I was reminded that day that Portland weather can’t be trusted, even when you think you’ve learned its unpredictable ways. I was walking to meet a potential client at a downtown coffee shop (ie, the kind of meeting where presentation matters) when the sky decided to open up on me. After months of wearing my favourite white leather Adidas Gazelles around the house, I thought I was safe.
They had cost me just $80, but still, they looked clean. I’d been meticulously caring for them for weeks, knowing that wearing white shoes in Portland is basically a gamble. Anyway, I left my flat and it was only slightly overcast.
I’d call it “Pacific Northwest ambiance” if I wanted to be cute about it. By the time I was two blocks away from the coffee shop, it was pouring.
Not even a steady rain – just water falling from the sky, like someone had suddenly turned on a hose.
There was a small overhang from an old-timey store I was standing under watching my shoes soak through within seconds, and I had fifteen minutes to make it to my meeting without looking like I’d walked through the overflow from Jackson Street slammer. I arrived at the meeting and sat with my feet pointed at the wall so the client couldn’t see the wet stains creeping up my jeans. Closed the project, but had to walk home in wet socks, which is objectively one of the worst feelings.
Up there with pronouncing Bape wrong for the better half of a decade and accidentally buying a counterfeit Supreme hoodie on eBay. I started doing actual research on waterproof trainers that don’t scream “mountain climber” from afar. Don’t get me wrong, hiking boots are cool and all, but when you pair them with black jeans and an actual stylish hoodie, it just looks like you tried too hard.
Or don’t know what you’re doing. Probably both. Turns out, Nike’s been making Gore-Tex versions of their classics for years.
They fly under the radar because they’re technically just upgraded versions of old silhouettes. I walked into the Nike store and saw they had on-display a pair of Air Force 1 Gore-Tex. My reaction was probably along the lines of how you’d feel if you discovered a sick trick no one else knows.
They were OG AF1s that I’ve been wearing since my freshman year of college, but with a small Gore-Tex label sewn into the inside pocket and different materials. To the naked eye, they looked identical to regular AF1 trainers, but were made to be completely waterproof. This was put to the test one Saturday during one of those polar vortexes we get here in February where everyone in Portland suddenly reminds each other why we all own eight fleeces.
It was pouring rain cats and dogs and I was meeting my friend Emma for dinner. Nothing hurt worse than those first twenty minutes of actual rain. The kind where it’s just coming at you horizontally and you feel personally assaulted by the weather.
When I got to The Netherlands I was soaked from my ankles up, but my feet were perfectly dry. Emma actually eyed me like I’d snapped some sort of Matrix-level chord. “Your shoes aren’t wet?” She asked. “No! Isn’t that crazy?” I’ve been living in Gore-Tex shoes ever since and it’s changed my life.
No, seriously. I didn’t realise how much checking the weather forecast started stressing me out before stepping out the door. Would it rain?
Might it rain? Is my jacket waterproof enough? Now I don’t ask those questions.
It rains sometimes in Portland, oh well. My shoes keep my feet dry either way. Adidas offers a waterproof version of their Stan Smiths too.
Got a pair in black that have quickly become my “it’s raining, but I need to not look homeless” shoes. They’ve got this great worn-in look over the past year that I actually prefer over when they were new. Kind of like raw denim, but these also keep your feet from swimming every time it rains.
The craziest part is that so many brands are doing this now and not advertising it. Veja – those sustainable trainers everybody with even a modicum of creative job in Portland owns- even offers winter-proof versions of their signature V-10 trainers. Water-resistant coating instead of all-out waterproof like Gore-Tex, but it’s enough to get you through an average Seattle downpour.
I wear mine with literally everything from jeans to joggers when I have to meet clients that care about “ethical apparel” and “environmentally-friendly gear”. Speaking of which, my friend Tyler showed me these Norwegian brand called Tretorn that look like basic tennis shoes but have some waterproof technology called EcoOrtholite built into the sole. Sounds made up, but it works.
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He has a white pair that are almost three years old and they still look new enough to wear at nice restaurants. Better than new, really. They’ve got the signature worn-in look you can only get from actually wearing trainers.
I found a pair of Clarks Originals Gore-Tex trainers at Nordstrom Rack on sale from $140 to $70 and had to buy them. They’re the same Clarks that made those trainers your mum forced you to wear in elementary school, but look like something you’d find at Atmos. Navy blue, loose-fit tennis shoe style, but with water-protection visible from the get-go.
Best $70 I’ve spent in a long time and they’ve held up through pretty much all of Portland’s eight-month rain season (October-May, real talk). There’s this small Italian brand that makes really beautiful waterproof trainers called Diemme, but they’ll run you upwards of $300. I tried a pair on at this cute boutique off Alberta and they were so comfortable I forgot I was even wearing shoes.
Except they were $300 shoes and my freelancer budget shuts that down every time. Even when I’m killing it at work. Nike was the first major brand I noticed doing this, but now almost every major trainer company has some kind of hybrid waterproof option.
New Balance recently started selling trainers with knit uppers that are treated with a water repellent. Not completely waterproof like Gore-Tex versions, but significantly more resistant than non-treated shoes. They’ve still got that cool dad shoe comeback going, now with weather protection.
A word of warning, though. A lot of trainers that market themselves as “water-resistant” are actually bullshit. I learned this the hard way one day when I spent too much on a pair that was supposed to be weather protected but completely soaked through after thirty minutes of drizzle.
Not even intense Portland rain, people. Light rain and my socks were drenched. I started really looking into the technology brands used instead of taking “water resistant” at face value.
Some used actual waterproof membranes (that explained the nike one! ), others used treatments that caused water to bead up and roll right off the shoe. So they didn’t necessarily look or feel any different than a non-waterproof version. New Balance has some funky combos of knit socks that are treated with a water repellent.
They’re not *totally* waterproof but definitely better than untreated shoes. They kind of have that slacker dad shoe look that came back as cool sometime between 2018 and now, but with the bonus of not dying the first time it rains. Care is kind of important too.
Even the most water-resistant trainers will wear down eventually if you don’t upkeep them. I bought one of those spray-on water repellent bottles and keep them by my front door to give my shoes a quick spray whenever the weather looks iffy. Takes all of thirty seconds but it’s made all the difference.
My girlfriend swears I’ve gone full-marathon runner obsessed but she’s also the girl that sorts her skincare by molecular weight so we both have our quirks. Styling-wise, the more “high-tech” looking ones are harder to wear with nicer outfits. The simpler, more minimal they look, the easier they go with everything.
Darker colours will also usually hold up better to getting wet than lighter colours, not just because they hide stains but because some of the waterproofing treatments alter the texture and colour of materials slightly. The best part about all these new waterproof trainers is they don’t LOOK like waterproof trainers. They’ve come so far in the past few years that you’d never know they were made to fend off the elements.
They look like regular trainers so you can wear them because they’re stylish, not because you expect it to rain that day (though they’ll definitely keep you dry if it does). Win-win.
Last month I was at this streetwear pop-up during what I can only describe as a “standard Portland February rain”.
I watched people tiptoeing around puddles trying not to ruin their $300 kicks all while I walked past with my normal stride. Some guy walked up to me and started complimenting my “vintage Nikes”. They were actually my Gore-Tex Air Force 1’s but the technology Nike uses makes the waterproof version nearly identical to looking at non-Gore-Tex version.
We talked about all sorts of trainer-related topics and when I told him they were waterproof, he looked down at his soaked Nike sandals and nodded sagely. That, right there. That’s what I’m going for with all of my content.
Useful information that’s helpful when you need it and doesn’t suck up your whole day reading. Don’t hate me too much if you live somewhere without sketchy weather and think this post isn’t for you. I promise we’ll jump back to aesthetic-driven content next time.
But if you do live in a place where you can’t always trust the weather, please trust me and buy a pair of waterproof trainers. Your feet will thank you, I promise.
