Justin Marozzi

Men, step away from the trainers

iStock 
issue 27 April 2024

What is it with men and trainers? Or rather, men of a certain age and trainers. I’m still trying to banish the horror-show image of Rishi Sunak wearing Adidas Sambas in No. 10 in an interview to promote his tax policies.

Has western civilisation really come to this? Are we destined to succumb to rubber-soled hell, or is there still a place left for those of us who prefer shoes that last decades, not a couple of years before being consigned to the dustbin of athleisure history?

For years I’ve played a game checking out men’s footwear on the London Underground. The proportion of trainers has risen exponentially, like grey squirrels stealing lebensraum from their indigenous red cousins, so that today you’re lucky if you even spot a leather-soled shoe.

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