Runners: this is what Australians call their sneakers or trainers.
However, in Australian, Canadian, and Scottish English, running shoes and runners are synonymous terms used to refer to sneakers; with the latter term also used in Hiberno-English. Tennis shoes is another term used in Australian, and North American English.
For example, in the United Kingdom, sneakers are known as trainers.
Contributor's comments: Sandshoes were the white (whitewashed for sports days) rubber and canvas lace up shoes worn when running, playing sport or tennis. I assume that most tennis courts were sand surfaced and sandshoes were sports shoes worn when playing.
“Shoey” is Australian slang for having a celebratory drink out of a shoe. Usually the beverage is alcoholic and the celebration follows a sweaty quest to victory. The shoey has become a popular part of some sports and music festival cultures.
Australians love the outdoors, and it shows in their fashion landscape which is dominated by athleisure and casual wear brands. Hence it comes as no surprise that the country has made quite a niche for itself in the sneaker and streetwear industry.
Sneakers go back a long way. In the late 18th century, people wore rubber soled shoes called plimsolls, but they were pretty crude—for one thing, there was no right foot or left foot. Around 1892, the U.S. Rubber Company came up with more comfortable rubber sneakers with canvas tops, called Keds.
A sneaker was a small drinking-glass, used by moderate drinkers—sneak-cups they were called.
In Northern Ireland and Scotland, they may be known as "gutties"; "sannies" (from 'sand shoe') is used in Scotland. In parts of Edinburgh and Midlothian, they are known as "rubbers" or "gym rubbers", owing to their rubber soles and the need to wear them in the school gym hall.
“Sneakers” or “Tennis Shoes”? According to a study by Harvard, 45.5% of people call them “sneakers,” mostly in the northeast, 41.3% call them “tennis shoes and a few use “gym shoes” or just plain “shoes.” Even more interesting… LOTS of people had no idea there was any other term than the one they used.
Thongs - rubber flip-flops. In the Northern Territory thongs are commonly called “double pluggers” or “pluggers”.
The top five most popular sneakers in Australia
It's perhaps not exactly unsurprising that the Dunk Low 'White Black/Panda' topped the list as the most purchased sneaker, with the Dunk Low 'Georgetown' snagging second place.
Unauthorized/Replica
If that's what you're looking for, go ahead and pick them up.
Chuck Taylor All-Stars or Converse All Stars (also referred to as "Converse", "Chuck Taylors", "Chucks", "Cons", "All Stars", and "Chucky Ts") is a sneaker manufactured by Converse (a subsidiary of Nike, Inc. since 2003).
The 60s. Converse, chucks, high-tops. The popularity of these staple shoes skyrocketed in the 60s, despite having been around a while. Why?
The Name Tennis
The British fleet sailors needed shoes that did not slip or slide on the wet surfaces to wear on the deck. This was in the 1800s. Wealthy aristocrats then started wearing the shoes to play the most popular sport at the time, tennis. This birthed the name of tennis shoes.
/ˈsnikə/ Athletic or casual rubber-soled shoes are called sneakers. Before you walk your neighbor's Great Dane, you'll have to take off your work shoes and put on your sneakers. You can also call sneakers tennis shoes, kicks, or running shoes, and if you're in Britain, you can call them trainers or plimsolls.
“Sneakers” is used but is far less common in Britain. In Cockney rhyming slang, shoes are referred to as “ones and twos”.
The British call them trainers, probably because they can be used for sports or training. The Americans, meanwhile, call them sneakers, presumably because, being soft-soled, they're suitable for sneaking around in.
Australia. It is common for Australians, particularly young people, to be barefoot in public places, especially during summer. Barefoot walking, known as "earthing", has been used by the Australian cricket team to "capture positive energy coming out of the earth."
Eshays can typically be identified by wearing Nike TN trainers with polo shirts, puffer jackets, tracksuit pants or baggy shorts and baseball caps. Their favourite brands include Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Lacoste, paired with Nautica, Adidas, Under Armour and Ellesse.
Many Melburnians may never have heard of eshays before, but if you've spent time at a train station or parking lot, chances are you've run into one. Eshays are part of a subculture that's gripped Australian youth in recent years. The culture hit the mainstream when western Sydney “drill rap” crew OneFour emerged.