TRICK OR TREAT: The Sweetest Sneakers for Halloween

Happy Halloween! It's the best day of the year for candy-lovers and horror movie enthusiasts and the absolute worst day of the year for dogs who react poorly to the doorbell.

Every year, millions of kids dress up in costumes of their favorite movie characters, from Elsa and Moana to Pennywise and Ghetto Pat. It'll be the last time they dress up until a brief stint in college and then again when their significant other convinces them to do a couples costume.

But the common denominator that brings us all together on this most spooky day is the candy. The chewy, chocolatey, sour, sticky goodness that we cross our fingers we'll have leftovers of after all the trick-or-treaters have come and gone. Safe to say, come November 1st, none of us will be looking like Slender Man.

For those of us who are trying to cut back on candy despite our deep afection for the sweet stuff, we can still rep our favorites on our feet, thanks to a number of confectionary collabs from sneaker brands over the years. But beware, some of these are scarier than any costume you'll see walking up your driveway tonight.

Here are some of the worst most memorable candy sneakers ever.

Shaq Devastator Shaqalicious XL Gummies

These are really interesting because they're probably the only entry on the list to be a sneaker based on a candy that's based on a sneaker. Shaq fully Inception'd my brain with this one. Even though he's got a full plate with his new gig at ESPN and running Reebok, the most dominant center-slash-cop-slash-genie also had some time to launch a new candy brand last year, Shaqalicious XL Gummies. Part of being a real deal journalist means hitting the streets and getting the scoops, so I can tell you that these actually bang. Recently, the brand released some limited edition sneakers to match each flavor and sent them out to sneaker influencers. Guess my Angel Reese blog got me nixed from the list.

Haribo x Vans Collection

A couple of years ago, Vans linked up with iconic gummy bear brand Haribo to celebrate the candy company's 100th birthday. While most of the collection was aimed at kids, adults still got to sneak a few bites with a Sk8-Hi and Old Skool V that looked good enough to eat. With all of the candy companies collabing with each other these days and making flavors that seem too weird to believe, there's something to be said for sticking to the classics, and that's why this Haribo x Vans collection works.

Ewing Athletics SPORT LITE "Snickers"

After Knicks legend Patrick Ewing was featured in a viral commercial for arguably America's favorite candy bar Snickers in 2009, Ewing's eponymous sneaker brand decided to have some fun with it years later. In 2024, Ewing released a SPORT LITE model styled like Snickers with a chocolate upper and featuring white, blue and red accents that match the iconic Pantones of the wrapper. A gum outsole nods to the nougat, peanuts and caramel. Hope poor Ryan got sent a pair in the hospital. Fun Size Fact: There's also an official Snickers collab with Skechers from 2019 but we won't scare you away with those.

New Balance KAWHI Jolly Rancher

Back in the pandemmy, New Balance released an entire collection of sneakers and slides in collaboration with Jolly Rancher, their star signature athlete Kawhi Leonard's favorite candy as a kid. Checks out. We've all always wondered why Kawhi was being so serious but it turns out he's just making the same face as the Jolly Rancher mascots. This sneaker wasn't a smash hit but it was decent and a tad bit underrated, kind of like Jolly Ranchers as a candy.

Under Armor Curry 7 Sour Patch Kids

Steph loves his Sour Patch Kids, and he made it clear in the 2015 3-Point Contest during All-Star Weekend when he competed in some SPK-inspired neon green Curry 1s that weren't even an official collab. Well, the candy conglomerate took notice and their legal team said 'Hey, things don't have to be sour, we can go the sweet route too'. Fast forward a few years later and the two sides officially teamed up for the Sour Patch Kids Curry 7s, which came with a fun nutritional facts sticker that paid tribute to Steph's sweet stats.

Hershey's and Reese's Crocs

Crocs has done more candy collaborations than anyone but then again, they're not really sneakers. They've worked with Haribo, Jolly Ranchers, M&Ms, Gushers (candy?) and many more, but this Hershey's set is our favorite, including maybe the best Jibbitz ever with the fun-sized gold-wrapped mini Reese's Cup that looks absolutely identical to the real thing and is making me want one or 15 really bad right now.

MSCHF Gobstomper

While not an official collab with Willothee Wonka himself as far as we know, and more of a flip and homage, the team over at MSCHF took the whole wear-away trend to another level when they likened this fun silhouette to the infamous Neverending Gobstopper, which revealed new colors the deeper into it you got. MSCHF would ultimately release a few colorways of these and even a collab with Dremel that came with a tool to speed up the "design" process, but there was just something magical about that first one, which made its debut on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

A'One Jawbreakers and Candy Corns

A'ja Wilson doesn't half-ass anything, Halloween included. The 4-time MVP and 3-time WNBA champion is the most dominant force in on the court in her sport, and she likes to win off it as well. That means you're not beating her in a costume contest, so you might as well go to a different party. Oh, you dress up in one costume every year? She picks a show or movie and crushes her costume as each different character in it. It's actually insane. Well, she goes hard in the candy aisle like it's the paint, too. Sure, she could have released one candy-themed colorway of her mega successful Nike A'One signature sneaker but that isn't A'ja. No, she dropped two, and both are infinitely better than the candy they represent: Candy Corn and Jawbreakers. She really does just make everyone around her better.

Bonus Sole Retriever Candy Rankings

Nick, Managing Editor:

1. Kit-Kat
2. Butterfinger
3. Reese's

Zach Harris, Staff Writer:

1. Sour Patch Kids
2. Mini Nerds Box
3. Laffy Taffy (give him all your bananas)

Zakk, Co-founder:

1. Nerd Gummy Clusters
2. Nerd Gummy Clusters
3. Nerd Gummy Clusters

Me, myself, and I:

1. Reese's Big Cup with the broken up potato chips in it
2. Twix (Left)
3. Sour Patch Watermelons

The rest of the team must just eat salads, they didn't respond to the survey.

Drew London

Drew oversees content at Sole Retriever and hates writing in the 3rd person soooo I'm going to stop. I've written for countless blogs and magazines, from Complex to XXL and everywhere in between. Spent a long time in LA, running content and working on branded collabs at The Hundreds. Now, I'm back home on the East Coast freezing my ass off. Email me at drew@soleretriever.com with scoops, story ideas, and size 13 heat.