There has never been a Vans Half Cab like the one JJJJound dropped last April, although you wouldn’t know it. In a quintessentially JJJJound move, the Canadian menswear label delivered a silhouette-altering update so lowkey most people missed it. Even the re-release of that historic Vans sneaker is so lowkey that it flew entirely under the radar. 

The JJJJound x Vans OTW Half Cab, a shoe that swiftly sailed off the shelves this time last year, has quietly reappeared.

The soft suede of Vans’ high-end OTW line still covers the upper, realized in the same two classic colorways as before, black and dusty burgundy, and the shape is still slightly sleeker than your average Half Cab.

JJJJound’s most far-reaching update is removing the padding from the ankle and tongue for the first time in the 35-year-old skate shoe’s history, meaning less protection for skaters but a more streamlined shape. It’s “the perfect shoe for the retired skaters,” according to JJJJound. 

It’s also the perfect example of what makes JJJJound’s sneakers so captivating. 

The 20-year-old moodboard-turned-authority-in-refined-basics drops a slew of new shoes every season, from French gardening clogs to ASICS runners. They’re all as handsome as they are deceivingly simple.

Its Crocs Clogs are just the right shade of milky white, its normal Superstars are actually made in Germany of supple leather with a brown leather lining that ever-so-slightly pokes out, and its rare flashes of color are distinctly considered.

JJJJound’s minimal shoes are just like its clothes, in that they’re all defined by small perfect details that add up to an excellent final product, which inevitably sells out.

The Vans Half Cab is different, though. Not because it isn’t excellent, but because its re-release has been so quiet, with not even an Instagram post to announce its release, that it’s not sold out on Vans’ website. Yet.

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