The best men’s fashion trainers — which pairs to buy now

I have a friend who is what might be termed a sneakerhead. He loves sneakers and, as a man of a certain age, he has decades of sneaker love under his belt. But unlike so many of his peers, who have come to the conclusion that it might be time to embrace footwear that is a little more, well, becoming of our years, he is still holding the faith. And I applaud him for it. I really do. It’s just that I’d feel a tad self-conscious if I were rocking the same shoes.

But what exactly is appropriate when it comes to shoes? While we can all appreciate a beautifully crafted Derby, Chelsea Boot or Oxford, it’s probable that if we have experienced the sporty comfort and looks of trainers, that’s a tough habit to kick (pun intended). And yet, there can be something a little mid-life crisis about a pair of the latest Jordan 3s.

a pair of white sneakers with a white sole

Zegna Off White Deerskin Triple Stich

But worry not. Help is at hand in the form of the non-trainer trainer, a type of shoe that is being offered by companies that seem to recognise this problem. Tod’s, for example, the Italian firm famed for its slip-on moccasin driving shoe, has launched its T Vintage sneaker, which it says is inspired by the sports shoes of the 1980s and 90s. This comes in leather in white, brown or blue, with nice detailing like a brown leather tab on the heel and Tod’s signature rubber pebbles on the pale brown sole, which creeps up the toe and heel to give a distinctive look.

There are also versions of the T Vintage that have a subtle multi-colour design and come in leather and technical fabric with a stripe on the side and coloured patches on the toe, side and heel. Two of these models are pretty understated in black and white, or beige, white and brown combos, while a third has a vintage colour palette, mixing brown, blue, white and green on the same shoe. This works well and provides a colourful alternative to the dialled-down versions, while still fulfilling the criteria of looking “sensible”.

Tod’s T Vintage, in a retro colour palette style

I’m well aware that “sensible” may not be the best adjective for selling you shoes. But consider that the trainers we’re talking about are made to look pretty sensible, like reliable old-school sports shoes rather than fashion statements. Paul Smith, himself a thoroughly no-nonsense bloke from Nottingham, has the made-in-Italy cream Basso Trainers, which have tonal rubber cupsoles. You couldn’t get more old school than these — they’re the picture of the archetypal off-white sports shoe, almost like something a child might draw. In a good way.

CQP’s Otium military-inspired sneaker

At Santoni, the Italian provider of super high-end classic footwear, the shoemakers have taken the idea of function to heart and produced a subtle trainer that is so technically sophisticated you can wear it to work out in as well as to work. The Santoni Double Buckle sneakers are named for a design detail from the company’s classic shoe collection. “They are very elegant, very classy, very sophisticated, but they’re also technical,” says Giuseppe Santoni, the chairman of the firm. “We’re even launching for the spring/summer 2025 collection a new type of trainer called the Bounce, which weighs below 300 grams and has a carbon shank instead of a steel one for support that gives you pushback when you run.” He explains that he has been wear-testing the new product. “While I wouldn’t suggest you use them for the Olympics, I travel a lot and I exercise every morning in the hotel. I will use Technogym equipment with the same pair of shoes that I use to work in during the day.”

Santoni’s Double Buckle trainers are made using natural materials

He explains that unlike many sports trainers, Santoni’s Double Buckle trainers are made using natural materials. “They are made with leather and suede. So rich, so beautiful. You don’t have plastic or synthetic fabrics, your foot is surrounded by leather.”

Other designer brands that cater to those who favour footwear that looks like what we wore for PE (back when we did PE) include the American-Italian brand Common Projects, which has been ploughing the unadorned sneaker furrow since 2004. They make the simply stylish Original Achilles trainer in suede or leather. Then there’s Italian Brunello Cucinelli and his semi-polished calfskin and washed-suede basket or nubuck calfskin models and his soft-grained deerskin style in cream with natural rubber sole. Also see the French Lanvin and its leather DDB0 and leather-and-suede DBB1 styles.

Manolo Blahnik’s Semanados

Meanwhile, Manolo Blahnik offers his low-cut Semanado tennis-shoe style in calf leather or suede. With typical Italian flair, Zegna’s Alessandro Sartori has put a spin on the no-fuss trainer with his Triple Stitch, a simple sports shoe with a rubber sole and criss-cross elastic to hold it closed instead of laces; it comes in many colours, in cotton canvas and in a “Secondskin” calf leather that apparently has “memory” and moulds to your foot. Furthermore, it can be customised through Zegna’s made-to-measure service.

The T582 from Ludwig Reiter

While the Swedish brand CQP has the Otium army-inspired sneaker, the Austrian shoemaker Ludwig Reiter makes classic leather trainers derived from those it actually produced for the Austrian army in the 1970s (styles T512 and T582 are almost identical to the originals). The designer Helmut Lang set Ludwig Reiter on the path of reproducing these when in the early 1990s he found some of its military training shoes and asked the firm to restart production. “The great thing about the ‘trainer’ is that its design and construction is an excellent example for ‘form follows function’,” says Till Reiter, fourth generation of the family, who now runs the business. “Every detail has its reason.”

Of course, you could simply go to firms that actually make sports shoes. Jack Purcell classic leather sneakers from Converse are a case in point. As are Walsh PBs, which come from closer to home. Walsh is a British outfit founded by Norman Walsh, the man who made the running shoes in which Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile. This Bolton firm makes athletics shoes, including the Walsh PB, a much loved style of fell running shoe designed in 1970 and named after the fell runner Pete Bland.

Ludwig Reiter Tennis Dolaro Grain leather off-white trainers

The designer Patrick Grant, a long-time fan of Walsh, has created a limited-edition collaboration with the company under his Community Clothing label.

“I found a classic Walsh design that I loved in their archive and we used this as the starting point, making some small tweaks and updating it to their current lasts, and adding the colours,” he explains. “Our first Walsh shoe is called the Beacon, after our local Beacon Fell [in Lancashire] and it’s available in five colour options.” Grant has also developed a sister model called the Parlick, also named after a local fell, which comes in four colour combinations.

The ivory/stone/white Parlicks from Community Clothing

To ensure a grown-up look, it’s safest to go for single-colour trainers, like the white tone-on-tone Beacons or ivory/stone/white Parlicks from Community Clothing, or the black suede or plain leather colours of Ludwig Reiter’s T512 or its white golf-grain leather T582. The single hue helps make these shoes look more like, well, shoes, than sports apparel, and that is what we’re going for. My sneakerhead friend would not approve.