If you have in your collection one of the hottest sneakers ever made, and the sickest to ever grace pavements, and concretes of skateparks, then you know how important it is to style it properly.
You don’t joke around with such a sneaker.
I’m talking about the iconic Vans sneakers. The realest footwear to ever make acquaintance with any skateboarder’s feet.
I could go on heaping praises on those shoes but let’s play a game where I show you some styling tips for the various Vans styles.
Come with me.
I’d be taking each styling idea one after the other, I’d be vacillating between men’s and women’s styles along the way.
Vans Sk8-Hi for a pop star look
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I bet you probably haven’t ever worn this Vans this way before: with black skinny jeans, a white tee-shirt, and a camouflage jacket on it.
This look is made all the more interesting if you have whispy black hair that’s not too long, just over your ears and the back of your neck. Think, Justin Bieber’s hairstyle, black or sandy hair.
The combination of colors here complements each other. The black of the Vans Sk8-Hi sneakers matches your black jacket, the white outsole goes fine with your white t-shirt. If you have a lanky figure I can just imagine what you look like, elusively suave.
But of course, it’s the Vans Sk8-Hi which means you are both here in the present but dragging with you a whiff of the glorious past.
Ladies of the same figure ought to wear this with black ripped jeans, add a black t-shirt and a black jacket. Make it all black with dark glasses. Top it all out with brown hair, red lipstick.
Buy the Vans Sk8-Hi here
Old Skool Vans baggy jeans and switching colorways
First, color tip: get the black and white Old Skool. They are easier to match with clothes of your wardrobe than any other colors in the lineup.
I recommend black colors pants or jeans because this kind of goes blends well with the colorway, and then make sure the pants are slim fit or skinny too.
Not that guy’s haven’t been wearing this with baggy jeans but there’s just something about the old Skool which makes slimmer jeans better. Perhaps it’s because the shoes themselves are slim-looking.
So ladies I recommend you wear this with your black jeans rolled off your ankle to accentuate your legs were a lighter color top on that. If you choose you can have a dark-colored cardigan to top it all up.
Guys if you’re wearing baggy jeans make it a blue ripped one to take the attention off the bagginess, giving your whole look a rad tempo with t-shirts alone, yellow, or some other light colors.
Best to wear your Old Skool vans with socks if you are wearing baggy jeans. If you don’t have this in your collection yet, buy it here for $42.
Go retro with the Vans Checkboard Sneaker
If you’re styling the vans checkerboard design, please stay off black and white combinations. The checkers’ design already took the shine off those colors so you should style with lighter color shades.
Go with shades of brown and white color schemes. What this does is bring attention to your Vans sneakers. I recommend brown suede Chinos pants folded up to show your ankles if it’s a sunny day, and not too tight tees. Crown this with a dark brown flat cap.
Ladies should definitely rock this in the retro California style of the 80s. Shorts that are really short, preferably blue denim, roomy tees with the short sleeves folded to accentuate nuanced curves of your arms.
Have your hair piled in a nut on your head and if it is summertime, wear dark shades. Ladies can also wear the vans checkerboard with baggy ripped jeans folded at the bottom, big t-shirts, and a white face cap.
Vans sneakers are never limited by seasons so let it not be you interpret this to mean you can’t style different when you need to.
Wear the checkerboard all springtime with darker shades of suede skinny pants, denim long sleeves.
Buy this checkerboard slip-on here online
Vintage dresses with Vans Authentic
Vans Authentic are the king of causals. It’s got to have something to do with the thin collar and slim silhouette. Though I’ve seen some folks dress formally with the authentic in jackets and pants, which is cool.
It’s is an all-out skating shoe that crosses the line you want it to. There’s a photo of Kirsten Stewart in a tomboy dress-up with the vans authentic that really kills it: white top and baggy pants folded up to make the low-top authentic shoes stand out. And she’s wearing the black color by the way.
Like I said before, colorways matter greatly when styling vans sneakers. So wear light colors of brown pants and lighter color of shirts if your vans authentic is white. This blends well night or day.
You have an option of dark socks to go with it, creating that rad look that propelled the iconic shoes into the limelight in the first place.
Authentic Vans are vintage shoes so consider wearing them with a minimalist mindset. Wear t-shirts but have a jacket on, either leather or some other material.
Style them with black jeans. For best effect, leave fold the bottoms up on your pants. This look where the ankle shows is always nice to see. You have to show off either your legs or the shoes.
Buy the Vans Authentic here online
Contrasting colors with Vans Era
The Vans Era – in my opinion – is an upgrade of the Vans Old Skool shoes. The difference between the two shoes is the padded collar in the era.
I love to style these shoes as simply as I can with little quirky inputs here and there.
Incorporate hooded garments, fairly slim pants, or jeans that leave some space over the knees.
I also love to wear them a lot with shorts on sunny days. Add flannel shirts on that and face caps. The look is cool, laid back. It complements the semi-formal vibe the era can give.
Style the shoes with blue flannel shirts buttoned up, black jeans trousers that aren’t too tight. Black socks if the shoes are the red color, blue ankle socks if the shoes are black.
Ladies try the white-colored Vans Era with a pair of blue jeans folded up to flaunt your skin. A pink top can level it up for you and a wide-brimmed hat for the outdoors.
For an even easier look you can style the Era with baggy jeans, not ripped, dark-colored cardigan, and the jeans rolled up to show your black socks.
Vans slip-on shoes with bold attires
Vans Slip-on sneakers are perhaps the easiest to style. They have no tongues nor laces to add bulk to the sneakers. They are best worn with skinny jeans, leggings, skirts, and shorts for ladies.
I love to personally style them in minimalist fashion. Go easy on the look with combat shorts or the three-quarter sizes and black roomy tops.
I have worn them with faded blue jeans that stop at the ankle, joggers, and sweatshirts. When wearing them with faded blue jeans I do without socks. With skinny jeans, I either dispense with the socks or wear invisible no-show socks.
During summer walks you can wear Vans slip-ons with no-show socks, shorts, and tank tops. Ladies will get a kick from wearing them with short denim skirts of any color if the sneakers are black.
A blacktop on a blue denim skirt and these low-top slip-ons will look just ravishing. Try these shoes with leather jackets and black pants on a shopping afternoon.
The same styling as it is for the checkerboard Slip-on.
Get this black Vans slip-on here online
Vans Half Cab with baggy pants
One of the lesser talked about Vans footwear is the Half Cab. Made for skaters, it has been able to break into the mainstream dressing and fashion styles.
It’s got a silhouette that takes from the present and merges it with the past. Like other Vans styles, you can wear these shoes with just about any fashion. They go better however with baggy pants and jeans because of their bulky look.
If you can manage to make your trousers sit just atop the collar of the shoe with a little wrinkling, it would look awesome. It’s best to avoid wearing them with skinny jeans.
They match well with mid-size jeans, rolled up a little, especially if you have the laces all done tightly.
When wearing with straight jeans trousers and roomy tops, keeping the lace-up a little loose at the end gives you a much more contemporary look.
Buy the Half Cab here online
Vans Ultrarange styled off the road
The Vans Ultrarange is the footwear outdoor shoes. They are Vans most modern era sneakers, far removed from the Vans custom look.
Other than the custom stripes on the sides that identify these sneakers, they are almost nothing like you’ve ever worn from vans.
Other than the custom stripes on the sides that identify these sneakers, they are almost nothing like you’ve ever worn from vans. But how do you style these shoes?
Here are some ideas of mine. Keep the outdoor spirit of these shoes and wear them with casual clothes, preferably jeans cut at the bottom and t-shirts. Nothing too extravagant. Anything more takes the shine of these sneakers, you don’t want that.
Keep your jeans trousers above the ankle by rolling them. White tops on blue jeans if the shoes are the blue Ultrarange. They can be worn with thick shin-length socks, shorts, roomy t-shirts, and face caps for outdoor time by the beach.
Generally, the Vans Ultrarange shoes are adventurous shoes designed to give some boost to your outdoor spirit. Styling them requires less creativity since they look sporty.
Buy the Ultrarange here online
Styling Vans Sk8-Low like a pro
Vans Sk8-Low is the other version of the Sk8-Hi. Just think the hightop but with the ankles sliced off. They are easy to style to anyone’s taste.
A few exceptions for them though. Unlike the other Vans shoes, these ones are better styled with non-skinny jeans or trousers.
Wear them with roomy trousers that you can either fold at the bottom or let them cover the top of the shoes. You can also wear them denim too – not ripped ones—folded at the bottom to expose your ankles, and without socks.
The Sk8-Low is a little bulkier than the other Vans. Hence they are best worn with baggy jeans.
However, depending on your taste or if you’re a medium build you can wear them with not too skinny jeans that leaves just a little space before the padded collar.
Buy here online
Vans Chukka Low, Casual, deep colors
One for the streets, the Vans chukka shoes are a line of sneakers with silhouettes that resemble the Sk8-Low and Half Cab.
Chukkas allow even more flexibility though. They are functional sneakers made for skaters, as you can see if you have one of them, they are also a great shoe for dresses.
They allow you to move the needle between formal and semi-formal, and your lace-up style can help you achieve life in both worlds.
With a tight lace-up, the shoes appear slimmer and can be worn with semi-formal dresses like oxford long-sleeved shirts and pants.
The pants fall just inches below the top of the sneakers. Or if the pants are slimmer, they should be folded a little to highlight the shoes.
A younger more in-tune look can be achieved with baggy pants, they could jeans or cotton. Let the trousers taper out at the bottom to line up well with the top of the shoes, finish up the look with a jacket and t-shirt.
A most interesting look for me is when worn with shorts, tank tops or long sleeves rolled up above the elbows.
The look is complete with a trilby-looking hat tilted to the back of the head. Chukkas look imposing, they’re better styled with dark colors. The Chukka is here for $60.
Wearing or styling Vans sneakers can be personal fun. The sneakers are designed with the hard casualness that allows individual freedom to wear them with any kind of clothes you have in your wardrobe.
Yet, it can be a drag for some to achieve a combination of style and class with these kicks. This list is sure to help oil your imagination and send it kicking.
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