Crocs' surprisingly suave suede lace-up shoe is not a clog. But it's also not a sneaker-loafer. Those ubiquitous hybrid shoes had zero influence on Crocs' tasteful Gallery Shoe — this one is straight from the archives. Sort of.

Debuted by Crocs overseer Ryan Forsyth on Instagram, the Gallery Shoe may not look like any Crocs you've ever seen but that doesn't make it an object of trend.

Crocs' Gallery Shoe is actually an intelligent revamping of the strange Tideline Sport slip-on from 2012, itself a pretty bizarre hybrid shoe that looks less sneaker-loafer than high-tech HeyDude. The Gallery Shoe is a improvement.

And though Crocs with laces are becoming less of a novelty with every outré collaboration that follows in the wake of Salehe Bembury's Juniper sneaker, the Gallery Shoe is a cut above.

And, as Forsyth noted with bemusement, it's not really a sneaker-loafer.

The Gallery Shoe is a moc-toed oddity, don't misunderstand. It's just that this thing fits better into the realm of tyrolean shoes à la Paraboot's Michael or the many variations of the snub-nosed Clarks Wallabee.

You can see where the sneaker-loafer buzz may come from — to the footwear neophyte, a laced-up grey or beige suede upper stuck to a rugged sole unit might seem of a piece with the weirdo shoe of right now.

But though this may be fresh terrain for Crocs, it's not the same "fresh" terrain currently being explored by just about every other name in footwear. The reason that the Gallery Shoe works is because its obvious good looks were born of Crocs heritage, heritage only obvious once you glimpse the pedigree.

Once you get it, though, it takes the Gallery Shoe from being merely handsome to being an object of mild awe. Crocs made this? Yeah, Crocs made this.

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