Nike Dunk Low Off White/Diffused Taupe

Two combinations. Tonal: cream, oatmeal or sand trousers with an ecru overshirt, the two neutrals in the shoe extending the same palette down to the floor. Grounded: dark brown or olive trousers, a white tee and a tan jacket, the taupe overlay tying into the warm tones while the off white keeps things light. This palette works in warm weather and dusty cities better than a white pair, and it pairs with brown leather goods in a way white never does. Dunks fit true. Keep them dry, since taupe watermarks, and clean promptly with foam. Store with paper in the toe box and out of direct sun to stop the off white shifting yellow.

Nike only became Nike in 1972, when Blue Ribbon Sports ended its distribution relationship with Onitsuka Tiger and launched a line under its own name, one coined by employee Jeff Johnson and marked by a Swoosh drawn by a graphic design student, Carolyn Davidson, first used in June 1971. Everything since has been an argument about how loud that mark should be. A pair of neutrals turns the volume down as far as it goes, which is a legitimate position for a brand whose models moved from sport into urban and hip hop dress and then into ordinary casual wardrobes. Sometimes the most worn version of a famous shoe is the one that stops announcing itself.

A Dunk Low is a low collar, a padded ankle, a two panel leather style upper and a flat rubber cup sole that keeps you close to the ground. With two neutrals this close in value, the shoe depends entirely on material texture and the crispness of the panel edges, since colour is doing none of the work. Taupe is a forgiving tone in daily use, hiding dust in a way white cannot, though it does show water marks and darkens where it gets handled. Protect before first wear, clean with a foam and a soft brush rather than soaking, and treat the off white sections separately so the taupe does not pick up cleaner residue and dry patchy.