Black & Whites: Appreciating The Bread & Butter Of The Footwear Industry

‘Does this come in black?’

I started my sneaker journey working Thursday late nights, weekends and school holidays at a certain Pitt St store as a 15 year old and one of the quickest things I learned was how customers gravitate towards a black and white colourway. Over a decade later, it’s no surprise that people are still turning to the most reliable addition you can make to your footwear rotation.

First things first, black goes with literally everything. One of the most common questions all retail assistants get asked is, ‘Does this come in black?’. If the answer is yes, you’ve usually just made a sale. It’s a versatile investment you’ll get plenty of wear out of, so what’s not to like?

Black shoes are also undeniably better at taking a beating than their seasonally coloured, or snow white counterparts, so unless you are extremely well behaved for all your after hours activities, it’s hard to argue with the logic behind buying a pair of shoes that are harder to thrash. From festivals and shows to nights out, and pretty much any public event (for the record we do not recommend catching a peak hour train in a new pair), you always run the risk of scuffs, spills and being stepped on. You hate to see it.

When it comes to launching new silhouettes, brands will often take a temperature check with a core black and white model alongside a more adventurous debut colourway. Without fail, the black and whites are always the first to fly off shelves with the appeal of effortless styling moreover outweighing the lure of a daring seasonal spritz of colour.

Time for an update?