Life and sole

For devoted trainer girl and somewhat reluctant partygoer LILY ALLEN, a great night out starts by lacing up a pair of super-chic sneakers-all the better to slip out early in

- LILY ALLEN

I will probably always be 'the trainer girl'. Back in the day (circa 2007), I had around 500 pairs of sneakers mostly Nike Air Max 90s, Air Max 95s and also Reebok Classics that I wore to the supermarket, on stage and the red carpet. I say "had", but I still have them. All of them. There are around 200 pairs here at home (which since 2021 has been Brooklyn, New York), and roughly 300 in storage. I know that sounds like rather a lot of sneakers, especially when I write it here, in Vogue of all places, but hear me out. I'm a trainer enthusiast, so I could never throw any of them away, and now every pair I've saved (plus all of the Karl Lagerfeld-era Chanel that the late designer gave me himself) will one day belong to my daughters.

They my 11 and 13 year olds, who regularly scour ancient Google images of me for inspiration on which items to 'borrow' from my wardrobe-seem excited about that prospect. "Where's that?" they ask when they spy a piece they like, and I'm able to reply, "It's waiting for you." Before adding: "When you get your degree."

The outfit combination that Google most likes to serve to my inquisitive daughters is peak trainer girl. Fashion's 20-year rule seems to be coming true, because the original Lily look-party dress plus trainers, which I wore on repeat in my late teens and early twenties-is shifting back into focus this season. As I approach 40, now in the trenches of my Brooklyn Mom era, I find myself revisiting it again too.