Good Morning,
Balenciaga is one of those brands I’ve never really resonated with. A lot of their designs and concepts are oversized and exaggerated to the point where in normal day to day life, they are simply ridiculous. I’m sure you’ve all seen the memes (my fav) on social media with someone wearing a duvet as a coat or an extremely large bubble jacket with a witty caption along the lines of ‘we all know someone who is always freezing’. I’m that person and while I can relate to the concept, in terms of the outfit in the picture it’s most likely Balenciaga.
After saying that you’re probably wondering why I’m here with a post about a pair of their trainers. I will admit when these trainers first came out I thought they were absolutely disgusting. I was almost offended by them and couldn’t believe when I seen people wearing lovely outfits and ruining them with big chunky trainers. I also didn’t like the colour combinations, particularly the black and pink.
Fast forward to early January and I found myself looking at them more and more. I was looking up people on Instagram who had them and seeing how they styled them, looking up the #balenciagatriples and feeling equally disgusted and obsessed all at the same time and for about 3 weeks straight I couldn’t stop thinking about them. How I would style them, would they make my feet look massive, would they make my short legs appear longer, would they be comfortable – so many questions and a spiralling need to know the answers.
I went into Harvey Nichols while I was in Edinburgh on Friday 18th January and they had two pairs on display, one white & the other black. They were as big in real life as I had anticipated and I was surprised by the weight too. I didn’t dare try them on as I was worried I’d either look utterly ridiculous and in turn feel ridiculous for even approaching the idea or absolutely love them and not want to leave the store without purchasing.
From then on I became slightly obsessed, checking all the different stockists for my size and trying to decide which colour way would suit me and my wardrobe best. It’s strange how even after confirming they were ugly & heavy, I was contemplating forking out a considerable amount of money to get them. I then started seeing more and more people wearing them and although usually that would be enough to put me off, on this occasion it was fuelling the need to decide once and for all whether they were for me. Of course they didn’t have my size in any of the colour ways I liked (grey or nude/navy combo) and in my experience not being able to get something always makes you want it more. On Saturday 26th January by sheer chance, the Balenciaga website had my size in stock in the nude/navy combo. It wasn’t my first choice however after seeing how Jess and We Are Twinset styled them, I decided to go for it, if only to confirm they weren’t for me and to be immediately returned.
After about 10 days of impatiently waiting, they arrived. I was slightly nervous opening them for some strange reason. I’m not sure if I was nervous I might actually like them or nervous I’d lost my mind for ordering them in the first place. Either way I opened the parcel with caution knowing there was a high chance I’d be wrapping straight back up to send back.
The box is pretty basic, just plain grey average cardboard box which is fine but it’s not anywhere near as special as opening a Louis Vuitton or Gucci purchase that’s for sure.
The moment I opened the lid of the box I felt the trainers were not for me. I was hoping they’d be slightly smaller in my size (EU 37/UK 4) however they still appear really chunky (although it doesn’t seem to come across as bad in photos) and not just in terms of the design, they are also extremely wide. When you look at them from above they look humungous.
When I put the trainers on, I went from hating to loving them again. It’s really unusual for me to be so indecisive about something, if I’ve made my mind up I generally stick to it but these have thrown me. They do go well with jeans and tee or a nicer pair of trousers. I haven’t tried with a dress or skirt but I’ve seen lots of people style them this way on Instagram. The mix of a pretty and feminine silhouette against the strong masculine & chunky shoe somehow works.
They are really heavy and I’m not sure if they’d be comfortable for long periods of wear. They are comfortable in general but in terms of the weight and lugging them around all day, the legs might tire. I also think I’ll easily fall over my feet or potentially trip myself up but maybe that’s just me being a bit clumsy.
I’d thought I’d wear these day to day whilst nipping out or for travelling for that bang on trend airport attire however I can’t see me being able to drive in them (they could cover two pedals at the same time) and I expect I’d need to take them off for airport security which is a big no no for me. I always strive to have the most seamless airport experience avoiding belts and anything else that needs removing. These would need a tray of their own to go through the scanner haha!
I think nostalgia is a big factor in my love/hate feelings for these trainers. When I was younger I had these hideous silver platform (flatform) trainers which I absolutely adored. They made me feel taller than ever and I wore them constantly. I guess these are similar in a way and that could be why I’m somehow drawn to them despite having mixed feelings.
While I try to decide whether to keep or return them (& book a holiday instead) I thought I’d break down the high level pros and cons:
Things I like
Slimming effect on legs/Illusion of longer legs
Comfort
Practicality
Nostalgia
Things I dislike
Size on the front
Weight & general chunkiness
Trend piece
What you think? Do you love or hate them?
Update: I decided to return them.
xo!