Customer Reviews New Balance Classics WL574

This shoe looks so cute online and so much like a barge in real life. I was expecting a wide forefoot and narrow heel based on other reviews. The heel was really wide! The shoes looked almost rectangular. Maybe they would work for someone who had custom orthotics. Thankfully, because I only wore them around the house & Zappos is awesome, they can be returned.

Incredibly uncomfortable, but I loved the look, so I put in orthotics and they're slightly better, but still are extremely hard and have terrible pressure areas all around the tongue and laces.

Be careful if you are buying these to work out in! They have a super slippery lining that your foot can slip around in. I fell wearing these shoes and my foot was wrung like a dishrag inside the shoe causing a severe sprain, tearing the ligaments in my foot. Your feet slip and slide around in these shoes! I would never wear them to work out! They are really cute, but so impractical and really kind of dangerous for an athletic sneaker. Buyer beware!

They are a little heavy and stiff. Requires some breaking in time. Very deep heel bed. Because they are hot, I won't wear in the summer months.

This pair of sneakers are the most uncomfortable pair of New Balances I have ever worn but since it looks good and cool on my feet I am willing to overlook its shortcomings. It has no arch support whatsoever. It feels like you are walking on asphalt.

Based on the reviews, I bought these wanting comfortable shoes. I found these to be the opposite. My heels started hurting within 30 minutes then the rest of my feet. I am sad as they are cute shoes. Too bad they did not have the cushioning that I was looking for.

After wearing this shoe for 4 months I realize it doesn't have very good cushioning or movement for the foot. This shoe made my ankle hurt very frequently when normally it's not much of an issue (had a break in my ankle 10 years ago when I was in high school & have to wear good shoes otherwise I get occasional pain when walking). I just ordered a new pair of Asics gel shoes & it was night & day in the difference I could feel in cushioning & the way the shoe moves with my foot when walking.

These new balance hurt my feet. Mine a cobalt blue which you don't see anymore. I have even tried wearing Superfeet in them and they still hurt my feet. There is not enough arch support for me. I have high arches with ball of the feet and heal pain. These do not help. I would not repurchase.

The shoe felt "odd" from previous New Balance shoes - awkwardly wider than medium - but tow box very shallow so that shoe pressed down on big toe - even with an exchange for a larger size. I am accustomed to a great fit from New Balance - these seemed much cheaper and made for someone with rectangular feet ( it that is even possible) Sigh! must return.

They looks great. Retro but stylish. Very uncomfortable. Not well padded. Weird crease at the logo that folds in when the shoe flexes and is uncomfortable. I would return them but I threw away the box.

The blue banding on the tongue cut into my shin

This is the second pair of the same shoe, but this shoe feels smaller than my first pair. It is actually uncomfortable and will need to return.

Somehow too small and too big at the same time. Too tight in the tow but my heels were slipping out.

The width and size were fine, but I have some major problems with my feet, my back and I walk with a cane. So while the shoes were great the first few times I wore them, they quickly wore down and provided little or no support after a few weeks. "You get what you pay for" is the case here and a shoe that costs less than about $130 isn't going to be made well enough to hold up for someone with orthopedic issues.

I have flat feet and plantar faciiitis. These shoes were recommended by several sites for people with plantar faciitis. I was looking for really good arch support to take my weight off of my heels. This shoe did not have that. I don't want to have to insert an additional footbed with an arch in it,. I want some walking shoes that have built in arches. So I'm sending them back.

These shoes are cute and I get a lot of compliments on them, but they are uncomfortable! It's the only pair of New Balances I've ever gotten that aren't comfortable. They are really stiff, and tight on the tongue/eye lace area so it digs into the top of my foot. I thought I could break them in, but no luck. Ended up wearing them too much to return.

I really wanted these to work, because they are so cute. Unfortunately the heel is just way to wide. They felt pretty true to size in length, but my heels just wouldn't stay put.

Defective product and not returnable! Purchased as a Christmas gift for my wife. She's a huge fan of the 574 and has at least 10 pairs in various colors. She wore these twice to work (in an office) and noticed the sole tread peeling in the inside heel area. I reached out to Zappos and they offered nothing, only that the return window had closed and maybe I could "try the factory who made them". All I was looking for was to exchange for a new pair. I find the policy on defects totally incomprehensible, especially considering they portray themselves as customer focused. Really, really poor. Buyer Beware.

The exposed foam on the tongue looks cheap and tacky.

The top edge of the tongue is quite uncomfortable and rubbed a sore spot on both legs when wearing low socks.