can we try samba-dy else?

The Sambas are tired. Let's look at 5 fresh alternatives.

There’s something to be said for wanting to stand out from the crowd. If your heart’s one that flutters at the thought of treading a new individual path, then you probably understand this desire all too well.

The other day, I was taking my leisurely morning scroll through Pinterest and noticed that nearly every other pin featured a cute little outfit paired with Adidas Sambas. The classic white pair with gray suede toes. An all black pair. A vibrant cherry red pair. The various highly sought after Wales Bonner pairs. In the foot race for “it girl shoe”, none have lead the pack quite like Sambas.

A peek at the Pinterest feed.

The shoe feels everywhere. “I bought these Adidas Sambas because I thought they were cool,” TikToker (and one of my biggest crushes) Oliver Mills lamented in a recent video. “But I didn’t realize every fucking person alive has these fucking shoes. So now I just look like an idiot when I wear them because like… be original. You know what I mean?”

And honestly, babes, same. When I bought myself a couple pairs in 2022, I felt, honestly, really rad. The shoe carried cult classic feeling with a certain effortlessness and je ne sais quoi. You couldn’t tell me I wasn’t that girl™. But now, they just seem so tired.

Now, I’m not saying let’s all toss our shoes onto the power lines. There are, of course, ways to elevate and customize pairs to make them stand out from the endless sea of Sambas (let me know in the comments if you’d like to see a piece on this!). True personal style shouldn’t be beholden to the fast currents of trends, and it certainly shouldn’t be further contributing to the disgusting environmental impact that fashion is making on the planet. But it’s hard sometimes to ignore the desire to be off the beaten path.

So what are the shoes that have the same cool-factor, but aren’t so clapped out and overexposed? I poured a very large glass of cold brew and took to the internet in pursuit of some Samba-adjacent alternatives. All must meet a simple criteria: a. have a low profile silhouette, b. come in a variety of colorways, c. be (relatively) niché, and d. make a earnest attempt at being affordable. Keep scrolling for a roundup of 5 (mostly under $100) options that check all of these boxes.