How to Wear Shoes Untied

How to Wear Shoes Untied Growing up, most people were taught how to tie their shoes in the “bunny ears” style. If you are like most people, there’s a good chance that you have slightly outgrown that style and can now comfortably use an additional two or three stylish knots to express your particular style and taste.

Did you know that there are probably hundreds of different styles of tying your shoelaces? This is particularly true if you are a big fan of sneakers or canvas shoes.

One of these many different styles, and perhaps the most iconic one, is wearing your shoes untied. Yes, you can actually wear your canvas shoes untied, but it takes some finesse to pull it off. Here are some tips on how to wear shoes untied.

Tips on How to Wear Shoes Untied

It should be noted that wearing your shoes untied isn’t quite as easy nor as juvenile as it might sound. Yes, adults (read: people over 40) may hear about this idea and think it’s just another millennial gimmick and a testament to how much this generation refuses to “grow up.” However, the truth about wearing your shoes untied is that it takes a lot of skill.

You have to lace them up in a way to accommodate the “untied” look. It wouldn’t be stylish at all if you wore your shoes untied and they kept falling off your feet as you walk or run around.

The idea is to lace them up in such a way that you don’t actually have to tie a knot on top of the loops, but you still get to keep your shoes firmly on your feet. This is where the true genius of this art exists. It’s comfortable and stylish.

With that in mind, here are some tips on how to wear shoes untied:

Crossover Lacing

This is by far one of the best and most effective ways of lacing up your shoes if you want to pull off the untied look. One of the biggest advantages that come with crossover lacing is that it gives you shoelace security. In its essence, the crossover lacing style allows you to lace your shoes with your laces in a traditional crossover pattern.

Here’s a video giving you a quick tutorial on how to do a crossover lace pattern (disregard the tying part): 

 
Because of the crossover nature of this pattern, the laces won’t come loose in a hurry since there will be some pressure being applied between your feet and the shoes themselves. This means that you don’t have to tie them up at the top to keep them on.

Bar Laces

By far one of the cleanest lacing styles for footwear known today, the “bar laces” style became popular with skaters a long time ago and gained popularity from there. What makes this style look so unique is that you can’t really see the lacing mechanics that go into keeping the shoes tied up. All you will see are a set of “bars” that make your shoes look extremely futuristic and neat. To the naked eye, the laces might as well be painted on.

This particular lacing style is perhaps the most ideal style for people who like to wear their shoes untied. That’s mostly because, when done correctly, the lace tips end up inside your shoes anyway, making it borderline impossible to tie them on top.

Granted, you could decide to tie the lace tips into a knotted structures underneath the tongue of your shoes if you aren’t too keen on the untied look. The problem with that approach is that the knot will start digging into your feet after a little while, making things very uncomfortable.

Here’s a video giving you instructions on how to do bar lacing: 

The two lace up styles above happen to be the most popular and easiest way to pull off the untied shoe look. That doesn’t mean that they are the only styles. In fact, there are so many different ways to pull off the untied look, including knotted structures. All you need is the patience to learn them all. Here are some alternatives you could consider:

  • Bun Knots: This particular lace up style is quite peculiar in that it borrows from the traditional crossover style but infuses its own finishing process into the entire look. To pull this off, you will begin by doing the traditional crossover lace up, but once you get to the top of the shoes, you will scoop up the laces and tie them into a bun instead of a knot. The problem with this style is that it isn’t that practical. The bun knot at the top of the laces doesn’t really provide you with that much lace security, but it does look cool.
  • Diamond Lacing: This is quite similar to the crossover look but has a bit more of a deliberate finish to it. Much like the crossover lacing style, diamond lacing allows you to secure sections of the shoes to your feet by simply tightening them up.

Here’s a video giving you a quick tutorial on how to do the diamond lacing style: 

You could try many other different lace up styles for untied shoelaces depending on how committed you are to the process since most of them are rather complicated.

Why Wear Untied Shoes?

If you are like members of the older generation, you might be wondering why you would ever want to wear untied shoes. After all, one of the biggest causes of falls in playing children is tripping over untied shoelaces.

Some pitfalls come with wearing untied shoes, but those pitfalls only exist if you don’t do a good job of lacing up the shoes in the first place. Other than that, the advantages of wearing untied shoes are quite numerous. Some of the most standout benefits include:

  • Style and grace: Knots on top of your shoes can look rather untidy and ruin your entire outfit. The untied look gives you a cleaner and more stylish look.
  • Easier: If you lay down the groundwork properly, you never have to tie your shoelaces again. Untied shoes are easier to get into and fasten.
  • Unique: If you are the kind of person who values your ability to stand out from the crowd, then you will appreciate the sheer number of lace up alternatives that come with untied shoes.
Untied Vans
Image Source: Pixabay

The way a person wears, ties, and cares for their sneakers and lace up shoes can tell you a lot about who they are and what kind of style they possess. While the kinds of sneakers you buy tell people how much you value shoes, the lace up style of the sneaker tells people just how much care you put into your outward appearance.

The untied laces look tells people that you are not only easy-going (chill) but also quite meticulous and up for a challenge.

Scroll to Top
Scroll to Top