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Can a person own too many pairs of shoes? As an avid shoe collector, that’s a question I have to contemplate whenever I find myself eyeing a fresh pair of sleek dress shoes or the latest sneaker drops, especially when you consider the cost of a fresh footwear rotation for the warm weather season. Most men will pare down their summer shoe game to one pair of men’s white sneakers and their go-to flip flops. No judgment here, but those two footwear essentials won’t cover all your bases. I, myself, noticed a relatively small-yet-significant gap in my summer shoe situation — that’s where HEYDUDE’s Wally Palm shoes come in.
These light-as-a-feather, slip-on shoes appear to be a no-brainer choice for any and all of your summer adventures. A breathable canvas upper, combined with supportive, cloud-like cushioning, make them an ideal choice for daily wear. Whether you live in a major city, or are spending your summer seaside, the HEYDUDE Wally shoes have more versatility than a pair of leather sandals or rubber shower slides. Sure, you can wear your running shoes for walking around town, but why put more miles on your pricey performance kicks when this laid-back style keeps you moving from day to night? Plus, the machine-washable shoe has Flex and Fold technology that makes the Wally an easy solution for lightweight travel. This one-and-done casual summer shoe with an affordable price tag might be just what my shoe rack is missing.
Admittedly, I’ve never tested a pair of HEYDUDE shoes, but the word-of-mouth buzz around the brand’s offerings are something this longtime shopping editor couldn’t discount. After reading through an overwhelming amount of enthusiastic customer reviews and watching several TikTok videos (where video reviews for the brand collectively have over 623 million views), I knew it was time to test out the HEYDUDE Wally style.
HeyDude Wally Palm Slip-On Shoes
The Style
If you’re more of a fashion-first shoe shopper, you’ll appreciate the Wally’s boat shoe-adjacent design. The return of preppy dressing calls for the classic deck shoes beloved by style icons like Paul Newman and John F. Kennedy. However, your standard boat shoes lack the bouncy, supportive feel you get with the HEYDUDE Wally shoes. Both Newman and Kennedy had a tendency to wear socks with their boat shoes — which can be considered sacrilege to classic menswear style savants — but Wally’s have a cotton-lining and a cushioned ankle collar for added comfort should you decide to sport these bad boys sans socks.
What initially attracted my eyes to the Wally Palm style is the abstract palm-print design on the shoe’s upper. It has a Warhol-esque, screen-print effect that subtly nods to the tropical leaf design by comparison to the ostentatious Hawaiian “dad style” shirt. The Wally Palm’s painterly effect provides a more effortlessly cool and casual vibe that both fashion labels and male consumers have gravitated towards in recent years. The white and tan color combination adds to the shoe’s versatility; it can easily relax the look of a white button-down shirt and chinos outfit, or provide the perfect finishing touch to a simple tee and slim-fit cargo pants style equation. Abrasions to the HEYDUDE Wally shoe’s upper will add even more cool factor to the design. (Since the shoe is pretty durable, I might go ahead and rub some sandpaper to the uppers’ edges for a more rough-and-tumbled effect.)
For a business casual day at the Footwear News office, I kept the look tonal by sporting the fresh pair with pleated chinos and an oatmeal-colored short-sleeve knit shirt. On weekends, I styled the Wally Palms in a more playful way with patchwork pants and a casual blue-striped button down, taking a bit of inspiration from Junya Watanabe’s spring 2023 collection that features Warhol motifs.
The Fit
The HEYDUDE Wally Palm fits true to size, but some reviewers suggest going up a size. In my experience, as someone who tends to wear half sizes, I found the next size up to have just the right amount of roominess to wear with or without socks. The sizing fits great for my slightly wider feet that can feel cramped in narrow toe boxes.
The Feel
There’s no denying the shoe’s soft cushioning and slight bounce, but by comparison to maximum cushioned running shoes, it’s more neutral than overly plush, which actually makes it more appealing for men who prefer some more stability. The part that really surprised me was how incredibly lightweight the HEYDUDE Wally shoes truly are; they’re lighter than my iPhone.
Are the HEYDUDE Wally Shoes Good for Sweaty Feet?
Breathable canvas makes it easy to keep your feet cool in the summer sun, but for men planning to wear HEYDUDE Wally’s all day, every day, you might need to toss these slip-ons in the washer machine every couple of weeks. If this sounds like you, check out HEYDUDE’s care guide. There are dozens of TikTok videos hacks for cleaning the removable insoles in HEYDUDE shoes, but if you’re seriously concerned with keeping them fresh, thousands of customers have tried using a no-show sock to cover the insole for an added layer of odor protection. For fashionable folks, pairing the Wally Palm shoes with a ribbed neutral-colored sock and chino shorts is a trendy way to keep odor at bay.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re looking for a daily men’s walking shoe, lightweight travel footwear, or simply something that’s comfy and won’t break the bank, the HEYDUDE Wally Palm shoes are a perfect fit for your needs. I can’t guarantee I won’t continue to stock up on more fun footwear for the season, but either way, I know the Wally shoes have me covered for fun in the sun.
Related: The Most Comfortable Shoes for Men
Meet the Author
Adam Mansuroglu is the Director of Commerce for Footwear News and WWD, overseeing strategy for shopping content on both brands, along with writing and editing shopping guides, product reviews, and shopping trend stories across fashion, beauty, home and lifestyle product categories for men and women. Prior to his current role, Mansuroglu was a fashion editor and stylist at Cosmopolitan Magazine, Style Editor at BestProducts.com, and Senior Style and Gear Editor at Men’s Health Magazine where he edited the annual Men’s Health Sneaker Awards. Mansuroglu has been tapped as a shopping expert for editorial websites such as Wirecutter, and his writing has also appeared in Out Magazine, Esquire and other publications. Mansuroglu tested the HEYDUDE Wally Palm Shoes over a two-week period, giving his 100+ pairs of shoes and sneakers in his closet a break.
