Its that time of the year: chilly morning breezes; hoodie-clad evenings.  It seems like every morning for the last week I have hesitated in putting on the same old flip-flops; my toes are protesting the idea.  So when 8 a.m. rolls around, I am back to the drawing board.

This has always been an issue for me: what shoes? Im not ready for fall flats (way too formal for my summer heart), my converses are looking a bit grungy (and are probably ready for retirement), and last year’s keds are just that. After running through my options, I keep landing at one classic which I can’t seem to find any fault: The Sambas.

Adidas Sambas.  As shopadidas.com boasts, “There’s a reason this legendary indoor shoe still sells like mad. Perfection never goes out of style.”  Adidas, I could not agree more.  

My old Sambas have never given me any reason to doubt.  The shoe matches almost anything.  It looks great with shorts, jeans, or a skirt. It spices up a dull t-shirt and puts a little edge on a conservative sweater.  My current pair and I have been shuffling through Milwaukee for the last four years, and I can’t help but feel perfectly urban in the flashback sneaks.

I remember my first pair: the shiny black leather with the zig-zag cut stripes; it was second grade and my neighbor Brian had a matching pair.  It was 1995 and we were undoubtably stylin’.  

As I made my way through youth, I drifted into the more  trendy Adidas Superstar in middle school; its hard to say no to purple, teal and lime green stripes, and I veered even further into the angsty Converse All Star by the time I hit highschool.  

But here, in my senior year of college, all in toe, I am confident to say that the classic Samba, the black indoor soccer sneaker, still pulls on my heart.  As the Milwaukee mornings continue to cool down, I know what will be keeping my toes warm.