Why I Judge People By Their Sneakers (And You Probably Do Too)

Let me level with you. I’m a shoe guy. There, I said it.

I can’t help it. After twenty-five years of professional dress codes that require wearing leather shoes, my eyes are naturally drawn to footwear. What I’ve found interesting, however, as I’ve aged and society has become more casual, is that I am just as judgmental about sneakers as I used to be about whether or not a guy was wearing dress shoes for a meeting with a client.

Mrs. Green thinks this is stupid. “Arthur, they’re shoes,” she says when I comment on someone’s shoe selection.

But it’s not true.

Sneakers are the most telling article of clothing that most people wear today. You know what they say about suits – there are rules. You know what color shirt to wear, what season you can wear a certain pattern of tie, what sorts of fabrics are appropriate for what occasion.

Shoes, sneakers specifically, offer none of those guideposts. Everyone is making it up as they go along, and their choices say far more about them than they may realize. I learned this rule many years ago when I was still blissfully unaware that there was a whole world of clothesmanship beyond knowing the difference between professional and casual work attire.

I started paying attention not only to how people dressed for work, but how they chose to present themselves when the dress code was more relaxed. Dinner with clients when everyone is wearing jeans and sneakers. Firm retreats.

Weekends outings when people take off the suit armor and you can see who they really are. That’s when I came to understand that sneakers speak to a person’s personality in a way a suit never can. When you don a navy suit with a white shirt, you are literally wiping away all identity.

But when you put on one pair of sneakers instead of another to meet someone casually on a Friday or attend a weekend event, you are choosing to express something about yourself. And believe me, the next person knows exactly what you are trying to communicate. Think about the partners in your firm.

There’s always one guy. We’ll call him Mr. X so I don’t get in trouble.

Mr. X has white leather sneakers on that are completely clean. Nothing trendy.

No logos. Old school white tennis shoes from LL Bean or something. But they are white.

All the time. With dark wash jeans and a button up shirt. He’s saying he values simplicity.

He’s saying that he cares about looking sharp and putting together, but he’s not going to spend a ton of money or try to keep up with the latest fads to do it. He’s making a statement and it’s pretty damn classy. Now think of another partner at your firm.

We’ll call him Mr. Y because why not. Mr.

Y shows up to the same event wearing ancient black high-top converse chucks that look like they’ve been through the wash dozens of times. He’s wearing the shoes that teenage drumline players wore when I was in high school. Clean?

No. Cheap? Definitely.

He’s communicating something completely different though. Mr. Y doesn’t have to be dope and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it.

He’s letting folks know that while he’s a corporate lawyer by day, he’s probably got a creative side people don’t see. He values authenticity over flawlessness. I’ve seen this concept play out during depositions as well.

I love watching the other side walk into the room and observe what they’re wearing. One common trope is guys wearing designer sneakers that are completely unnecessary for any reason other than looking wealthy and fashionable. If anyone needs me I’ll be in my basement stuffing dollar bills into my ultra high-end Japanese running shoes.

Look, there was a time when I just wore whatever when I wasn’t wearing dress shoes. Old tennis shoes from Target or Reebok hoopsters I wore camping fifteen years ago. Never gave it any thought.

If it covered my feet and was comfortable, I was fine with it. But once you start, you can’t unsee things. I started to notice how closely people’s sneakers matched their personalities.

Mr. X and his perfectly clean white sneakers. The creatives who wore older nods to sneaker culture or collaborations I didn’t understand.

The dudes that were clearly wearing shoes they read about on some blog versus the ones that developed their own style and stuck with it. The thing about sneakers is they will always live in this nebulous area between “athlete” and “fashion.” Are you wearing basketball shoes because you actually play basketball? Are you wearing those run pants because you’re going for a run, or because they look cool with skinny jeans and you work at a tech startup?

People make decisions about what sneakers to wear and every choice tells a story. Let’s examine: Guy in Fly80 Jordans to a business casual event: This dude is old enough to remember when Michael Jordan debuted the Air Jordan line and they were groundbreaking. He remembers when Nike vs adidas dominated the culture.

He thinks LeBron ruined the NBA and basically anyone young enough to not understand why is weak on feelings about music. He considers himself a hip hop aficionado and needs you to know that. Lil nas x sponsored girlfriend wearing slide sandals: Cool sneakers?

Check. Completely arbitrary designer handbag? Check.

Gucci sneakers aren’t even that expensive anymore but she has to have that jet black number to match her cognac oneskin slide sandals. There is literally no reason for her to spend that much money on shoes that function as glorified flip flops but OH WELL. Girl in minimal white sneakers: These aren’t Nike Sneakers.

There may or may not be a logo on the tongue but you can’t see it so it doesn’t matter. She reads Marie Claire. She also has about twelve versions of what she considers to be “neutral” blazers.

She’s told you she likes Icelandic interior design at least once. Lady with the small black sneakers: This woman has the small black sneakers. Lots of judgment in this group.

Usually owns at least one pair that are reportedly Made In England but actually just sold to her by some mainland China based distributor who saw an opportunity to capitalize on decades of Brit classism. Will talk about her sneakers at length if you let her. Will also give you a weird look if you point out the obvious.

Basic ass guy in chunky expensive sneakers: There’s a reason these things are so damn ugly and cost more money than they should. Do you know how hard it is to make fashion-forward clothing that everyone knows is expensive but no one thinks looks expensive? Someone figured it out and these sneakers are their Frankensteined monster.

Wearing the ugly shoes as a middle finger to everything I’ve ever loved about sneakers. You love them because you work at an office where you think smelling like sweaty gym clothes throughout the day validates your fitness routine. I could go on and on, but you get the point.

It’s fascinating to me how much people say without meaning to just by throwing on a pair of sneakers.

Odds are I’m doing it to you right now. We walk into a restaurant.

Before we even open the menu, I know whether you’re trendy or worn in your clothes. I know if you research your clothes or buy what trends on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Instagram. I know if you’re trying to look cool or just look good.

I probably know more about your sneakers than you do. See people. They’re obviously wearing fashionable athletic shoes that they will never wear to do anything athletic.

What does that say about our society? Anyway. Moral of the story: your shoes mean more than you think they do.