Peak dad shoe culture has evolved, and it has done so by removing the shoe part entirely. New Balance, the brand that made chunky sneakers cool again (or cool for the first time, depending on who you ask), has taken their beloved 9060 and done the unthinkable - they've turned it into a clog.
Yes, a clog. As in, slide-on, heel-exposed, summer-ready footwear that your grandfather wore in the garden and your favorite influencer now wears to brunch.
Why this actually makes perfect sense
Here's the thing about the 9060 - it was already doing a lot of heavy lifting aesthetically. The chunky silhouette, the layered midsole, that unmistakable dad-shoe energy that somehow became high fashion. All of those visual wins are still fully present in the sandal version. New Balance essentially just liberated your heel from the equation.
According to Highsnobiety, who covered the release, the 9060 sandal carries over all the best design elements of the original sneaker while translating them into a clog format that actually reads as genuinely stylish. Not "stylish for a clog." Just stylish, full stop.
The summer shoe problem, solved
Every summer, sneakerheads face an existential crisis. It's too hot for their beloved chunky trainers, but flip-flops feel like a betrayal of everything they stand for aesthetically. Slides are fine but boring. Regular sandals require a level of foot confidence that not everyone possesses.
The 9060 sandal is an elegant solution to this very specific, very real problem. You get to keep the chunky platform energy. You get to stay on-brand with your New Balance loyalty. And crucially, your feet get to breathe like the sweaty little guys they are.
Dad shoe or dad clog - does the distinction even matter anymore?
At this point in the cultural timeline, "dad shoe" is just a compliment. New Balance leaned into that identity harder than anyone, and now they're extending the universe logically. First they took the chunky sneaker mainstream. Now they're doing the same for the humble clog.
Birkenstocks have been doing this for decades, of course, but there's something different about a performance-adjacent brand throwing their chunkiest silhouette into the summer sandal ring. It feels less like a lifestyle brand play and more like a genuine product evolution.
Is this the future of footwear? Probably not entirely. But is it a very good shoe for people who already own three pairs of 9060s and desperately needed a hot-weather option that doesn't clash with their existing rotation? Absolutely yes.
Your dad would wear these. That's the highest compliment we know how to give.
