It's a myspace-page-level cliche that there's beauty in ugliness, but it's true. Look at a pug. Ugly, but strangely appealing little fellows. New Balance's running shoes have for decades been at the forefront of shoe technology but occasionally at the expense of design. The appeal is that the blunt, overwhelmingly gray, function-over-form feel of New Balance shoes is like comfort food for your feet.
That blank slate look has made basic New Balance sneakers very adaptable. Forever, New Balance sneakers have been the pick for the world's top runners. They built their rep making orthotic insoles for workers in the early part of the 20th century, and adapted their technology to athletics later. They're still one of the few running shoes makers that offers a variety of widths in most models to promise a good fit for any foot. In the 1990s, New Balance 574s were a common site at straightedge hardcore shows. They go well with Earth Crisis shirts, I guess. But they're phenomenally wearable; the new New Balance 993 even made a recent appearance in an Engineered Garments lookbook alongside other made-in-USA stalwarts like Russell Moccasins.
New Balance is the only outfit still making athletic shoes in the United States. Although not all of their shoes are made stateside (in fact, some are made in the UK), New Balance makes it a point to support their factories in New England, in addition to supporting your feet.