Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? You’re not alone. Most idealized versions of the holidays include crackling fires, family gatherings rolling deep, and a blanket of crisp white snow. While the vast majority of holiday celebrations don’t look like that (especially as the years go by), you can still keep the dream alive all by yourself. These are some of our favorite crispy white kicks to match the dream of fresh snow.
Off-White x Nike Dunk Low Lot 1 of 50
The Lot 50 collection of Dunks from Nike and the late Virgil Abloh’s Off-White was breathtaking in its breadth, but most of the colorways were only slight variations from the others, the main exceptions being Lots 1 and 50. Lot 1 is blindingly white (really, if you haven’t seen them in person we’re telling you this is a whole new level of white) with silver metallic Swooshes, yellowed beige soles, and a tiny tab of rich orange. They also happen to be one of the rarest colorways of the collection, demanding high resale prices.
Nike Air Force 1 Low White ’07
The best selling sneaker on StockX this year was far and away the classic Air Force 1 Low. While the shoes aren’t a challenge to get at retail, they’re always available on StockX – especially if you want to be like Dr. Dre and lace up a fresh pair every day. We like to reserve the word “iconic” for true icons, and nothing is more iconic than the AF1. These sneakers can fit into any situation, and can be styled with almost any look, so they’ll never be limited for exclusive use on snowy days even if you can match them to those crispy white snow days.
Jordan 4 Retro White Oreo
A relatively recent addition to Jordan Brand’s pantheon of white sneakers, the White Oreo Jordan 4 is an insanely popular sneaker that has garnered more than 42,000 trades on StockX. There are lots of good reasons why they’d be so popular: their neutral coloring makes them supremely wearable at a time when audacious Jordan 4s have been some of the most sought after sneakers in the world. These White Oreos allow their fans to wear the popular silhouette with almost any fit and let the focus be on the wearer instead of what’s being worn.
Off-White x Jordan 1 Retro High White EU Exclusive
It’s admittedly very difficult to get your hands on a pair of unblemished white Off-White Jordan 1 EU Exclusives. The shoes oxidize so fast that they start yellowing almost immediately out of the box, but that doesn’t mean they become anything less than crispy. Knowing these shoes are so difficult to get, so valuable, and rare enough to be unique in almost every situation, their cultural cache makes up for how quickly they show wear.
Jordan 1 Retro High OG Sail
The off-white Jordan 1 before the Off-White Jordan 1, these Jordan 1s quietly sailed onto the scene the season before Virgil Abloh’s The Ten hit the market and were quickly overshadowed by that blockbuster release. In the years since their release, the Sail Jordan 1 has been widely adopted by a generation of streetwear enthusiasts with minimalist aesthetics. The shoe offers all the history and versatility of the Jordan 1 in a shade of white that doesn’t feel so bright as to call too much attention to them.
adidas Yeezy Boost 700 Analog
Kanye West’s ongoing collaborative relationship with adidas has been remarkable in its palette of neutral tones – the brands have produced a range of mostly browns and greys on all their silhouettes, with many of them utilizing Biblically inspired names. These Yeezy Boost 700s lean into their bright white inspiration, while playing within the variations of the color. Let’s not forget that white is a color! The shoe is covered in leather, suedes, and meshes in white, light grey, ecru, eggshell, and more, giving the full variety of whites offering a very natural take on a white sneaker.
Off-White x Jordan 5 Retro Sail
With a brand name like Off-White you’d think they’d have fewer white sneakers… The Off-White Jordan 5 Retro Sail isn’t quite the same shade of Sail as the Off-White Jordan 4 Sail, instead they’re pure white and made even bolder with the hits of black, red, and beige that’s meant to mimic the oxidation of translucent plastic that develops over yeas of exposure to the sun. Like the Lot 1 Dunks, these are much brighter white than they appear in photos and will give you that crisp white look with a few extra bells and whistles.
New Balance 550 White Grey
There are other, more hyped, white versions of the New Balance 550, like this one from ALD, but none meet the assignment like this GR pair. The 550 has had a massive year thanks to the residual of Dad shoe interest, the recent rise of interest in New Balance, buoyancy thanks to collaborations (like with ALD), their relative accessibility, and them being a unique choice among more popular sneakers like the aforementioned Air Force 1 and Jordan 1. These 550s help you stay crispy and unique.
Nike Air Yeezy 2 Pure Platinum
White doesn’t always mean basic. While some shoes on this list are great beaters for everyday wear (and their prices reflect that), the Air Yeezy 2 in Pure Platinum is decidedly not a beater. Half of the final sneaker release from Nike and Kanye West before he defected to adidas, the shoes immediately ballooned in prices on the secondary market and never slowed down. Between the glow in the dark outsole, snake print leather, heavy metal aglets, and toe strap, these shoes are relics of a time gone by but they’re just as culturally relevant as ever if for no other reason than being a great reference to another era in sneakers.
