These shoes are hard to describe: I thought they were immensely ugly in the pictures but needed a shoe that was like an athletic shoe in every respect but its appearance, so I decided to give these a shot.  I'm glad I did!  They have all the cushion and support of the NB athletic shoe, and aren't nearly as ugly on the feet as they appear in the pics.  They'll never be worn to the Oscars, obviously, but in anything less casual than evening wear I think they'll be fine.  And -- did I mention? -- they are extremely comfortable.  I ordered 10 2E and found them true to size.