During a string of dog walks with Mr. Butler in Brooklyn in July 2020, Olivia Palermo showed how dramatically footwear can shift an outfit’s mood.
Across three outings in just one week, she alternated between white Nike Air Max 270 sneakers and embroidered Alberta Ferretti velvet mules, styling the sporty and decorative shoes with everything from black athleisure to a coordinated summer set and crisp monochrome separates.
The repeated appearances of the same shoes also offered a closer look at Palermo’s tendency to rewear favorite pieces rather than treating street-style outfits as one-off fashion moments.
Olivia Palermo Goes Full Athleisure in White Nike Air Max 270 Sneakers
On July 22, 2020, Palermo traded the polished skirts and dresses that frequently defined her dog-walking wardrobe for an understated black athleisure look built around a hooded jacket and cropped sweatpants.

Her black hoodie featured a stand collar and drawstring waist, while the cropped sweatpants left the bulky white sneakers fully visible.

Palermo pulled her brown hair into a sleek bun and accessorized with sunglasses, a printed scarf worn over her face covering, and a black-and-white bag, keeping the otherwise dark outfit visually restrained.

She finished the outfit with white Nike Air Max 270 sneakers, a lifestyle silhouette recognized for its oversized heel Air unit and design references to earlier Air Max models including the Air Max 180 and Air Max 93.
Palermo also wore a black-and-white Air Max 270 colorway with a Moncler Zinzolin parka, making the model a recurring sneaker in her 2020 Brooklyn street-style rotation.

Olivia Palermo Repeats Her Alberta Ferretti Velvet Mules With a Printed Summer Set
Four days later, on July 26, Palermo moved in the opposite direction, swapping athletic sneakers for embroidered velvet mules for another walk with Mr. Butler.
She paired a red-and-white printed Lucy Paris pleated maxi skirt with the matching smocked crop top, creating a coordinated summer outfit that contrasted sharply with the all-black athleisure she had worn earlier that week.

Rather than debuting a new outfit, Palermo repeated the coordinated set she had first worn a month earlier, showing how she regularly reworked favorite pieces instead of treating them as one-time looks.
She restyled the matching set with a printed scarf, sunglasses, a small white bucket bag, gold bangles, statement rings, and her Piaget Limelight Gala watch.

For footwear, Palermo returned to her embroidered velvet mules by Alberta Ferretti. The slip-on shoes feature a low heel and richly decorated upper, giving the summery two-piece a more ornate finish.
They were already a familiar part of her wardrobe: Palermo also paired the same mules with Tibi leather culottes and a perforated tunic, and styled them with a khaki skirt and Brunello Cucinelli cardigan.

Olivia Palermo Returns to Her White Nike Air Max 270 Sneakers
Two days later, while walking Mr. Butler in Downtown Brooklyn on July 28, 2020, Palermo returned to the same white Nike Air Max 270 sneakers she had worn on July 22.
This time, she paired them with an oversized white shirt and cropped black joggers, using a streamlined black-and-white palette to make the substantial sneaker silhouette feel more polished than overtly athletic.

Keeping the focus on the clean silhouette, Palermo accessorized with statement rings, earrings, her signature sunglasses, and a black face mask that blended seamlessly with the monochrome outfit.


With her hair pulled into a sleek bun, Palermo completed the outfit with the white Air Max 270 sneakers, reinforcing their role as one of her preferred casual shoes during this stretch of Brooklyn outings.
Her repeated use of the pair showed how easily the Air Max 270 could move between straightforward activewear and the more polished street style she favored later in the week.
The Air Max 270 has also appeared elsewhere in the celebrity street-style archive, including Lucy Hale’s colorful athleisure look and Emily Ratajkowski’s Travis Scott x Nike “Cactus Trails” sneakers.

Although Palermo wore her white Nike Air Max 270 sneakers in 2020, Nike’s popular lifestyle silhouette remains widely available. As of July 2026, resale marketplace StockX lists dozens of Air Max 270 colorways, with many standard men’s and women’s editions starting between about $90 and $160, while rarer collaborations and limited releases command significantly higher prices.
More Olivia Palermo Shoe Highlights to Explore
From repeatedly reaching for her Nike Air Max 270 sneakers to building outfits around embroidered Alberta Ferretti mules and statement designer boots, Palermo’s street style shows how footwear can shift the mood of an outfit without requiring an entirely new wardrobe.
👠 Explore More of Olivia Palermo’s Signature Shoe Style:
- 👟 Olivia styled another Nike Air Max 270 colorway with a Moncler Zinzolin parka and lace-trim dress, showing how frequently the lifestyle sneaker appeared in her Brooklyn wardrobe.
- 🖤 Her Alberta Ferretti embellished velvet mules returned with Tibi leather culottes and a perforated leather tunic, reinforcing their status as another repeat favorite.
- 🥾 Olivia embraced Paris Fashion Week edge by pairing crystal-embroidered Elie Saab separates with Gianvito Rossi “Martis” knee-high combat boots.
- ❄️ See eight winter outfits built around standout designer footwear, from Fratelli Rossetti lug boots and Gianvito Rossi combat boots to colorful pumps and polished loafers.
- 📏 Standing 5’5″ (165.1 cm) and wearing a US shoe size 7, Olivia Palermo has been featured in everything from Nike sneakers and Alberta Ferretti mules to Gianvito Rossi, Jimmy Choo, Aquazzura, Manolo Blahnik, and Christian Louboutin.