crooked tongues magazine News Features

The New Balance 1500 is a shoe that we love at Crooked Tongues. After all, we've reworked it 4 times. This late 1988 release has all the necessary credentials — love from the UK, love from the shoplifting breed of NYC cool kids on its original release and actual running wear before it got superseded. If you think the wild 2012 prices of Jordan boxsets are crazy, consider the $130+ tags on shoes like this 23 years ago. New Balance had premium performance on lock. There's definitely been some changes to this shoe in the last couple of years, with that more angular nose replaced by something a little rounder, but we remain fans and would pick the Flimby edition over the Asian-made joints. There's something about the 1500 and we CTers have been all over the NB brand's heritage output for significantly longer than the style bloggers come-lately types who are all over the 'N's at the moment will be buying up lifestyle releases long after the craze subsides. This trio that just arrived in the Crooked Tongues store is keeping it conservative, with the M1500UC's navy and grey looking ultra neutral and the suede-aided M1500GSW in green, grey and black and M1500VSW in blue, grey and black giving it a little more oomph. The green in particular is one of the best 1500s we've seen in a minute and with these, new 577s and — from the other side of the Atlantic — some 1300s, 1400s, 996s and 998s set to land soon are all keeping the rivals on their toes but delivering some more localised build. How many other brands can deliver that?