Girl Sneakers

On fly girls, urban femininity, and the shoes I refused to outgrow.

Apr 28, 2026

It was a mildly chilly day in April when I realized I was slowly forgetting what outside felt like. How I could walk outside, take a deep breath and inhale the smell of hot candied nuts, incense, urine, or garbage juice depending on which New York City corner I turned on.

I hadn’t commuted to my West Village office in a little bit over a month and terms like “the new normal” were being tossed around in every nook and cranny of the internet. That however didn’t stop me from wishfully ordering sneakers with the money from my first “big girl job”.

I didn’t know what was going on for real—no one did—but I knew I was coming out of it fly as hell.

That was when one of my favorite sneakers to date walked into my life, my New Balance 827 x Aime Leon Dore. I wanted to wear these sneakers so bad that I said fuck it, painted my nails to match them, set up my floor with a white backdrop and snapped away. Little did I know that picture would take on a life of its own, being reshared across multiple platforms (mostly without my consent) while my stupid ass was stuck in the house just staring at them for the very unforeseeable future.

But to me, they were a piece of art fully worth being admired. That’s how I feel about most sneakers that I welcome into my collection. Not hype but footwear that authentically feels like me.

Big Z and the Z stands for…New Balance?

Early on, my father took a special interest in correcting my flat feet and luckily for me, that involved buying me good quality sneakers. As a kid, I loved the letter Z mostly because I didn’t know many words that started with the letter, so coming across it made it feel like a treat. And that’s why I gravitated towards New Balance.

Yes, I thought the signature “N” logo was a “Z”. Either my parents should have gotten me tested for dyslexia or I was just a kid seeing the world imaginatively.

As I got older and started having more freedom with my personal style choices, my love for sneakers never faded—in fact it intensified. Growing up in Harlem is a special experience because even though most Black folks had little to nothing, style was never compromised. And when it came to sneaker taste, there was range.

Classic Air Force 1 or Air Max 95 because…staples.
A Jordan Retro because fashion history repeats itself.
Prada America’s Cup as a calm, cozy flex.

All Black Adidas shell toes because fuck my uniform dress code—you won’t be catching this diva in penny loafers.

Not to glorify spending money you don’t have on clothes but you can’t save your way out of poverty. And sometimes, you feel more alive buying the shoes or the handbag than stressing over the bills that will inevitably pile up because “the system” was designed to keep you underwater, gasping for air.

A young Fly Girl Mik circa 1999 sporting a pair of orange Air Max 95s the fly pages on substack — A young Fly Girl Mik circa 1999 rocking a pair of orange Air Max 95s and a matching DKNY t-shirt.

I grew up around an incredible community of fly Harlem and Brooklyn women that didn’t mind throwing on a heel when the moment called for it but their true selves shined in a clean pair of kicks. The type of women that took pride in biweekly fill-ins from the local nail salon, saturday mornings in the hair shop and a designer bag collection that I wish to have of my own someday.

As I’m writing this, I have a vivid image of my older sister draped in a Fendi denim two piece set paired with a matching bag and whatever Jordan retro was hot at the time. And my favorite summer camp instructor, Ms. Chanel, who had a penchant for New Balance as well but her choice being classic 574s.

Big fly ~~girl~~ woman energy.

These are the same women I watched nurture the people around them while making something out of nothing. I proudly walk in their footsteps, sneakers and all.

“You can break hearts and manipulate minds.

Or surrender, act tender, be gentle and kind”

-LL Cool J, Around The Way Girl

I think being a woman from NYC totally reimagined femininity for me in the best way possible. In a place that can harden you and often calls for you to be ready for what it may throw your way you (because it will), femininity doesn’t always show up in 6 inch stilettos, nice temperament and dainty jewelry. Urban femininity sometimes is an act of rebellion— a sort of armor built on resilience with an essence that can’t be dimmed even when dressed in a fitted cap.

Urban femininity is probably one of the most polarizing expressions of womanhood. You either are intrigued by it, threatened by it or reject it entirely.

Giuseppe Cruel Summer and Bandage Dresses

Supermodel Beverly Peele backstage at a Victoria’s Secret fashion show sporting a pair of neon yellow Air Max 95s. I’m proud to say I would a pair today. the fly pages on substack — Supermodel Beverly Peele backstage at a Victoria’s Secret fashion show sporting a pair of neon yellow Air Max 95s. I’m proud to say I would a pair today.

When people start chatting about how we need to start dressing up for the club again, I am quiet for a multitude of reasons. For starters, the club of today isn’t the club of yesterday. Secondly, I humbly think I can outdress more folks in sneakers than those who wear clothes that fit their environment and not their spirit1.

I don’t subscribe to that beauty is pain philosophy and probably never will. By definition, beauty means 2“to give pleasure to the senses or the mind” and what pleasures mine is wearing beautiful things that reflect my authentic self and not the person society tells me I need to be. Of course, I know there’s a time and place for everything and no, I’d never wear sneakers to a wedding or anything like that. I just hate seeing women walking around looking like baby deer in shoes they can’t navigate or a dress that Egyptian mummies would envy because they assimilate to society’s expectations

Fuck that.

If you read my last newsletter or are in my Is This Thing On? subscriber chat, you know I’m in the middle of a Half & Half rewatch. While Dee Dee’s classic femininity (and handbag choices) was something I admired, I adored how authentic Mona was to her own personal style regardless of if her big ass boots or big hair was the butt of a joke. In the pilot episode of the show, Mona nearly breaks her ankles trying to be sexy in heels in an attempt to impress a man that was only interested in knowing the real her—clunky shoes and all.

And that’s why I proudly wear sneakers no matter how unladylike it may seem to some. They feel like me and I feel like a fly bitch in them. Why would I ever deprive myself of that feeling?

I’ll wait.

I think the biggest part of me clings to sneakers because it is something from my childhood that I refused to let society tell me is childish or not feminine. As it pertains to dressing, I think intentionality is what really shapes femininity. And for me, sneakers were a part of how I learned to exhibit femininity, not the anti-thesis.

I like having my toes out and my calves accentuated by a nasty shoe as much as the next girl. But when it comes to having a sneaker collection that some men would die for, I proudly cling to that in all of my feminine glory.