Spring's 3 Most Essential Shoe Styles and How to Wear Them - OWNSKIN

With spring right around the corner, especially here in always-sunny Los Angeles, I’ve been starting to make some major swaps in my wardrobe. Oversize puffer coats are getting replaced with more tailored blazers, chunky sweaters with lightweight knit dresses, and lug-sole boots with more spring weather-friendly footwear.

I’m specifically referring to three pairs of shoes I’ll be wearing on repeat from a favorite fashion brand of mine, Sperry: canvas sneakers, leather boat shoes, and rain boots. They’re all what I consider absolutely essential footwear additions to my personal spring wardrobe. There are endless ways to style these shoes, but the outfits below are topping my list at the moment.

There are few styles of footwear I wear year-round more often than white or off-white sneakers. During spring it’s all about a canvas style. I’m particularly excited about this pair from Sperry because the laces are hassle-free. Yes, you heard me right: The barrel ties mean these sneakers just slip right on. I can’t really think of an outfit I wouldn’t wear with these sneakers at the moment, but a breezy cotton dress is always a go-to of mine. This puffy-sleeve maxi style is equal parts trendy and classic just like the sneakers, making the two pieces a match made in heaven. Just add another white accessory to really make the shoes pop. My new black and white leather boat shoes are equally as easy to slip on and go. Are you sensing a theme here? This pair has the polished quality that you’d expect from this style of footwear but feels a bit more casual due to those same rope-style ties. I love the pop of white from the rubber sole, so I styled these boat shoes with a head-to-toe black and white ‘fit. (My fave color combo, no matter the season.) This zebra print miniskirt surprisingly gets a lot of use in my wardrobe, and right now, I’m pairing it with an on-trend leather blazer and ribbed tank. I never truly understood the importance of waterproof footwear until I lived through my first spring in New York (and all the romantic comedy-worthy unexpected rain showers that came with it). Now on rainy days, I rely on these duck boots like my life (or at least my morning coffee run) depends on it. Since pretty much every luxury brand is leaning into quilted fabrics right now, I immediately gravitated to this very on trend, elevated-feeling pair. If styling duck boots feels a bit tricky at first, think about how you’d wear your favorite high-top sneakers. For me, that’s with a lightweight and ultra-soft knit dress. I love the collar on this one, which has been a fashion-girl favorite detail for a minute now. For this look, I decided to add some knit socks and a leather baseball cap for good measure. Umbrella not pictured.