Who’s Brave Enough to Style the New Balance Loafers?

A new shoe has taken center stage in the ugly-cute discourse.

As the era of Margiela Tabi discourse (hopefully) draws to a close, a new contender has emerged, challenging its monopoly on fashion’s perennial question: Are these ugly or chic? We are talking about the New Balance 1906L loafer, a shoe that screams “I have a business lunch at noon and a pickleball game at 3.” Its unique (to say the least) design, versatility, and penchant for comfort make it a worthy successor in the “Is it hideous or is it cute?” debate.

The shoes were introduced in a kelly green shade in February during Paris Fashion Week through a collaboration with Junya Watanabe Man. The silhouette came to life thanks to a conversation about fashion no longer drawing a “hard line between sports and luxury,” according to a press release from New Balance. Now, the gray colorway is making its rounds across the internet to a litany of mixed reviews, perhaps the best place to sit in this digitized fashion landscape.

my sunday school teacher used to wear tf out of these in the early 2000’s

— luca (@LucaGuadagnegro) April 16, 2024

Cursed but goes kinda hard ngl

— dav (@whatdavuck) April 15, 2024

This has to stop — pic.twitter.com/eMDYMFpIhw

— Chris Black (@donetodeath) April 18, 2024

The shoes are not yet available for purchase but reportedly will be some time in 2024.

I’m letting these marinate. I haven’t decided where these fall on the spectrum of desirability. They may be sitting perfectly in the middle, embodying the French concept of jolie laide, which literally translates to “pretty/ugly.” The potential of pulling a real, true fit off is limitless, but the path to getting there is dire and narrow. One slight misstep and your outfit could be derailed from hypebeast (or whatever) to auntie running errands on Sunday morning. Best of luck to those of us brave enough, and with enough imagination, to style these successfully.