New Balance 990v2 by Teddy Santis
I feel as if I say this with every V2 that I review from teddy, but this design was executed perfectly & the choice of materials truly shine on this pair. Again, this is one of those pairs that is hard to believe it's a GR.
Materials: this is probably a hot take, but imo this is the best pair they have done in terms of quality so far. My favorite part is the workwear brown nubuck on the toe cap. It is very soft to touch & has a nice color change while brushing across it. Next up would be on the lateral & medial sides which consists of this soft brown suede that reminds me of a teddy pair for some reason 🤷 lol. The mesh is a white squiggly mesh, which is my personal favorite & feels the best on feet imo. Lastly, on the heel it is a soft long hair suede in a coffee shade. Overall, this is personally my favorite V2 that he has done so far in terms of materials.
Comfort/Sizing: the comfort of a 990v2, imo, is soft but more on the firmer side. It is squishy, just not as squishy as the 990v3 and so on. This is something that could easily be worn all day without any issues. In terms of sizing, I grabbed a 8 due to availability & tbh they fit me fine, but I personally would recommend going down a half size.
Overall Opinion: tbh, this is one my favorite V2's that he has designed from a quality standpoint. I love the materials he chose to use & there's something about the way the white mesh contrasts with the brown hits. It's nice to finally have a brown v2 in the rotation. Overall, if you slept on this pair, I wouldn't. This feels like how the amethyst V3 was and feels like a nice 1 off from the rest of the set.
If you made it this far, I wanted to say thank you for taking the time out of your night to read my thoughts. Thank you for the continued support & I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week 🫶
-riblets