MY BLUE SUEDE SHOES

When I finally said, "Fuck it," I realized I could rock the Wallabees I'd always wanted to wear

- MICHAEL B. DOUGHERTY

SOMETIME IN THE '90S, WHEN I WAS AT STONEHILL College, my friend Matt declared, "You need to dress more hip-hop." We loved rap, but many of its sartorial signifiers didn't feel right for me. Karl Kani was overcooked, Timberland was too try-hard, Polo was too expensive, and FUBU was, well, not something I should try to pull off.

There was one hip-hop favorite that I aspired to wear, though: the Clarks Wallabee.