Nike Vomero Premium Sail Total Orange

Sail and orange wants relaxed volume above it. Wide grey sweatpants with a cream crew and a black shell jacket puts the orange where it belongs, as the only bright thing in the outfit. For daytime, ecru wide leg denim and a washed orange tee, matching rather than contrasting, which makes it look intentional instead of accidental. This is the pick for long walking days, airports and standing about, since it is far more cushioned than a Dunk or a Vulc. Sizing on Nike running lasts tends true, with a snug midfoot. Keep the sail midsole clean regularly, because foam that has gone yellow cannot be brought back.

Nike's running credibility was not bought, it was earned through athletes: Steve Prefontaine, Bill Bowerman's pupil at Oregon, became the first track endorser and the enduring symbol of running as attitude rather than sport, and there is a statue of him at the company's headquarters. Later came Sebastian Coe, Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Allyson Felix. That lineage is why running shapes carry weight off the track, and why a chunky trainer reads as authentic rather than costume. The technology story continued with the Vaporfly in 2017, whose full length carbon plate research suggested could improve marathon times by up to 4.2 percent.

A running derived build in premium materials, which means a layered upper over a foam midsole with a rubber outsole underneath. Nike's cushioning philosophy runs from Nike Air, a pressurised gas unit sealed in the midsole, through to ZoomX, the altered Pebax foam used in the Vaporfly and the lightest and most responsive in the range. A lifestyle Vomero sits in that lineage and rides softer and taller than any court shoe. Sail is the maintenance problem: an off white base greys at the midsole sidewall before the upper shows anything, so clean the foam edge separately with a soft brush. Expect a broken in feel from the first wear rather than a stiff period.