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For a shoe that's so straightforward, the adidas Tobacco seems to attract a certain devotee who can enjoy the finer things in life. Finer things like a low profile trainer that isn't made for much else than just enjoying your everyday existence. Introduced in the very early 1970s, this was a shoe that seemed to chill while adidas innovated with Americanas and Marathons. It is what it is. That's not to say that the Tobacco doesn't bear a slight resemblance to the indoor training masterpieces developed in the years preceding it, but in a world where legal departments and a culture of lawsuits would automatically kill the smoking related overtones of a shoe like this if it was developed today (we're still huge fans of the Phillies Blunt Superstar colourway that felt like a smart in-joke), there's a magic to this model.

If you're still wondering what the fuss is about, maybe you should move on, but those that understand, appreciate this model. And whereas many adidas shoes that have been elevated to the level of Holy Grail were rarely and barely seen by the masses claiming initial ownership, the Tobacco was something of a strong seller in its day, provided you lived in the right region. Part of a leisure shoe collection, alongside the California in brown suede with a black midsole and ridged gum outsole, the Florida in a beige tone with the black midsole and a crepe outsole plus the Riviera in a similarly light tone with a court-style gum sole unit that matches the Tobacco. This was the sole survivor, slotting into a market that called for a shoe that could potentially perform, but was suited for easygoing wear.

In French-made form, the Tobacco was pitched alongside the Laver, the Stan, the SL 76 and the Gazelle. That Tobacco name comes from the shade of suede used, with a texture and depth that's rarely seen in today's shelves of synthesised shoe memories. Strangely big in Canada (the majority of the ads below are Canadian), production seemed to continue uninterrupted to around 1984. Naturally changes occurred along the way, but the 1995 retro (for the Harputs faithful) and lesser retros in 2003 and around 2008 have baited the purists a little. It’s meant to be about a certain shade of brown. There might have been navy variations on the production line at one time, but weaves and wintery linings were an odd move.

These versions for a January release mix and match the materials, with suede and leather blended, offering a blue and a black variation. It all feels a little more rushed than the relaxed look of the original, but there's still plenty of merit here — even if the titular colour is really as integral to the shoe as the shape of the damned thing — with the shoe just working as a great exercise in non-exercise footwear. Both colours drop in the New Year and they'll be up in the Crooked Tongues store store to order this week.