9 Summer Dress and Sneaker Combinations That Are as Comfortable as They Are Stylish

2 min read

We’ve been thinking a lot about outfit recipes over at ELLE.

Like a regular recipe, outfit recipes are combinations of clothing items and accessories that go well together and create something more delicious than the sum of their parts. Like food, after mastering a simple, quality outfit recipe, you can go on to get creative according to your own preferences and tastes, while maintaining the success of the original look.

Some of our favorite recipes include boots and midi skirts, capri pants and kitten heels, and summer dresses and sneakers. Tried and tested by everyone from Lily Allen to millennials everywhere, from May to September, a summer-dress-and-sneaker combo is the easiest answer to a whole host of weather types and dress codes. However, like your dad’s “legendary” slow-cooker beef stew, a summer dress with sneakers can be a little overdone.

Thanks to the extreme ease and comfort of the pairing, summer dresses and sneakers have been accused of being “cheugy” by TikTok, and while we won’t be swayed by every Gen Z criticism, we accept that we could shake up our beloved pairing a little. Here, we’ve created nine summer dress and sneaker outfit ideas to get the creative juices flowing.

Summer Mini Dresses and Sneakers

Starting off with mini dresses, nightie styles are reigning supreme for spring and summer. With the biggest style gap between your dress and shoes, this is the easiest pairing to get right. Try these with a pair of Mary Jane sneakers for a fashion-forward approach, or go for a metallic style or rounded silhouette.

Summer Midi Dresses and Sneakers

For midi dresses, the best options are streamlined sneakerinas or bulkier silhouettes. Try an asymmetric midi as per M&S and & Other Stories. For a more elevated approach, try a draped black dress with matching black trainers.

Summer Maxi Dresses and Sneakers

As for maxi dresses, it’s all about finding directional color pairings. Whether you opt for mint green with bright red, blue and green check with off-white, or dark brown with forest green, each of these combinations will ensure your ensemble reads as polished.