Ecco FTW. I bought this pair of shoes from Ecco about 12 years ago and loved them so much that I instantly bought two more pairs so I could wear them for the rest of my life. They’re white leather with light gray and black trim, so they are an integral part of my “black/white/gray” travel clothing ensemble. I wear them both with socks and without. The shoes are super light, slip on, and have reasonably grippy rubber soles—and they are reasonably stylish and definitely do not scream “I’m an American and all I wear is sneakers.” (The only time you will see sneakers on my feet is while I am running or at the gym.) Sadly, the Ecco’s I bought are no longer sold, but I am still on pair #2 and have #3 in reserve.
I am currently on my last full day of a 24-day trip to Italy and I’ve been wearing these shoes almost the entire time. I brought them and my Clarks Artisans flip-flops (also 10+ years old—I decided to retire them two days ago in Genoa because they were so beat up I couldn’t stand it anymore and also because Clarks still makes the exact same style, so I immediately bought another pair on Zappos that will be delivered to my home on Monday
)