I was twenty. I was at my folks’ house in Little Rock, about to leave, and I’d somehow misplaced my shoes. I rummaged through the bottom of my dad’s closet and found these sand-colored shoes that looked like moccasins. What the hell, I thought, yanked them out of the pile, and threw them on. Right off I liked the way they hugged my foot. But it was when I got up and took a few steps, when it felt like I was walking on marshmallows, that I knew my feet had met their soulmate. I found out they were called Clarks Wallabees, and for the past 19 years, I have worn little else.

The Wallabees’ simple design and crepe rubber soles make them exceptionally comfortable, with a casual style versatile enough that you can travel with a single pair of shoes. You can beat foreign sidewalks or wander ruins all day, then go to a reasonably fancy restaurant that same night. And even though a pair of Wallabees seems to last forever, the shoe’s design is so simple that if you run into trouble during your travels you can easily find someone to fix them for cheap.