
When I first encountered sneakerboots a couple of years ago, I experienced a brief period of desperately wanting some which I am now glad I resisted, because for the most part I find the construction inelegant around the ankle. This pair by Sugar dodges that with a wider shaft I suppose, and the fun patchwork styling which makes it sort of look intentional, where in a plain curtain-print motorcycle boot like the ones which made Sugar famous, they sort of look like an ankle cuff sewed round the top of one of those elastic-gored slip-on sneakers that covers the whole foot top (eg Vans) with more determination than sense. I guess the look can be cute, but it just perhaps depends on how much of a hipster and/or emo teenie you want to look like? I've eventually decided I don't, really, and given up said cravings, even when shoes I previously coveted have gone on clearance.
Both these shoes dodge that issue, though I would not buy them unless they were right in front of me at a reduced price because I have no sneakerboot-shaped gaps in my wardrobe. "Mindy" looks like the shape of the ankle and all the rest is intentional, with a sort of pulp-sf effect lent by the sole sculpting and slightly puffy caterpillar stripes and the monotone color palette. These boots take me straight to a pleasant space opera fantasy like the space stations I spent most of my imaginative time in as a young teenager, where people wear high-tech garments and jumpsuits with made-up names that frequently have "synth" tacked onto them, and seal their clothes instead of buttoning or zipping them. Here is how I would style this boot for Station Dwelling Teen fantasy: maybe a high-waisted pant with a metallic sheen tucked in, with "engineered" looking shaping seams at the knee and a paper bag waist, with a funnel-neck cybergoth-type pieced jacket with inset pieces in neon, or else a crewneck microfiber tunic under some kind of fur-lined, pocket-adorned utility vest. And of course, a shiny silver helmet, and probably some sort of green-furred genetically-engineered pet (ideally a small cat with antennae) poking out of a pocket, with a pair of puffy metallic Space Gloves and a bunch of hand-held electronics distributed around a utility belt. With this equipment the Teen Station Dweller is equipped for stowing away on freighters, sneaking through air shafts, daring emergency repairs on the life support systems, thefts from the green houses, or slipping into a spacewalk suit to visit the solar sails.
And "Rhapsody" looks ~ethnic~ without going all the way to cultural appropriation land (to my eye though feel free to correct me if you recognize the specific motifs), because it's got a kind of folk art quilt slash elementary school craft project with glitter vibe going at the same time. I actually like this one slightly better, lack of fantasy aside, because I would totally wear it with ordinary clothes and tucked-in jeans. An eye-catching statement shoe is the ultimate neutral, because it's never boring but, with work, can go with just about anything (like a gold metallic ballet flat crusted with sparkly jewels or a rose-embroidered 14-eye Doc...).