New Balance 1200

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4.5 / 5

Andi C   11/23/2009

I love the look of these shoes. Its about time NB came out with 'prettier' shoes. In the past I've put up with some seriously ugly shoes just because they were so darn comfy. I saw these and thought I'd give them a try. I don't have very strong arches and found these shoes didn't give me the arch support I needed. In addition the insoles didn't provide much cushioning. My first week of wearing these was painful and I'd never experiences that in any NB shoe before. (I wear these at work, which is 12+ hours on concrete.) I invested in 2 different mid quality insoles without luck and eventually had to get some top quality ones (that were a bit pricey, but guaranteed for comfort). Now I'm happy. I like the knobby laces. When I first saw them I wasn't so sure I liked them, but now think they add to the look of the shoe. Best part of them is they NEVER come accidentally untied. I hope I'll be able to purchase them separately if I ever need to. The balance support is great. I also really like the breathabilty. I haven't figured out how to clean them yet, and that does have me a bit concerned. Its difficult to tell from the picture, but these shoes have like a double layer of 2 different sizes of mesh. The inner mesh has larger holes and is covered by a mess that reminds me of ribbed nylons. That doesn't sound as good as it looks. The solid outer parts of the shoe upper are a pearly pink with a metallic sheen that's quiet classy! The overall look is awesome, just not sure how to clean the mess part.

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Heather M.   10/8/2009

Loved these shoes! They are comfortable with plenty of cushioning and arch support. They fit very well (no size issues). They do have "bumpy" laces, which I wasn't sure about, but I haven't had any problems threading or tying them. I also like the way the tennis shoe, 803, fits and feels, so if you like/dislike 803, you'll probably feel the same about the 1200s.

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