Good looking and made right here, the New Balance Made in USA collection perfectly combines so many good things in one package. If it were up to me, New Balance would be on everyone’s feet and in everyman’s closet. They are the true American sneaker. It’s not everyday that a company can hit the style notes and get the pedigree all together in one pleasing package. The New Balance Made in the USA collection is just that.

As I said in a previous post, I can’t settle on just one pair, I’m loyal to several styles. I love how they look and at the same time, I believe in the message. While the 993 and the 996 are my personal favorites, the 1300s have played a big part in my wardrobe this summer. I love the versatility they possess. If I had to travel with one pair of sneakers, these would be the ones. They’d be with me on the plane and they would be with me everywhere else. They’re about as classic as it gets.

A few years back New Balance made a nice little video about one of its factories that still makes shoes up in Maine. It was a moving story told by the good people who work in that plant day-in and day-out. That’s what makes New Balance so special. I think about those folks when I put on my shoes in the morning. I think about the authenticity when I wear them everyday and the Made in USA on the label means everything to me. (One out of every four pairs of shoes New Balance sells in the USA is made or assembled here. Where the domestic value is at least 70%, New Balance labels its shoes “Made in the USA.”) That’s what makes these shoes the only true American sneaker. [NEW BALANCE]