No brand has cornered the dad shoe market like New Balance and it didn’t happen overnight. The Boston brand indirectly created dad shoe heaven over decades of beating the competition in comfort.

Creating the most comfortable running shoes on the market indirectly affected the visuals of the shoes, too. Chunky sole units and layered uppers that steered clear of bold running tropes. This DNA still runs through the brand’s selection, including modern iterations like the New Balance 1890 in Dark Silver Metallic.

The New Balance 1890 never struggled to have an impact. While many modern silhouettes often take time to break into popularity, the 1890 was lucky to be introduced with the help of Action Bronson’s Baklava colorways, setting the tone for this young silhouette’s life.

Now, the design is being treated to a wider, general rollout but luckily the colorways haven’t taken a hit. The New Balance 1890 Dark Silver Metallic perfectly frames the engineered upper as the dad shoe of the future.

The beauty of this colorway centers on subtle contrasts. Take the baby blue mesh base layer, for example, which softly opposes the dusty red cushioning at the midsole.

The silhouette itself presents a contrast: it borrows so many cues from its predecessors which popularized the chunky dad shoe look, but at the same time, its slimmed-down upper lightens the design for a take on the style that looks firmly to what’s to come rather than nostalgia.

In a world where techy silhouettes are often uncreatively dressed in the techiest colorways, the New Balance 1890 Dark Silver Metallic proves that sometimes opposing forces can be the best couples.

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