When you think about New Balance, you think about dad shoes. Those good old chunky 2000s runners loved by dads in Ohio and semi-ironically worn by just about everyone else are what NB’s all about. 

The American brand is an authority in clunky elderly sneakers, but clunky elderly sandals? Not so much. Or at least that was the case up until this summer. 

Someone in the New Balance HQ clearly decided this’ll be the year that New Balance’s sandal game catches up to its sneakers, because all of the brand's best new shoes are strap-wielding slip-ons.

Conveniently for New Balance, it already had a huge archive to work with, which has resulted in its normal slides becoming wavy see-through statement pieces and, in the case of the brand's newest viral sandal, the MT2, a barefoot 2010s MT10 model becoming a sleek sandalfied hybrid shoe.

Tokyo Design Studio, an ambiguous design incubator pushing out some of NB’s most experimental sneakers, is responsible for the MT2 and its updated textured mesh upper, thick velcro strap, and tasteful new colorways — the pastel mint green number being a stand-out.

Meanwhile, one of the Tokyo Design Studio’s finest archival sandal bangers is also being re-issued in the form of the HIESV1, a chunky dad-shoe coded mule with that same winning combination of thick mesh uppers and durable techy straps. Also on the thicker side of things are the Rover Clog, which sits somewhere between a Birkenstock Boston and UGG boot (a wild combination, I know), the new Breeze Mary Jane, essentially a 99x-series dad shoe turned strapping slip-on, and the 9060Sv1, a clunky New Balance mainstay sneaker remade into a backless sandal hybrid.

Now we’re getting onto the second type of sandal in New Balance’s rapidly expanding range: The ones built from pre-existing sneaker favorites. And this ilk of breezy summer sandals has one clear standout in the 204v.

What was originally a Miu Miu-flavored flat runner aimed squarely at today's thin sneaker revolution, the 204 has evolved into a retro-futuristic, strap-up, asymmetrically paneled sandal hybrid. Its “Neo flame” red and royal blue colorways aid in stripping the shoe of much of its clean aesthetic, imbuing it with a techier and downright weirder look that’s already landed it on our best sneaker releases roundup.

Honestly, though, all of these many sandals are amongst the best footwear releases right now. While New Balance continues plugging away with its classic dad shoes, there's no looking away from its wild new sandals.

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