All products featured on GQ are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
The best white sneakers for men are more than a mere wardrobe staple—they’re the base of the menswear food pyramid, the pair of shoes you’ll likely reach for more than any other in your closet. Which explains why there are a mind-boggling amount of white sneakers available, from all-time classics to wild-style flexes, upscale designer riffs to affordable but no less inspired models.
The Best White Sneakers Shopping Guide
- The Right-Now Pick: Adidas Samba OG sneaker, $99
- The Classic Pick: Converse Chuck 70 sneaker, $90
- The Slip-On Pick: Vans classic 98 DX slip-on sneaker, $85
- The Fashion Guy Pick: Maison Margiela Replica Sneakers, $540
- The Large-and-in-Charge Pick: Nike Air Force 1 '07 sneaker, $115
- The Outdoors-Ready Pick: Salomon XT-6 advanced rubber-trimmed mesh sneakers, $150
- The Indie Pick: Stepney Workers Club Dellow leather sneaker, $95
And while white sneakers, generally, are not the sneakers you lust after, drool over, or dream about (then come up short on the SNKRS app when they drop), there is an undeniable hit of endorphins when you crack open a fresh pair. Scuff-free. Gleaming. Because the best white sneakers are always the newest pair you've got. Sure, there's a little sadness when you thank your old, roughed-up pair of white sneakers for their long and distinguished service and set them free. They delivered hundreds of wears; held down hundreds of fits. It's the circle of life.
But as they say, the best is yet to come. And in the case of white sneakers, it's a mash up of tried and true classics and one-off collabs that continue to hit. Sneakers whose pristine exteriors wipe the proverbial slate clean on your fits, your life. To keep the circle going, we surveyed hundreds of potential kicks, tested out the cream of the crop, and settled on these six picks—along with 14 honorable mentions—as the best white sneakers for men. (With a few more here if you need only the best white sneakers under $100.) Go forth and be fresh.
The Best Discourse-Dominating White Sneakers
We've talked about the highs and anxiety-inducing lows of the Samba's reign, but the fact remains that they're one of the most versatile shoes on the market. With smooth leather and suede uppers that toe the line between sporty and casual, the post-training sneaker turned brunch shoe for the netizen's elite is how you keep a low-profile without going totally obscure. Sure, it may feel like everyone has them (and many do), but that's what happens when a shoe makes its way from the sidelines into ubiquity. Love ‘em or hate ’em (but secretly love ‘em), the Sambas are top of mind and thus top of our list.
Why We Like Them: The internet's buzziest footwear crush went from heartthrob to polarizing in record time, but still managed to keep its cool.
How to Style Them: With blue jeans and a white T-shirt—or literally anything else.
The Best California Dreamin' White Sneakers
You don't have to be from California or even skate to pledge allegiance to the DX slip-on. All you need is a keen eye for clean lines and a desire for laidback styling that requires bare-minimum effort. Crafted from sturdy canvas that's been kitted out with a rubberized sole that can withstand the gnarliest of coastal showers, the DX is no-frills footwear at its finest, upgraded over the years with UltraCush sock liners that'll keep your feet steady after hitting the pavement for hours. There's plenty of colorways to choose from when it comes to getting your Vans fix, but we've found that OG white never gets old.
Why We Like Them: They look excellent fresh out the box, and even better beat to oblivion.
How to Style Them: With slouchy Dickies and a work jacket, or cropped raw jeans and and a flannel.
The Best Fashion Guy White Sneakers
If you’ve been keeping up with men’s fashion for the last decade or so, even peripherally, you've probably come across a pair of Maison Margiela's Replica sneakers, an aptly-named homage to the kicks first issued to the German military in the late ‘80s. The original German Army Trainer (or GAT, in online menswear parlance) bears a striking similarity to the other retro-leaning kicks on this list, but it may very well have been doomed to obscurity if not for a certain press-shy Belgian designer, who introduced the silhouette to the fashion crowd at the onset of the aughts. Plenty of other brands have put their own spin on it (and it's easy enough to come by an authentic vintage pair), but Margiela's is the rare upscale riff worth every penny. The leather is buffed but not shiny, the suede is appropriately supple but not precious, and the whole shebang is elevated enough to wear to the office on a Friday—and low-key enough to wear to drinks when you clock out. In 2023, Margiela, the man, is revered for his cerebral approach to subverting the classics, but the success—hell, ubiquity—of the Replica is testament to his eye for commercial viability, too. The guy knew how to make a high-quality product and how to market it. How's that for a legacy you'd like to claim as your own?
Why We Like Them: Designer sneakers can feel like a scam; these are actually worth the money.
How to Style Them: With a black mock neck and pooling trousers like you're a Berlin-based art director, or crisp gray slacks, a trim chambray shirt, and a neat wool crewneck.
The Best White Sneakers that Prove Big is Beautiful
All real sneakerheads know that black Air Force 1s are a bad omen—if you see someone in them, it means you should turn and run. White Air Force 1s, on the other hand, are a sign of nothing beyond the wearer’s very fine taste. Since 1982, when they were introduced as Nike’s first basketball shoe to feature its revolutionary Air tech, the AF1 has held it down as the Swoosh’s single most reliable model. It’s hardly the flashiest Nike ever released, or the best performing on the court, or the most storied—but it’s tasteful, understated, and wholly timeless, three adjectives that don’t get thrown around in sneaker circles often enough. Long before Balenciaga made clownishly oversized sneakers a thing, Air Force 1s were chunkier and more bulbous than any of the sneakers that came before them. When doused in all-white, those proportions—along with the perforations on the toe and the panelling along the sides—feel all the more statuesque. And while they look incredible fresh out the box, they're among a rare class of white leather kicks that genuinely still look killer smoked to high hell. Whether you're on your first pair or your 40th, it's never really a bad time to pick up another.
Why We Like Them: The AF1 is more than sneaker—it's sneaker history incarnate.
How to Style Them: With denim of Davidsonion proportions, baggy khakis, or trashed double-knee carpenter pants.
The Best Version of the Best White Canvas Sneakers
Looks-wise, the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star has hardly changed at all since it first hit the hardwood in the early 1920s. In terms of construction, though, the no-frills GOAT hit its peak in the '70s: the canvas upper was weightier, the rubber midsole rode up a little higher, the toe cap was a touch smaller, and the patch on the back of the heel was a cool retro black rather than the standard white. A few years back, Converse decided to make them that way again. For a cool $90, the Chuck 70 gets you all those key design upgrades, plus the benefit of modern cushioning installed into the thicker vintage outsoles. They're the same Chucks you've always loved, only better.
Why We Like Them: A clean pair of Chucks is about as classic as it gets, but the '70s version spotlighted here adds a little welcome retro flavor.
How to Style Them: With a slouchy-luxe suit and a threadbare vintage tee, or a full-on Canadian Tuxedo.
The Best White Sneakers for Racing Through the Mountains
When the legendary French outdoors outfitter Salomon wanted to get more people interested in their hyper-functional sneakers, they scoured their archives for silhouettes that could serve as canvasses for wild colorways: electric limes, fire truck reds, fresh ocean blues. As it happens, though, Salomon's shoes look plenty sharp with no color at all. The nylon mesh, sleek panels, and quick-lace system work even better together iced out in glacial whites, and the grippy lug soles seem somehow fiercer. Like all Salomon kicks, the XT-6 has all the tools to conquer craggy mountainsides, but it'll perform just as well on the city streets with your biggest brunch fits.
Why We Like Them: Sleek, stylish, and rooted in practical design, our 2019 Sneaker of the Year still scores top marks in form and function, a rare double-whammy that makes it difficult to beat.
How to Style Them: With tech-y cargos or crinkly nylon shorts. When in doubt, anchoring an all-black fit with white sneakers never fails.
The Best New School, Fascist-Fighting White Sneakers
A lot of upstart brands try their hands at making retro vulcanized sneakers, but few have as rich a backstory or as distinct a point of view as Stepney Workers Club. Founded in London in 2018, S.W.C. borrows its name from a 1920s anti-fascist sports group, and its signature model—the Dellow—is based directly on an old canvas sneaker the brand's designers once came across. They updated the simple design and beautiful construction, added their own winsome handshake logo, and then decked the shoe out in a wide range of colors and materials. These days you can find the Dellow in smooth suedes and hardy canvases, but for our money the best version is this white leather version. It's less than $90 for a sneaker with decades of history and smart design under its belt. That's how you craft an instant classic, kids.
Why We Like Them: The pristine canvas upper is a star in its own right, but the thick rubber outsole is the real scene-stealer; beat it into the ground and it'll only look better for the wear.
How to Style Them: With sturdy work pants or crisp trousers, like in the old days.
Plus 13 More White Sneakers We Love
Nike
Vomero Sneaker
The much buzzed-about return of Nike’s Zoom Vomero 5 means one thing, as far as we’re concerned: aughts-era running shoes are really, truly back—and when they look this clean, we sort of wish they never went away.
Salomon
ACS+ Sneaker
Much like the XT-6, Salomon’s recently-debuted ACS model, and its extra-grippy soles, is engineered for the trails. And much like the XT-6, it’s already caught fire with the fashion crowd and plenty of folks whose idea of roughing it involves subsisting on ramen to afford their next grail.
Asics
Gel Kayano 14
No surprise the unequivocal, GQ-anointed sneaker of the year cleans up real nice in dueling shades of white.
