The question I get asked most about summer trainers is whether they can actually go with a dress, and the answer is yes, but only if you stop thinking of them as a backup to sandals and start treating them as the whole point of the outfit. A plain white or off white pair under a cotton sundress looks like a decision, not a compromise, as long as the rest of the outfit isn't trying too hard.
Before you buy, it's worth checking a few things that photos on a screen never quite show you. Look at how the trainer sits at the ankle, because a lot of summer styles are cut lower than normal trainers and that can mean a seam or a hard edge sitting right where your anklebone is, which you will feel after about twenty minutes of actual walking. Check the sole thickness too. A heavier sole reads more like a trainer and less like a slipper, which matters if you're pairing them with floaty skirts that need something solid underneath to balance them out. And have a proper look at the upper material, because canvas and mesh both look lovely in a product shot but behave very differently the first time you're caught in a sudden downpour or a splash from a paddling pool.
Where summer trainers aren't the right call is anything that needs a bit of polish. A linen suit, a proper going out dress, anything with tailoring in it, the trainer underneath just reads as an afterthought rather than a choice. Mesh ones are also the wrong pick if you're on your feet near water all day, a riverside walk or a beach town, because wet mesh stays wet and cold for hours.
On colour, the ones I keep going back to are a plain white, a soft stone or putty colour, and a faded denim blue. All three go under denim shorts, a plain t shirt dress, a linen shirt and trousers, without you having to think about it twice. White needs a wipe down more often than you'd like, the stone colour hides a lot more dust and grass stains, which matters more than people admit once you've actually worn the white pair to a barbecue.
Before anything else, check how the trainer sits at the ankle when you walk, not just when you stand still in it.
