What does it say about society today that the shoe that most succinctly and perfectly typifies it also happens to be its ugliest? I am talking, of course, about the New Balance snoafer.

Officially called the 1906L, it boasts the silhouette of a penny loafer and the comfort of a sneaker, though it doesn’t fully belong to either camp. First debuting at Junya Watanabe’s Paris Fashion Week show in 2024 , the snoafer quickly caught everyone’s attention. It didn’t have the sleek glamour of a stiletto or the flash of a maximalist sneaker, but it had something else: an unapologetic practicality wrapped in a self-aware awkwardness.

Social media quickly latched on, with some users poking fun at its dorky aesthetics while others praised its practical, hybrid nature. In TikTok “fit check” videos

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