If You Want Chicer Leggings Outfits, This Sneaker Color Combination Works Every Time
Hailey Bieber knows a plain black workout set looks so much better with it.
Select the newsletters you’d like to receive. Then, add your email to sign up.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
When I'm rolling out of bed and out the door to a workout, chic-ifying my black leggings is often the last thing on my mind. I know, I know: You'd expect a senior fashion news editor to put Oscars red carpet-level effort into every look, even the ones that get sweaty. But with Hailey Bieber's latest template for errands in Los Angeles, I'm confident I don't need to exert that much effort after all. All I really need is the right neutral sneaker color combination to break up a throw-on-and-go, monochromatic set.
Shortly after lighting up the Oscars after-party circuit in vintage-inspired Giorgio Armani Privé, Bieber was back on her casual-chic beat: running around Los Angeles in New Balances (and a Chanel bag) one day, black leggings and a matching cropped jacket the next. Most fashion editors would pause for the tote that sent all of Paris into a shopping frenzy, but my eyes went straight to Bieber's black leggings and—surprise—sneakers showing off a Lindt truffle color combination of brown and cream.
Hailey Bieber took a Los Angeles stroll with sneakers that popped against her all-black outfit.
Now, Bieber's brown sneakers are partially a sign of the entrepreneur doing her promotional duty: They're from Skylrk, husband Justin Bieber's streetwear brand.
Article continues belowMore importantly for fashion people with an outfit-planning allergy (that's me), this sneaker's color combination has more to offer than a celebrity tie-in. The cream base and brown accents along the outside work together to make the best kind of neutral accessory: One whose palette typically flies under the radar, but pops against a plain black set. The effect just wouldn't be the same with matte black sneakers, would it?
Of course, the beauty of a double-neutral sneaker is that it complements so much more than Pilates Princess leggings. I'm just as likely to wear my New Balance version with my favorite spring skirt trend as I am with a Lycra matching set. And when my alarm goes off tomorrow morning? I'll feel instantly more presentable in my all-black leggings and jacket, thanks to Bieber's sneaker example.
Shop Chocolate Brown and Cream Sneakers
Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

Halie LeSavage is the senior fashion news editor at Marie Claire, leading coverage of runway trends, emerging brands, style-meets-culture analysis, and celebrity style (especially Taylor Swift's). Her reporting ranges from profiles of beloved stylists, to exclusive red carpet interviews in her column, The Close-Up, to The A-List Edit, a newsletter where she tests celeb-approved trends IRL.
Halie has reported on style for eight years. Previously, she held fashion editor roles at Glamour, Morning Brew, and Harper’s Bazaar. She has been cited as a fashion expert in The Cut, CNN, Puck, Reuters, and more. In 2022, she earned the Hearst Spotlight Award for excellence in journalism. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Harvard College. For more, check out her Substack, Reliable Narrator.