Good morning y'all. Today is about a pair of shoes I can't live without.
My pair of go-to shoes is a pair of New Balance WR996 that I bought a year ago. It's navy blue with tiny little flowers in a multitude of colors like red, orange, yellow, and it's a pretty darn girly sneaker. It doesn't really dress up an outfit, but it sure can dress down one and in a super casual outfit city like Toronto, Canada, that's certainly useful. You don't see ladies wearing flowing chiffon dresses with three inch high heels, but I sure can wear a chiffon dress with my New Balance sneakers.
Except, I realize that no one in Toronto really wears New Balance. In winter I mainly see Uggs, and in summer I mainly see Toms or Keds or the like, I see boat shoes and docs, but no sneakers. That makes sense since New Balance is hardly a brand that Canadians are raving about.
And since I bought these pairs of NB in China, where it's the shoe that youngsters and hipsters alike choose to wear on a day to day basis I feel pretty out of place when the streets aren't wearing it in Canada. But that's granted given how Canada views New Balance.
In China, the marketing of these shoes are targeted towards youngsters, with commercials that have plotlines about falling in love and pretty people wearing pretty shoes. You don't see New Balance running shoes geared towards running performance in commercials, you see the common shoe styles that are more for walking or casual wear (e.g. NB 574). At a point, New Balance has become a fashion sneaker rather than a running shoe in China.
When you look at the Instagram of various New Balance. The shoes that are heavily advertised in Canada are performance running shoes whereas in Asia (since China has blocked Instagram) you see an emphasis on casual every day shoes with style and comfort placed as a factor before performance running.
Though, what really gets me hooked onto New Balance is their commercials. Brilliantly made, they're called "mini movies" in China and features a story line with actors in it all wearing New Balance shoes. Before I know it, I've been brainwashed into liking a certain pair in a certain frame. Pretty colors, muted film, and a soundtrack that is ethereal and calming, with a script that is sometimes funny, sometimes inspirational, and often thought provoking. New Balance in China puts more effort into their advertising campaigns more than anything else.
When I give into a commercial of New Balance, I'm not giving into pretty shoes, I'm giving into this lifestyle, this image, and this feeling.
I'm a sucker for fashion and comfort, and a sneaker that is able to be pretty and that lets me power through the day is a win win in my book.
My favorite shoe is definitely the 996 for girls which has a variety of colors, prints and designs. It's a thinner shoe compared to the 574 (the most common style number). The 574 has probably the most variety, with new designs every season. It also has the most shoe sizes so many couples opt to match with the 574. I've also been liking the 1300jp, the newer 580, 999 (the lavender ones look sweet), and 1400.
If you want to learn more about the different style numbers of New Balance shoes, check this out: A Quick Guide to New Balance mathematics.
These are my own pair of New Balance:
They're a little beat up, but I still love them.
♚ Yushi
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