When it comes to your first day back at school or the first time stepping foot onto your new college campus, the feelings of anticipation can be overwhelming. A new school year means new opportunities to express yourself and own it. It’s why the “First Day Fit” has consistently been one of the most important things we discuss before a new school year. A key moment to set your tone and express yourself with confidence.
Authentic expression isn’t easy though. It’s almost always an evolving journey, and not just a singular destination. This is something that Sally of Sally’s Sneakers knows all too well. Sally recently appeared in StockX’s new ‘Own It’ commercial, and spoke to us about the importance of self-expression and what it means for her to Own It. Now we’re back again with Sally to chat about her own First Day Fit experiences and what it meant for her to step out and express herself, even when that may not have been her first impulse.
For those unfamiliar with Sally, she’s a popular influencer known best as @sallyssneakers on Instagram. Her profile boasts a healthy following of over 280,000 highly engaged followers who see her as a groundbreaking voice for women in the world of sneakers. Her content features a heavy focus on her expansive sneaker collection housed in her aesthetically pleasing sneaker attic. Sally has grown her following by consistently staying true to her own style and by making it a priority to connect at the deepest level possible with the online community she’s created. When speaking about her First Day experiences, Sally details the journey that brought her to eventually become a successful sneaker influencer and explains how owning who she was would eventually become her platform.
Do you have any memorable stories about showing up to school in a new pair of sneakers or a new outfit? Can you tell us about that?
I have an experience from back when I started uni and had my first study group. I was working two, three jobs at the time, so I could afford getting my own stuff. And I remember having my first meeting with my study group. It was completely random, and I had known them for maybe a week or two. It was at the time when Huaraches were on fire — back in 2013 or 2014.
There was an auction where I was bidding and it ended up being this full meeting about how I’m going to get these shoes rather than anything to do with psychology. At first, they were like, “What is the girl doing?” And I was like, “I’m sorry, you guys, it’s just such a unique colorway.” It was a girl from the UK that was selling the shoes and I was so hyped about it — I ended up winning the auction and everyone was like, “Whoa.” (laughs) I think that’s probably my funniest story, how my study group became my bidding buddies in getting a pair of sneakers for me.
I had so many lessons that started at the same time as raffles or drops. I had all my friends around me sign up for the raffles. I was like, “Oh, you don’t like sneakers? Okay. I’ll give you 10 bucks if you can just sign up for me and help me win these shoes.” They had no idea how much those shoes were worth.
When I see someone wearing a statement piece, I'm like, “Yes, do it, rock it.”
Did showing up in a way that allowed you to express yourself make you feel more confident? If so, can you talk to us about that experience?
Yes, it did. I didn’t look like everyone else. And if you ask the people I went to uni with, I was always a bit extra. I think for me getting dressed is the best part of leaving the house. I could never wrap my head around the people that just woke up and put on something and went to school. I was like, “why are you guys not caring about how you show up at school?”
It’s always been important to me. And I’ve always been the kind of person that maybe even changed my fit three times in the morning because I wanted to look that good on the first day of school.
I was only 18 or 19 when I started uni. I cared so much that I looked older than my age. I wanted people to respect me because I knew I was going to start in class with people that were 25+. I had my first study buddy. She was 37 and she felt like my mom. So it was important for me to kind of be in character. Then I stopped caring as much about that and just embraced myself because I think my first day of uni was in heels.
I was like, “Yeah, I’m Sally that likes sneakers.” And I actually got way more compliments being who I actually am than trying to be someone that fits in.
Our late teens and early twenties can be a great time to experiment with trends, were there any trends you jumped on that you wish were still trendy? Did you jump on any trends that you regret?
Yeah, I’ve had a lot of bad fashion moments that I regret a lot. Leggings and skinny jeans specifically. (laughs)
Anything you wish was still cool?
No, I don’t think so. I’m kind of glad that style is constantly evolving. And I think being in the world of fashion and in the world of sneakers has made it easier for me to be a shapeshifter.
I think it’s opened me up a lot. A lot of people talk about the negativity of social media. But I think one of the beautiful things about it is that you see so much diversity and so many different people toget inspired by. And it’s definitely changed me for the better.
I’m less judgemental when it comes to style or creating style. And I respect standing out way more than I did before. when I see someone wearing a statement piece, I’m like, “Yes, do it, rock it.” Even if you look a bit weird, it’s cool to be weird! I’d rather be weird than fully normal. What even is weird?
Your love for sneakers has become a major platform for you, what did that love look like in its baby stages? Can you tell us what your love for sneakers looked like when you were in high school?
Sneakers started as a way of me finding my personal style and standing out because I live in a very homogenous society where people tend to look very similar. So when I started being interested in sneakers, it was the exclusivity of having an item that I knew every other girl didn’t have.
Then that grew from there. I knew with the Puma Fenty’s, the platforms. I was like, “Yes, the velvet, the platform.” And even Yeezy’s, I was the only girl here wearing those. It was part of building my identity in terms of style. It became my fashion statement.
I think I started Sally’s Sneakers because I was lacking this feeling of community in Denmark because you didn’t see a lot of girls that dressed the same way or that had the same interest as me. And so that’s what I did with Sally Sneakers. The rest is history.
