Shell Toe Gospel

There is one correct answer to the question of what the greatest shoe ever made looks like, and it is white leather with black stripes and a rubber toe cap shaped like a scallop shell. The adidas Originals Superstar. I’ve thought about this more than is probably warranted and the conclusion holds.

In early 2017, adidas released the Superstar Boost—the same silhouette, the same high-quality leather and classic black-and-white colorway, but with a full-length Boost midsole running underneath. You can barely see it; it shows only at the outsole and through a Boost plate at the midarch. Gold details on the tongue. It’s a subtle update. The shoe doesn’t need reinventing, and adidas didn’t reinvent it—they just made it more comfortable to stand in all day, which was the only thing it was ever missing.

I never needed a reason to buy another pair. This counts as one anyway.