Sneakers have become so popular, so cool that they are status objects that pop up even at high brow and red-carpet events. We know they are worn by people in every walk of life because we’ve been to Groovyline, where brand new dress and casual sneakers by Prada and Gucci can be purchased at a substantial discount. Some are from past seasons, but there are plenty of shoes from the Winter 2008 collections. If you don’t mind wearing last winter’s Prada, check out the Men’s America’s Cup Brown Crocodile Patent High Top Sneakers ($199; list $439). Like all of Groovyline’s shoes they come with a sleeper bag, box, and authenticity card, so you know you aren’t getting cheap knock-offs. Also for men, there are Gucci Double Velcro Brown Monogram Sneakers ($149; list $369) Women can shimmer as they shimmy in Gucci Silver All Leather Shoes ($159; list $389), from the Fall/Winter 2008 colletion. And fresh for Winter ‘08 are women’s Prada Sport Linea Rossa Black Silver Velcro Sneakers ($149; list $369). But if all this calfskin and designer monograms and metallic flash isn’t your thing, check out the pages and pages of playful, colorful sneakers at Balance Lifestyles. For men, we like the Cesario Black White ($100) from Creative Recreation. They aim to incorporate “the comfort of an athletic sneaker with the materialization of a dress shoe to create the ultimate crossbreed.” For women, there’s the whimsical Cesario Khaki Skylight Fern ($105).