Thanks, everyone! I feel vindicated now. 
Maybe the rest of the outfit has some bearing. For instance, if you’re wearing jeans, but still want to look a little dressy, say by adding a blazer, then, IMO, sneakers don’t work too well.
A problem that I have with sneakers and jeans, personally, is that they make my jeans look shorter–at least at first glance. I buy jeans so that the bottoms will reach within an inch or so of the ground when I stand up in my boots; when I put my sneakers on, though, the hems tend to bunch up around my ankle. This seems to be something that doesn’t bother most people, but I find myself always checking to make sure the back of my hems is outside my shoes. Still, it doesn’t stop me from wearing jeans and sneakers.
Hmmm…I wear “sneakers”* with jeans, but not athletic shoes. Yes, there is a difference. My Puma’s are in no way appropriate to wear to the gym, they are not suited to working out, though they are comfortable for walking around. They don’t offer support like an athletic shoe does.
I do not, however, wear my athletic shoes for just walking around / running errands - I don’t really like the way they look, as I bought them for working out, not fashion. Also, I don’t want to ruin them. Actual athletic shoes (as opposed to the $20 Reeboks you can buy pretty much anywhere, and aren’t very good for running or most sports) can be expensive. If you’re not wearing them for sports, why spend the money?
Also, something that generally looks far worse than jeans with sneakers? Dressy pants with sneakers!
*I also wear many other kinds of shoes with jeans, depending on the occasion.
I think it’s a little different when you’re wearing sneakers with jeans on a date. I don’t think you should be wearing sneakers on an early date at all, but that’s just my opinion.
Other than that, sneakers with jeans are fine. I rarely wear sneakers at all unless I am working out, though, mostly it’s sandals so I also commit regular fashion* faux pas*.
i have a pretty full shoe rack in my closet, about equally distributed between doc martens, nike crosstrainers and sandals. most of my shoes would be classified “casual”. the one pair of hard soled, pointy toed cowboy boots get very little wear. they hurt my feet. the very idea of wearing hard leather, hard soled shoes makes my feet hurt while i am typing this.
i am thankful that nothing i do requires wearing shoes like that.
I’m a firm believer that athletic shoes should only be worn when participating in athletics. Sneakers = working out or playing sports period. The only possible exception is yard work. I know there are “fashion” sneakers that aren’t for working out. I loathe the very idea of them. They’re all ugly to me.
I think the jeans/sneakers combination looks ugly and overly casual. I don’t like the look on men or women.
I wear my New Balance running shoes at the gym only. With jeans I wear my Diesels or Pumas or Uggs and sometimes sandals. One is a ballerina type slipper shoe and the others are casual walking shoes. If its winter time then I’ll wear boots with my jeans.
badbadrubberpiggy, you and I could totally hang. I love vintage style Puma and Adidas sneakers. Do you also like some of the modern casual style sneaker Puma’s been offering lately? They look great with jeans.
I own two pairs of shoes. One pair is a pair of dress shoes that only get brought out under extreme circumstances.
The other pair is the pair of “sneakers” I wear every day.
I may have a moderately functional pair of prior sneakers around somewhere, too.
Another vote for ‘yay,’ although I don’t personally do it often. Since I live in SoCal, I wear sandals mostly. I have my comfy pair and my dressy pair. If it is a really cold day or I’m off to work then I’ll wear sneakers.
That’s actually what I have! I’m a big shoe fan, myself, and would love some ACTUAL vintage pumas or adidas, but haven’t been able to find anything good around here. I SHOULD be able to, but all the vintage gets picked over by overly-hip college students and starving artists.
I like that flats and kitten heels are pretty popular right now, as living in Boston I do a lot of walking around.
I wear hiking sandals with my jeans.
Sneakers would be a step up, but I don’t need that much formality. 
Count me as another who is of the opinion “it depends on the rest of the outfit”. I will wear sneakers if I have on a hoodie or t-shirt, if it’s warm one of my 5 pairs of “flip-flops” (aka “thongs”) will do nicely. And no, I don’t care what you think about them, they’re comfortable and stylish and look great if you take care of your feet. I also have a pair of loafers, but I hate wearing them with jeans. If I wear them to work, I will put on my strappy heels, chunky clogs, or heeled sandals. I think if you’re doing anything “date worthy”, you might want to skip out on the sneakers (or flip-flops) - that is unless you’re pulling a marathon at a movie theater or getting fast food. Anything else, try something more stylish. It will give you a more polished look.
Sneakers and jeans are the classic American outfit. How can you possibly go wrong with it? Espeically old-style brightly colored Converse or, as has been mentioned, Adidas and Pumas.
Huh. I’m a college student, so I’ve got a few ‘decent’ outfits for work and a nicer pair of shoes. But jeans and sneakers are downright fancy compared to the sometimes-nessecary, say, pajama pants and flips.
Another vote for “mostly yea, but it depends.” If I’m wearing jeans and a t-shirt, I wear sneakers or my Birkenstocks. If I’m wearing jeans and a polo shirt, I wear sandals or loafers (and sometimes my Birkenstocks). If I’m in black jeans and a blouse, like today, I wear flats or loafers.
I only have two kinds of sneakers: canvas Keds (usually white, but I have a pair of navy blue ones that I’ll wear sometimes), and Easy Spirit walking shoes (similar to this pair).
I had no idea that there are people who consider jeans + sneakers to be unacceptable! :eek:
Oh yeah: FWIW, I’m a 33-year-old female from the mid-Atlantic East Coast.
I wear sneakers and jeans all the time. Not athletic work-out type of sneakers, but plain white leather Keds. Not the canvas Keds; they get dirty and ratty-looking too quicky. The leather ones look better for a longer time. I wear them with jeans all the time, when I’m just wearing something casual.
I have to go read the other thread now, to see what other ‘mistakes’ I’ve been making. :rolleyes:
I believe the sentiment the OP linked to might be being misconstrued. The post suggested he didn’t like dates wearing sneakers and jeans ON DATES.
Uh, that I can understand. If you’re doing grocery shopping or walking the dog then by all means wear sneakers and jeans, but at least make an effort to look nice on a DATE.
Actually, QuickSilver went on to clarify that he doesn’t think sneakers and jeans are ever ok (outside of athletic activities).