adidas' Stan Smith Is Minimalist AF. adidas Stan Smith XLG Is a '90s Skate Shoe
adidas' Stan Smith sneaker has long been the standard for a simple daily driver, long before the Samba made it off of the soccer pitch and became the trendiest lifestyle sneaker of the past half-decade. Stan Smiths, especially the OG version of the shoe with green accents, have long been a go-to for their clean, narrow shape and crisp leather upper.
But, in a post-Y2K world, people want their Stan Smiths a little softer. And a lot bigger.
adidas' Stan Smith XLG takes two things that people love about the sneaker — its shape and the understated design — and makes it all just a little… huge.
Indeed, the Stan Smith XLG looks less like a sneaker worn by a tennis instructor at the country club and more like something your little bro would wear to skateboard in the ‘90s. The widened shape and cushioned interior screams Airwalk “The One” (back when they were the coolest skate sneaker out there, of course) in a very old school sorta way.
If you've been paying attention to adidas' hyped shoes as of late, this ought to be familiar territory.
Stan Smith’s tend to stretch out with wear so the XLG sneaker is probably best to not skate in but they sure do channel that vibe. Available online for $150, the Stan Smith XLG is actually semi-affordable enough that you can risk it, really.
Originally a performance shoe in the 1960s and named after the tennis star who made 'em famous, adidas' Stan Smith shoe have gone in and out of trend cycles over the years but they’ve always been a staple.
The thing about Stan Smiths is that they are inherently plain on purpose. That’s actually the appeal of the Stan Smith as a sneaker but that also means it's a blank canvas when it comes to collaborations or even tweaks made by adidas itself.
Late last year, adidas released a platform version of the sneaker, tackling the vibe channeled by so many luxury imitators. If 2024 really is the year of the Stan Smith, that'd be a real 2014 revival.
Not that it needs one — the Samba’s reign is still in full effect. But adidas knows that the Stan Smith is the old school understated alternative of the all-star Superstar, Samba, and Gazelle triad. That’s why it gets to play around a little more than the rest.
