Welcome to one of the most BEAUTIFUL pairs of New Balance shoes EVER created. 💐💐💐
Crafted from the combination of two of the most iconic ALD (x) NB collaborations the world has ever seen, we have been blessed beyond belief to be transported back to April of 2019, when both the “Yellow Tongue” and the “Pink Tongue” versions of this majestic set were originally released.
From the Inside Out- the insole of this set is a beautifully cushioned masterpiece, with optimal stability to lock your foot in place. Reminiscent of a work of art from the Victorian era. Floral patterns adorn a cream-based and highly cushioned Aimé Leon Dore sockliner and an insole that showcases the Aimé Leon Dore badge, gently stitched on the heel region. Traveling from the insole outward, we find ourselves admiring a fully cushioned cotton sockliner, keeping the foot warm and wrapped snugly, but loose enough for extreme comfort.
Looking Outward, let’s start with the colorways- stemming from a combination of both pairs from the 2019 “Yellow Tongue” and “Pink Tongue” 997 OG series, we have two completely different shoes. Both bear the tea composed of a beautiful, light greyish suede, with white mesh underlays. The lateral and medial midsection also finds the same suede overlay, with a stoic dark grey suede “N” branding, sitting atop a primary stamp of the same branding, in a slightly lighter hue. Typical of New Balance pairs, this is a true staple that makes the shoe stand out and recognizable from a mile away.
When it comes to the highlight of the shoe, it truly is the “Mismatch” pairing of these two timeless gems that we have been blessed with. If you’ve been around the shoe game long enough and are an avid collector of New Balance (x) ALD collaborations, you probably got the jitters when you caught wind of these back in the day and may have been lucky enough to have purchased one or both of these pairs and if not, this was your shot at true redemption… at least at a 50% ratio.
The right shoe represents the “Yellow Tongue” pair, with a beautiful yellow pebbled leather that runs ½-way down the tongue, with mesh taking over midway and running to the toe box. We find “New Balance Made in the USA” embroidered into both tongues and where this right shoe truly takes a turn, is the stark contrast of the beautiful, dark magenta coloring at the collar of the shoe, which has run from the top four eyelets and up to the ankle. This is contrasted by deep and rich navy blue pebbled leather, that wraps the ankle in comfort, all the way around from the lateral to the medial side. Separating the collar and the foxing, is a deep black strip at the stitch and turn seam, to break up the transition between the magenta and the blue. Stitched into the back heel section, we once again find the “new balance” log, in all lowercase font.
The foxing of both shoes (section around the lower heel portion) is a bit lighter tone of grey in comparison to the “N” that adorns the rear and medial quarter paneling “N” and is a wonderful touch, to truly show off the unique color-blocking that is utilized on each shoe. Below each grey foxing section, which serves as the “balancing act” on the rear of each shoe, the EVA midsole is sleek and perfectly paired- on the right shoe is a dark pine green and on the left, we see a navy blue once again, similar to the tones in the right shoe’s heel wrap. Both colors are dark enough to truly highlight not only the lighter tones of the grey rear quarter panels, but the midsole as well, due to the base of the shoe being a lighter cream color and this truly makes everything work in harmony and POP at the same time. What a masterpiece! Poetry in motion, some might say.
The left shoe is completely different from the right, in terms of colorway, with the tongue representing the “Pink Tongue” pair and while it’s dubbed as “Pink” it harkens to more of a magenta coloring, with the mesh paneling taking over ½-way down. One of my favorite parts of this lot is that on both shoes, the tongue loop is found on the pebbled leather portion, which greatly increases stability of the laces and tongue, as well as durability and really makes the coloring pop against the lighter laces. Stitching on the left shoe’s tongue is the same as that found on the right shoe and then you arrive at the top four eyelets. As if the light pink color hits weren’t beautiful enough on the right shoe, the left shoe shows off a magical and lighter royal blue, which shifts gears to the plush, pink pebbled leather that composes the collar- wrapping around the rear quarter of the shoe, with a deep, dark magenta once again being highlighted at the stitch and turn seam to separate the pastelle-based collection from the grey foxing.
The timeless New Balance ENCAP midsole on each of the 997’s is a cream coloring, beautifully contrasting against the grey suede and transitioning into a much softer, white foam base at the forefoot of each shoe. The rubber outsole and toe tip are a majestic grey color, which again, just makes the cream suede of the mudguard and lateral/medial panels just POP that much more and stand out to make these shoes the true work of art that we’ve always dreamt about.
As stated initially, “From the Inside Out”- when it comes to the outermost component of this shoe, you guessed it and we were completely blessed by it at the same time! This pair comes with not just one… not just two… BUT THREE pairs of laces. Two pairs of cotton laces come carefully wrapped in a rubber band, which are cream colored and white. And then, the cat’s meow- one extra special pair of ALD exclusive laces with ALD branded aglets (found on all three sets of laces, actually) that are unmistakable, timeless and finish off the shoe beautifully. The pre-laced exclusive pair of laces are a white base, with checked pink and blue stripes running diagonal and of all three sets, I would usually opt for the cream pair of laces and swap out the pre-laced set, but on this pair, it was a NO BRAINER! The pink and blue hits on the laces that came strung through the base eyelet, just hit way too hard to pass up and we laced them all the way up stat!
If you missed out on these- and trust me, they dropped seemingly out of nowhere on Thanksgiving Day, with minimal advertising on Instagram except a very cryptic ad, I would highly recommend grabbing a pair, before they moon in price. Comfort-wise, you have the traditional 997 fit, which is a bit more firm than other 990-series models, but definitely provides the optimal support that you are looking for on the forefoot and the soft, sponginess at the toe section. These are most definitely a must for any true NB collector and if you’re an ALD fan, these are a no-brainer.
Happy Hunting and thank you for taking the time to read my very first review for Epsilon Magazine.
Many more to come…
Cheers