Hi Tops Rule — Prudence Website

Do you have a fashion”thing that you keep coming back to? And then it becomes part of your look? Maybe it’s leopard print or high waisted jeans or signature earrings? I have a couple of things and one of them is hi-top sneakers.

Maybe it started 30 years ago when I got my first pair of hi-top Converses because I thought they would cover up my skinny ankles. Since then Converses have become such a staple of my wardrobe I can’t imagine not owning a pair. I’m proud to say I don’t have multiple pairs of these - my current leopard print ones I’ve had for about 10 years now and they’re still going strong and remarkably, still seem to go with a lot of my clothes.

But I do have other kinds of hi top sneakers on high rotation - my Rick Owens leather hi tops are a classic and get lots of nods of approval from sneaker aficionados, my white leather Maison Margeila ones are great in summer because they have airy cut outs; and my concrete coloured LD Tuttles are just the perfect neutral to wear with my oversized Nom-D dresses.

Sometimes I get approached to do style reviews from designers and I only accept if its something I really love. Recently I did acquire a new pair of interesting hi tops from Belgian designer Laurence Verhaert after I started to follow her ethical she brand Sjosuur on Instagram. I liked what she did, she liked what I did, we got to talking and she kindly offered me a pair of shoes to wear in exchange for my style review.

So of course, I chose the hi-top sneaker in her range, the Lava Anthracite. What I like about them is the clean (almost Japanese) look of the design which shows off the colour and the texture of the vegetable dyed leather and the contrast white rubber sole, but then at the back they have an interesting wrap and cut out section. And in line with my Prudence philosophy I can tell they’re well crafted from high quality materials so they will last a long time. The shape of the toe is nice - not too almond, not too round, not squared off - just “neutral”, which is great.

So what’s the best way of wearing this type of shoe? There is a caution with the hi-top, they can visually shorten the leg - so I find for me it’s better to keep the rest of the outfit tonal or monotone to elongate the body and let the sneaker become the accent. With my Lava Anthrcites I’m wearing wide leg Bassike khaki pants and my husband’s Burberry shirt to pick up on the subtle charcoal and khaki colours on the shoe, and to create a tonal block of colour on my body. I’ve also worn them with an oversized black jumpsuit/dress thing and a khaki boiler suit. It’s interesting because sometimes a new addition like this can make me look at my wardrobe in a new way - I keep finding different ways to wear them.

Thanks for reading,

cheers, Ann