New Balance's Best & Grayest Dad Shoe Is an Elderly Masterpiece
OG NB 990 stans — we are so back, baby. New Balance's classic Made in USA 990 sneaker is finally back in NB's signature gray colorway.
Wrapped in a tonal symphony of gray leather and matching mesh, the 990 maintains all of the timeless aura that made the sneaker the dad shoe icon it is today.
Arguably the most famous gray shoe in the world, the 990 sneaker hit the scene as a high-performance runner designed with the same chunky steez that had most of the 80s footwear era in a chokehold. Unlike its peers, though, New Balance's 990 has not only maintained its relevance over the last 40 years — it has increased it.
In fact, the 990, available on the New Balance website for $280, is arguably cooler now than it was when it was first released in 1982.
Sure, the OG model garnered inimitable co-signs from unsung style stalwarts like John F. Kennedy Jr. and Steve Jobs, who swore by the geriatric shoe's charm, but the 990's full style potential is still being realized to this day.
When the 990 first came out, it didn't have the retro charm it does today since it was a modern shoe for the time. Was it cool? Undoubtedly so. But it was still of the times in a way that the renditions we've come to love today aren't.
This layer of nostalgia gives the 990 a bit more weight where legacy is concerned and has solidified the chunky gray steppers' place in the dad shoe hall of fame.
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