sense of style with basketball shoes that were popular when you were a kid. Sure, they’re fun, but tread carefully.So is there an existing, affordable sneaker that has requisite flex, but won’t suddenly flip to become a marker of a buffering sense of style? A comfortable, affordable sneaker that is cool but not too cool? The answer, dear friends, is a resounding yes. In fact there are many.Your first port of call should be the German Army Trainer—colloquially known as the GAT—or anything that looks like it. Defined by a leather upper, gum sole, low-profile shape, and suede detailing on the toe, the original GAT was designed by either Adidas or Puma (it’s not clear) for the federal German army in the ’70s. It represents the zenith of low-key and inoffensive sneaker design, yet its utilitarian heritage lends it a rare kind of cool. That is to say, it was never supposed to be stylish, so therefore it is.Oliver CabellOliver Cabell does a very nice riff on the classic white/gray/gum colorway of the GAT.In the ’00s, luxury brand Maison Margiela breathed new life into the GAT by releasing its homage, the “Replica Sneaker,” which is still hugely popular and especially cool again right now. They will run you $850, but you can find other faithful GAT reissues for less at Oliver Cabell, Beckett Simonon, Pane, Adidas, and even Quince. You can also find the originals on eBay and Etsy for around $60 to $100, but it can be hard to find a matching pair in good condition. New GAT replicas are available in myriad colors and finishes, but nothing beats the classic white/off-white colorway on a gum sole.If it’s color you want, then Adidas’s Originals collection is worth a look. The Samba might not be the move right now (though if you love it despite its past overexposure, it’s still a very good shoe), but the brand offers scores more retro-looking styles in the same vein: the Gazelle, for example, or the SL72. (I have a feeling the “shell toe” Superstar will make a comeback at some point, too.) I’d also point you in the direction of Onitsuka Tiger for its brilliant Mexico ’66 (in Kill Bill yellow, perhaps), which has also enjoyed something of a comeback recently. And to Puma, which makes the GAT-adjacent Palermo, a reissue of an ’80s model and another soccer-terrace classic.All of the above fall under the same bracket of low-profile and retro-looking. They are simple, available in a range of pool-ball colors, and look good with jeans. What’s not to love?If you want a pair of super-minimal, smart-looking sneakers that you could wear with a suit, to a wedding, etc., then look for something in leather in a single solid color with a cup sole (that’s the rubber part at the bottom of the shoe). For a while, that corner of the market was dominated by Common Projects—namely with the Achilles sneaker—but its offerings are expensive and, in my experience, not the comfiest on the market. But that style of sneaker is very easy to find, and most brands will offer their own take.getty imagesCommon Projects cornered the market on leather shoes you can wear with a suit, as Kevin Hart in Thom Browne demonstrates here.My advice would be to keep it as simple as possible and to look out for signifiers of quality: Italian leather, made in the U.S./EU, stitched soles. Sneaker 02 at Spanish brand Morjas is a good option.If you want something more technical and contemporary, check out the trail-running industry. A general rule would be to avoid wearing running-specific shoes as everyday sneakers—especially those with bulbous, squishy soles—but there’s something about the mix of functionality and finesse that allows trail-running shoes to cross over: They’re stable, supportive, often waterproof, and always interesting. Nike’s ACG collection still has a couple interesting things happening in it—though recent design-sensibility shifts pushed things a little too futuristic for some—and Salomon’s XT-6 sneaker is my go-to when the weather gets grim but I don’t want to wear boots. Hoka has a great range of trail runners, too, but they can occasionally drift into mountain-going cosplay.Christopher FenimoreSamuel Holden Jaffe, a musician who performs at Del Water Gap, wears the Solomon XT6.The current crop of ’90s-style running reissues are not exactly timeless but still worth consideration. The Asics Gel-NYC and Gel-Kayano 14 have more staying power than the Samba in terms of trendiness because they never got quite as big. But if you want a running style that has stood the test of time, go for something in New Balance’s 990 range or even a Nike Air Max.BG004/Bauer-Griffin//Getty ImagesThe Nike Air Max 90 is a running shoe that has stood the test of time. Here’s a pair on Ben Affleck.Ignat/Bauer-Griffin//Getty ImagesChris Rock wearing Hoka Clifton 9 in white. They aren’t throwback running sneakers, but they look good.Finally, there are a few things to avoid when it comes to sneakers. With the exception of the version from Vans, anything slip-on is suspicious—that is, anything too obviously comfortable puts you at risk of dressing like a Floridian villager. And sneakers that masquerade as dress shoes should be avoided at all costs. Either wear sneakers that look good with smarter clothing or wear dress shoes, but don’t try to hack the system, because it just looks bad. Pick a side and move on.Five Great Pairs of Sneakers That Will (Probably) Stand the Test of Time: