Nike Full Force Low "Panda" Sneakers

Two ways. Everyday clean: dark straight leg jeans, a white tee, white socks with a short break, letting the panda contrast do the styling for you. Smart casual: grey trousers with a black knit, since a black and white shoe behaves like a neutral in any outfit built from those two colours. Court shoes at this width usually run true to size with a generous toe box, so take your normal size. Keep it dry, since white leather panels stain permanently from road salt and puddles, and clean the midsole every few wears before the yellowing becomes set.

The reason a plain black and white court shoe sells is a history Nike wrote elsewhere. From the 1980s onward, Air Jordans, Air Force 1s and Air Max models made the brand a status symbol in urban and hip hop fashion and then staples of mainstream American youth dress, so the visual grammar of a leather Swoosh silhouette is now understood everywhere. Basketball did the heavy lifting, with Spike Lee's Mars Blackmon advertising for Air Jordan turning a shoe into a character. A model like this inherits all of that recognition without any of the hype tax attached to the famous names.

A court shoe built at this price point does its work with panelling: a leather upper cut into large sections, a padded collar for ankle comfort, a wide flat outsole for stability, and a Swoosh sized to hold the midfoot rather than to sit as decoration. There is no exotic cushioning to describe and none is claimed. What black and white panelling does give you is honest maintenance: the white will show scuffs from the first wear, so brush the midsole often, wipe the black leather with a damp cloth, and treat the two tones separately rather than scrubbing the whole shoe at once and pushing dye into the pale panels.