The Shoe Trends I Didn’t Expect to Love in 2026

With Tabi shoes and moon boots not so long ago, and now the quiet rise of ballet sneakers, I’ve started to realise something: I don’t really know what I want from shoes anymore.

Or maybe it’s that I keep changing my mind.

I used to think I had a pretty fixed shoe identity. Sneakers for everyday, boots when I wanted to feel slightly cooler than I actually am, and anything remotely experimental was something I admired on other people’s Pinterest boards.

But 2026 has been doing something to me.

The first shift I noticed was Gladiator sandals. I didn’t expect to revisit them at all — they felt like a very specific early-2010s memory I had already archived. But suddenly I started seeing them styled in a way that didn’t feel costume-like anymore.

There’s something about them now that feels more intentional. I still wouldn’t call them subtle, but I’ve stopped thinking that’s a bad thing. Paired with something simple, they do all the talking, which is usually what I want my shoes to do anyway.

Then there are ballet sneakers, which I still don’t fully understand myself in.

Part of me sees them and immediately thinks they shouldn’t work. But then I keep noticing how often I’m drawn to them — especially when I want something that feels softer than a trainer, but less delicate than a flat shoe.

They sit in this strange in-between space that somehow makes sense for how I dress now: more relaxed, but still slightly considered.

Combat boots, on the other hand, have never really left.

I keep trying to move away from them, but they always come back into rotation. Maybe it’s the ease of them, or maybe it’s the fact that they make everything else in my wardrobe feel a bit more intentional.

I’ve started pairing them with things I probably wouldn’t have before — softer fabrics, more feminine silhouettes — and I like the contrast more than I expected to.

And then there’s the shoe I didn’t think I’d still be thinking about: lace-up pumps.

I actually owned a pair years ago and wore them until they completely gave out. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. But now I keep noticing versions of them again, and I can’t lie — I understand the appeal more than I used to.

They sit in that space between practical and slightly dressed-up, which feels like exactly where I am right now.

I think what I’ve realised is that this isn’t really about predicting shoe trends at all.

It’s about how quickly my own taste shifts without me fully noticing.

One minute I think I’ve moved on from something, and the next I’m saving it again on Pinterest, wondering why I ever stopped wearing it in the first place.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped asking what shoes are trending and started noticing what I actually keep reaching for.

And that feels like a much better place to be.

Scroll through my Fizzypicks for the shoe styles I keep coming back to in 2026.

PUMA
Women's Speedcat Ballet Suede Sneakers
$90

 

MANOLO BLAHNIK
Lugata Leather Combo Boots
$1295

 

DR. MARTENS
Jadon Platform 8-Eye Boots
$210

 

SEQWL
Strappy Flatform Sandals In Brown Faux Suede
$42

 

PUCCI
Suede Gladiator Sandals
$2140

 

FEMME LA
Luisa Lace Up Pump
$199

 

PUMA
Women's Speedcat Ballet Nova Sneakers
$90

 

FARM RIO
Spaghetti Jelly Kitten Heel
$198

 

ACNE STUDIOS
Metallic Leather Flats
$620

 

ZIMMERMANN
Goldie Leather Gladiator Sandals
$650

 

RAYE
Kamala Heel
$168

 

STAUD
Henry Leather Combat Boots
$495

 

TOPSHOP
Sasha Strappy Flat Sandal In Black
$55

 

COOLWAY
Women's Bella Ballet Sneakers
$100

 

PARIS TEXAS
Nina Lace Up Sandal 50
$995

 

PUMA
Women's Speedcat Ballet Venus Sneakers
$100

 

VALENTINO GARAVANI
Rockstud PVC Sandals
$590

 

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
Cassia Lace Up Crepe Satin Flats
$995

 

PUMA
Women's H-Street Ballet Sneakers
$80

 

ZARA
Mesh Sneaker Ballet Flats
$59.90