New Balance Wmns 574 Core 'Grey'
Colorway: Grey/White · Style code: WL574EG · Release date: 2019 · Price: $185 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: New Balance Wmns 574 'Sea Salt Real Pink' (WL5742BA) · New Balance Wmns 574 'Pink Sugar' (WL5742BB) · New Balance Wmns 574 'Reflection Spring Sky' (WL5742BC) · New Balance Wmns 574 Rugged 'Angora Granite' (WL574AA2) · New Balance Wmns 574 'Bright Lavender' (WL574AG2)
New Balance started in Boston in 1906 selling arch supports, not shoes, and did not build a running shoe until 1960, when the Trackster arrived as the first offered in multiple widths. Jim Davis bought the company in 1972 and grew it through the running boom that followed.
The 574 was never meant to be its emblem. The 500 series was aimed at people running off tarmac, and by the late 1980s New Balance wanted a cheaper way into it. Steven Smith assembled one in 1988 out of parts that already existed: the upper from the pared-back 576, the sole unit from a 577 that never reached production. The result kept the series' suede, mesh and coarse outsole, and undercut the models it borrowed from.
Underfoot it uses ENCAP, a soft block of EVA held inside a firmer plastic ring at the heel, which is what gives the midsole its stability without making it feel hard.
That compromise of a shoe has since become the one most people picture when the brand is mentioned. This women's version is the plainest expression of it: grey through the suede and mesh, priced at $80.