In 1949 Adi Dassler designed a shoe so footballers could train on hard, icy ground. That is the whole origin of the Samba, a winter training shoe with a grippy gum sole. The name is often said to nod to Brazilian samba ahead of the 1950 World Cup, though adidas' own blog tells a different story, so I would hold that one loosely. By 1972 the Originals Samba had its three-zone outsole, and the shape you see now has barely moved since.

Then, in April 2022, Bella Hadid kept getting photographed in black leather Sambas, and the shoe went from five-a-side to every pavement in the city. Kaia Gerber, Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski followed, and the blokecore trend took off around it.

The adidas Sambas women actually wear most are still the OGs in this first grid. Core Black with Cloud White stripes and a gum sole is the classic, and Cloud White with black stripes is the clean summer pair. The Samba in white and black is the same idea with a slightly different finish. The silver metallic Samba OG is the dressier one, and Maroon and Night Indigo are the colours I would pick for autumn. The all-black Core Black pair is the quietest of all.

Care tip: the suede T-toe scuffs first. A suede brush and a quick spray before the first wear will keep it from going grey.

Somewhere between a ballet flat and a football boot, the Samba Jane is the shoe that made the Samba feel feminine without losing any of its sportiness. Of all the women's Sambas, it is the one I see most on people who usually wear flats.

The strap is the point. It crosses the foot where laces would sit, so the shoe looks like a Mary Jane from above and a Samba from the side. Better Scarlet is the boldest colour here, a proper red that looks great with grey trousers. Silver and white is the party pair, and chalk pearl is the softest neutral. Green and white and Rich Green are the classic football colours, and the mint with a gum sole is the springtime one. Sand Strata is a pale, warm beige, and Wonder Quartz is a dusty pink.

A Samba Jane looks best with a little ankle showing. Cropped trousers, a midi skirt or rolled jeans all work, and a thin white sock turns it into a schoolgirl look on purpose.

What I would skip: chunky ribbed socks with the Jane. They fight the strap and make the foot look heavy.

Not every Samba is the 1949 shoe. adidas has stretched, padded and lifted it into a small family, and these are the shapes worth knowing.

The Samba XLG arrived in 2024 with a thicker gum sole and a puffier tongue, so it gives you a little height without becoming a platform. The Cloud White XLG is the one I would try first, and the Core Black XLG with white stripes is the easiest to wear daily. The Samba LT is slimmer and lower, and the black LT is a neat everyday shoe. The off-white LT comes in cow print here, which is the most fun pair in the grid.

The Samba Long Tongue in black has the flap folded over the laces, a nod to old football boots. The Sambae is the platform version, built up on a chunkier sole. Then the Samba Lux Freizeit and the Samba LX Freizeit, in black and brown, are dressier takes that look good with tailoring.

Hold a new shape next to a classic OG in the shop. If you like the OG better, trust that.

What I would skip: the Sambae with very wide trousers that cover the sole. You lose the whole point of the platform.

When Grace Wales Bonner started working with adidas in 2020, her Sambas turned into collector pieces, and by April 2024 she had designed 25 sneakers with the brand. That changed how people looked at the Samba. It became a canvas.

Search sambas adidas women and the collabs and prints are what pop up first, so here are the ones that stood out. The Coca-Cola Samba OG is the cheekiest, red and white like the can. The cow print Samba Long Tongue is the playful one, and the Pixar Toy Story Samba Jane is the nostalgic one, with a nod to a childhood film. The Liberty London Samba Jane in chalk pearl adds a floral print to the strap, and it is the one I would choose as a gift. The Pokémon Samba OG in ice lavender is soft enough to wear every day.

Then the textures. Two snake-effect Samba OGs, one in sage green suede and one in dark brown leather, make the shoe feel more grown up. The metallic leather Samba OG with calf hair trim is the most fashion pair in this whole edit.

With a printed Samba, keep the outfit plain. Denim, grey and black do all the work.

What I would skip: a printed Samba with a printed skirt. One pattern at a time.

The Samba has siblings, and they share its flat, low, terrace look. By April 2024 the Guardian reported that UK searches for the Samba had more than doubled in two years, and a lot of people who could not find their size found a cousin instead.

The Handball Spezial is the closest relative. The core black pair is the one I would pick, with a suede upper and a gum sole like the Samba. The Handball Spezial LT in shadow red is slimmer, and the snake-effect off-white pair is the fancy one. The Gazelle Indoor in shadow red has a rounder toe and a gum sole, and it looks good with a long skirt.

The Tokyo Mary Jane in linen green is the cousin of the Samba Jane, flatter and lighter. The Japan in black suede and denim is slim and low, and the Japan Lux in cream white is the dressy version. The Taekwondo Mei Elite in sandy pink is the most delicate, almost a ballet flat with a rubber sole.

If you already own black Sambas, pick a cousin in a colour, not another black pair.

What I would skip: the Taekwondo for long walks. The thin sole is lovely, but you feel every cobblestone.

If I were buying my first pair, it would be the Samba OG in Core Black with white stripes. It goes with every pair of jeans and every skirt I own. My second pair would be a Samba Jane in a colour, red or green, for days when I want a flat with more personality.

After that it is about mood. The XLG gives you height, the collabs give you a joke, and the cousins give you a slightly different shape when everyone around you is in OGs. The gum sole from 1949 is still the reason they all feel right on a cold pavement. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together How I Wear Samba Sneakers Beyond the Pitch and Leopard flats.