Where can a middle aged guy get plain sneakers these days?

Nowhere, that's where.

Remember Payless ShoeSource? The last one I ever visited was in 2019. This was right before they closed up shop.

When I say "closed up shop", that doesn't mean out-of-business. Payless ShoeSource still exists as an online retailer, although they just go by Payless now.

I am a Gen-X, born in the 1970s. The sneakers we wore back in the day were plain, but good. They all looked decent, didn't have any wild styles and were made for sport. As a daily wearer shoe, these were great.

One of the few plain sneakers left that's still like this is the New Balance 608; this is what I wear currently.

The 608 is one of the very few sneakers you can get in plain white or plain black. In fact, New Balance even offers this model in 100% white or 100% black. It's also one of the few sneakers you can get in a proper plain style that is wide, and I have wide feet. Not clown-shoes big, but wide.

I used to go to Payless ShoeSource to get plain sneakers, but after their stores shuttered, finding something plain in my size required me to buy it online.

Oh, I've tried other stores. Cheap places, upscale and even a few high-end ones. All they had were just a scant few plain sneaker offerings, and when they did have them, they were never in my size.

Should I just go sandal?

I'm considering it.

A sandal type I like is the fisherman sandal with a closed toe. Most of these are brown and look traditional with very little goofy style stuff going on.

With sandals I actually have more choice than I do with sneakers, so that might be the way to go.

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Published 2021 Oct 14