There has never been a unified trend. It's all in people's minds, OP. Even for other age groups.

Kids that age don't give a crap about 'trendy' or not.

Buy what's comfortable, and durable, in that order.

FWIW I don't think my kids had their first tie shoes until maybe 3rd grade!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grader wear Kiziks because they slip on. Doesn’t care about trends. Her friends don’t care either. They don’t want to milk babyish but otherwise don’t care about brands.

We have this brand too very convenient!

+2 great choice, lots of colors for her to choose from!

They don’t hold up to super heavy wear (my athletic 2nd grade DS wore holes in his pretty quickly), but they worked really well for DD in 1st grade.

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grader wear Kiziks because they slip on. Doesn’t care about trends. Her friends don’t care either. They don’t want to milk babyish but otherwise don’t care about brands.

We have this brand too very convenient!

Don't focus on trends, instead focus on what fits her correctly. She'll be wearing these all day every day and they need to be comfortable and supportive.

One of my kids preferred New Balance while the other liked Adidas at that age.

My 3rd grader wear Kiziks because they slip on. Doesn’t care about trends. Her friends don’t care either. They don’t want to milk babyish but otherwise don’t care about brands.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At that age it’s still sparkly hearts and colorful. Not too many six year olds are “on trend”. Show her some images online and ask her what she likes. But focus on better quality sneakers.

+1 I'm depressed by the question and this stuff starting so early. Let them be fun and wear what they want.

+2, in 1st grade my kid would not have cared what was "trendy" and would have had very concrete ideas about what she wanted. A few years later, yes, there is pressure to conform and she would have wanted what other girls were wearing. But one of the joys of younger kids is that they are not yet aware of how others might judge them for how they dress or express themselves, and thus tend to be more free in their self expression. I have no idea why you'd intentionally stifle this by introducing the concept of trendiness to a 1st grader. You're ruining it.

on cloud in my DD’s school

We buy NB, only on sale so usually in last season's colors, purely because it fits DC well and has good foot supports.

No idea what any "trend" might be.

Anonymous wrote:At that age it’s still sparkly hearts and colorful. Not too many six year olds are “on trend”. Show her some images online and ask her what she likes. But focus on better quality sneakers.

+1 I'm depressed by the question and this stuff starting so early. Let them be fun and wear what they want.

It really depends on what other kids are wearing. There's no universal trend. I actually don't know any elementary school kids at all wearing Converse, so apparently that trend has not hit our school. Lots of Saucony, Adidas, Nike, Skechers, and New Balance.

For a 1st grader I always default to more supportive athletic shoes because they spend so much time on the playground and running around. Plus at our school there is PE twice a week and it's just easier when the default shoe is appropriate for that.

Mine is in 2nd and has Nike, Adidas, and Converse. She rotates them for the school year and then they become play/camp sneakers in the summer.

Do not think kids this age care about trends at all. Nike and Adidas are good for gym and sports. Converse are fun but tread is not great, like going up the slide is slippery in them.

At that age it’s still sparkly hearts and colorful. Not too many six year olds are “on trend”. Show her some images online and ask her what she likes. But focus on better quality sneakers.

Hi, my 1st grade daughter needs a new pair of sneakers - we're getting her her first lace-up pair. We'll look for comfort and fit of course but I'm curious, what are the trendy sneakers for the girls these days? Still converse, or is it Adidas, others?