I’ve been loving sneakers for practical mom-friendly outfits, though figuring out the most flattering jeans or bottoms to pair them with can take a little trial and error. Below is a style that I don’t love with sneakers, and a few options that I’d choose to wear instead!

The sneakers I have on are the reader-favorite Adidas Handball Spezial style (big kids sizing; adults sizing), which has been more supportive and comfy for me than their other popular styles. I initially bought these in their adults sizing but they run about a size big, so the smallest size Mens 4 / Womens 5 is still loose on me. I then got the which fit perfectly like a standard womens 5-5.5 for me, and will plan to sell my adult ones. According to their size chart, a big kid’s size 4 is like a women’s 6, and onward.

Here’s a video if you’d like to better see these looks in motion! Hit the unmute button for sound.

Left: It might be a surprise that this first style is a “Don’t” for me, since it’s one of my most versatile and frequently-worn jeans. IMO this style of jean works beautifully with almost all shoe types, except for sneakers like these. I don’t love how the width of the jean is pretty much the same as the width of the sneaker, so there’s not much contrast and the pant hem doesn’t drape over the shoes. The length of the jeans also hit precisely at the top of the sneaker, which for some reason feels awkward instead of effortless.