Few shoes have lived as many lives as the Clarks Wallabee. It started as a moccasin-style shoe from a buttoned-up English shoemaker, became a favorite of Jamaican dancehall style, turned into a uniform for New York rap, crossed into Britpop and football terrace culture, and is now one of the most collaborated-on silhouettes in fashion. It looks almost too simple: a soft suede upper, a lace or two, and a thick, honey-colored crepe sole. That simplicity is exactly why it has lasted nearly six decades.
With Wallabee Day coming up on April 26, here is everything you need to know about the shoe: where it came from, how it is made, the styles worth knowing and how to wear it.
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Where the Wallabee came from
Clarks has been making shoes in the village of Street, in Somerset, England, since the 19th century, but the Wallabee was a break from everything the company had made before. According to Clarks, Lance Clark created the Wallabee in 1968, inspired by a moccasin called the "Grasshopper" made by the German shoe company Sioux. The first pairs were made in Kilkenny, Ireland.
British shoppers at the time found it too radical. Most men's shoes were pointed or rounded and stiff, and this was a soft, foot-shaped, lace-up moccasin on a bouncy crepe sole. America was more open to it. To launch the shoe there, Clarks put up what it describes as the largest billboard North America had ever seen, 185 by 45 feet, calling the Wallabee "Tough'n'Trendy."
Lance Clark belonged to a family of designers. His relative Nathan Clark had created the Desert Boot in 1950, and Lance followed the Wallabee with the Desert Trek in 1972. Today all three sit together in Clarks Originals, the line the company set up in 1994 to look after its most enduring designs.
Why April 26 is Wallabee Day
The date comes from a piece of Clarks lore. As the company tells it, on April 26, 1971, customs officers at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport began assembling cages for a delivery of 4,176 Wallabees expected from Clarks, believing a shipment of live wallabies was on its way. They even called Clarks to ask whether the animals were safe to handle and why the paperwork was missing. The crates, of course, were full of shoes. Clarks began celebrating Wallabee Day every April 26 in 2024, usually with special releases.
How a Wallabee is made
The design is clever in its simplicity. The upper is made from just two pieces of suede, using what Clarks calls tubular construction: the leather wraps all the way around the foot like a moccasin, instead of being stretched over a stiff board and glued. The vamp, the top panel over the toes, is hand-sewn with extra-thick waxed thread so the shoe keeps its shape.
The sole is natural crepe, made from latex tapped from the para rubber tree, which is mixed, dried and rolled into sheets. Crepe is springy, flexible and grippy, and it is what gives the Wallabee its cushioned, almost pillowy walk. It also picks up dirt and darkens with wear, which fans see as part of the charm.
From Kingston to Staten Island
Clarks became a status symbol in Jamaica, where the shoes were celebrated in dancehall lyrics and worn as a sign of style. When Jamaican immigrants arrived in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s, they brought that love of Clarks with them. Clarks traced that story in its short film Clarks and New York: Soles of the City, directed by Set Free Richardson, which features Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, the graffiti artist Futura, the Kith founder Ronnie Fieg and others describing their first pairs.
As hip-hop grew from a local scene into a global force, the Wallabee became part of the look for artists like Run-DMC, Slick Rick and KRS-One. Then, in the 1990s, the Wu-Tang Clan from Staten Island made it their own. Ghostface Killah even called himself the "Wally Champ." For a generation of rap fans, a fresh pair of Wallabees meant as much as any sneaker.
In the UK, the shoe followed a different path, becoming a staple of Britpop bands and football fans in the 1990s, part of the same casual uniform that included Adidas trainers and Dr. Martens boots.
The styles to know
Wallabee (low). The original. A low-cut moccasin shoe with a single lace, it is the most versatile version, at home with jeans, chinos or shorts. The Clarks Originals Wallabee is the one to start with, and maple suede is the color most people picture.
Wallabee Boot. A higher cut that covers the ankle, with the same construction and sole. This is the Wu-Tang version, and it works especially well in fall and winter. The Clarks Originals Wallabee Boot is the pick if you only buy one pair.
Wallabee Cup. A modern take that swaps the crepe for a cupsole, the kind of rubber sole wrapped around the edge of the shoe that you find on sneakers. It is sturdier and easier to keep clean. There is also a slip-on, open-back Cup Lo.
Wallabee Loafer and others. Clarks also makes Wallabee loafers, boat shoes and lower-profile versions, plus a steady stream of collaborations that rework the silhouette in new materials and colors.
How to wear and care for them
Wallabees run generous, so many people go down half a size. They look best with straight or slightly wide trousers that sit on top of the shoe, such as raw denim, cords or workwear pants. Suede needs a little care: a suede brush and a protective spray before the first wear will keep it looking good, and a crepe brush can clean up the sole.
If you like shoes that age well with you, the Wallabee belongs in the same rotation as a pair of heritage boots, a pair of New Balance 990s and a pair of sandals from our Birkenstock guide. It is the rare classic that feels just as right on a London terrace as it does on a Staten Island corner.
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