The Best Trainers To Wear With Barrel Leg Trousers (And Why It's Not The Samba)
The barrel shape lives or dies by the shoe, and the trainer everyone reaches for isn't actually the best one for it. Here's what to wear instead with this season's trending trouser shape.
Nobody warns you that the hardest part of the barrel-trouser trend isn't the trousers, it's the shoe. You get the trousers right, feel quite pleased with yourself, then put the wrong thing on your feet and the whole outfit falls apart. It usually comes from one instinct: reaching for a big, chunky trainer to "balance" all that volume, when a barrel is already the shape in the outfit and a chunky sole just gives you two things shouting over each other.
So just how does one style a barrel trouser or jean? Let's start with the trouser itself. Take something like Uniqlo's Jersey Barrel Leg Trousers as the gold standard, because this cult high street hero is the barrel to measure the rest against. The viral pair half your feed bought this summer, cut in soft jersey or stiff denim that holds a curve just right. They're also made in short, regular and long, by the way, and it's that last detail that makes them the exemplary choice.
The genuinely clever move is to choose your length to suit the shoes you already own. If your wardrobe is all sleek, low trainers and flats, opt for a cropped length, because a bare ankle above a slim shoe is the sharpest version of this outfit. If you live in chunkier trainers, or you're eyeing autumn boots, size into the longer length so the hem breaks over the shoe and gives it something to peek out from under. But if you're looking for a fresh pair to style your favourite new season shape with, scroll on to discover our shoe picks below.
Studio
ADIDAS Taekwondo Shoes
£40.00
If you want a trainer that all but disappears, the adidas Taekwondo is the insider pick. It's flat, slipper-thin and barely there, martial-arts origins and all, so it slips under the hem and lets the trouser be the whole outfit. It's the adidas you reach for when you're a little bored of everyone else's adidas.
Flannels
Puma Speedcat OG Sneaker - Red/White
£90.00
For the days you want the outfit to look more fashion than easy, the Puma Speedcat is about as sleek as trainers get, cut low and close to the foot with a barely-there sole. It keeps the ankle looking narrow, which is exactly what the barrel taper is going for, and it has a slightly faster, sharper attitude that stops a relaxed trouser tipping into scruffy.
JD Sports
adidas JAPAN SHOES - Yellow - Womens
£90.00
Everyone reaches for the Samba, and it's fine, but the version that actually suits a barrel is the Adidas Japan. It's the slim, streamlined heritage runner fashion people have been swapping their Sambas for, and where the Samba is round through the toe, the Japan is longer and leaner, so it carries the barrel's taper down to the floor instead of stopping it dead. It's the one I'd buy first.
End Clothing
New Balance Women's 204L Sneaker Sea Salt/Red Rock
£55.00
If you like the retro-runner look but the chunky ones feel like too much under a barrel, skip the 530 everyone already owns and go for the New Balance 204L instead. It's the slim one, narrow through the sole with barely any branding, so you get the running-shoe nod without a great wedge of foam fighting your trousers for attention.
Secret Sales
Onitsuka Tiger Mens Edr 78 Trainers - Black Nylon - Size UK 8
£102.50
When you'd rather the shoe did something than nothing, the Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 is the retro runner to reach for. It's slim and low enough to sit neatly under a barrel, and cleverly the stripe runs the length of the shoe, drawing the eye along the foot and lengthening it, which does the barrel's line a favour while it's at it. The pop of colour is just the bonus.
Flannels
Nike Nike Air Rift Ld63 - Cream
£119.99
If you want the outfit to actually turn heads, the Nike Air Rift is the one. It's the split-toe, tabi-style running shoe from the Nineties, the divisive "ninja" trainer with the strap across the front, and it's roared back into fashion precisely because it looks like nothing else. What makes it work under a barrel is the same thing that makes it a talking point: it's low, flat and minimal, so it stays out of the way at the floor while that split toe does something no other trainer is doing. Wear it when you want your barrels to look like a considered choice, not a safe one.