Trump Released a Sneaker Line. Here’s How to Wear Them.

Former President Donald Trump took to the stage at Philadelphia’s Sneaker Con last month to unveil what might be the most memorable piece of political merch since the MAGA hat. Clad in his signature navy blue suit, white shirt, solid red tie and black oxford shoes, he held a pair of gleaming, golden sneakers dubbed the “Never Surrender” high-tops in his hands. “This is something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years,” Trump said, “and I think it’s going to be a big success.”

The flaxen footwear — made in the same color as Trump’s hair, much of his home decor and the 18-karat golden toilet the Guggenheim Museum once offered to the Trump White House — features an American flag and stitched capital T.

Trump’s kicks quickly made headlines. Raymond Arroyo, a Fox News contributor, said in a cringe-worthy segment that they would help Trump connect with Black voters because “they love sneakers […] certainly in the inner city.”

Questionable coverage notwithstanding, they’ve been a huge hit: The pre-order for a limited run of 1,000 pairs, each priced at $399, sold out within minutes, and a few have already been flipped on eBay for over $5,000. Watch dealer Roman Sharf bought an autographed pair for $9,000 through an auction held the same day as the sneaker’s debut. “They smell like glue,” he said that morning, holding the shoes up to his nose to take a whiff.

But how does one wear gilded sneakers? Believe it or not, there are a few options. Here are five ways you can actually pull off Trump’s sneakers.

- 1 -

1980s Hip Hop

The worst thing you can do with these sneakers is wear them with slim fit chinos and a button-up dress shirt; they’ll overwhelm the business casual aesthetic. Instead, think of people who have successfully worn similar sneakers in the past. At their best, Trump’s flashy sneakers recall the days of 1980s b-boys stunting on New York City’s subway trains. Wear them with a gold-striped navy tracksuit, a bucket hat, big gold chains and thick Cazel frames. Only an outfit with a bit of swagger can hold its own with these shoes.

- 2 -

1970s and ’80s Rock n Roll

You can also take your inspiration from 1970s rock icons such as Rick James and Elton John, who knew how to wear unusual clothes with harmony and flair. There’s a photo of Rick James going shirtless with a bandana around his neck while wearing a shimmering, leopard-striped sport coat with black leather pants. Gold sneakers would be a wonderful accompaniment to such a uniform. (If you’re shy about going shirtless, try a black mesh shirt.) Similarly, when Taron Egerton played Elton John in the 2019 biopic Rocketman, he wore platform boots with metallic gold wings, which he paired with teeny tiny gold shorts, a metallic gold jacket and rhinestone-encrusted sunglasses. This is the unapologetically glam energy you want to channel with Trump’s sneakers.

- 3 -

Tonality vs. Contrast

Let’s say you’re not cool enough to dress like a 1980s b-boy or Rick James. There are two ways to bring these sneakers into a more modern context: tonal and contrasting outfits. Tonal outfits consist of items that share the same base color. The problem with gold sneakers is that they look incoherent in most outfits, but by teaming them with pieces in a similar color — varying by just hue or shade — you can introduce harmony into your look. Pair the shoes with a sunflower Shetland sweater, dark camel-colored topcoat and sandy beige chinos. Conversely, you can embrace the sneaker’s loud volume by knowingly accentuating the contrast: Make them the center of attention with a black nylon bomber, black wool sweater and slim black jeans. Contrast usually comes from color, but here it will also come from texture, fiber and sheen. The overall effect is that the unconventional footwear will look intentional, rather than awkward.

- 4 -

The White Suit

Wearing sneakers with a suit presents a glaring problem. The cynosure of a classic tailored outfit is the v-shaped section formed by the shirt, jacket and tie, which should lead the viewer’s eye up toward the face. Unusual shoes — or even patterned trousers — drag the eye down. So how can you wear Trump’s attention-seeking shoes without violating this principle? Try a white, double-breasted suit, a gold chain necklace and a leopard print rayon shirt with a camp collar. The leopard print shirt will echo the colors in the shoes and keep the viewer’s eyes firmly planted up top. And because the white linen or gabardine suit will be lighter colored than the gold sneakers, the outfit will echo the shade and saturation of the classic mid-grey-suit-with-black-shoes formula. You want this to be somewhere between Miami Vice and Kid Rock.

- 5 -

MAGA Mayhem

Outfits are most successful when they’re visually coherent and send some sort of cultural message. A navy suit goes with a white shirt, dark tie and black oxfords because this was the standard for London business dress for much of the 20th century. Similarly, rebel-rockers in the U.S. gave blue jeans, black leather jackets and white T-shirts their anti-establishment connotation. There’s no such cultural history for Trump’s sneakers yet, but you can thematically tie everything together by wearing them with Trump everything: Brick Man’s Build-The-Wall suit, a Never Surrender mugshot T-shirt and a red MAGA hat. Will you look over the top? Sure. But, to be fair, you did just buy $400 gold sneakers.