There are 550s in every colour you can think of, and still I keep coming back to this one. The New Balance 550 in White Black (style code BB550HA1) is the version with no story: white leather, black heel, black accents in the sole, done. I left it on my list for a while because I thought it would bore me. It didn’t, and I think I know why.
What you see, and what you don’t
What stands out on the photo is how little happens. The upper is almost all white, with a finely perforated toe that gives the shoe some air. The big N on the side is white with a thin grey outline, so it barely registers. The only real contrast is at the back: a black heel panel that runs into the collar, and a black heel block in the otherwise white midsole. The outsole is black too. That gives the shoe a kind of anchor at the rear while the front stays light. The small “550” by the laces is the only mark you have to read up close.
And no, no pink this time. Not even in the lining, which is grey. A miss for me, but fair is fair: on this shoe it wouldn’t fit anyway.
Would I wear it myself?
Yes, and that’s exactly the point. The 550 is originally a 1989 basketball shoe that came back in 2020 and hasn’t left since. The silhouette is wider and flatter than an average running sneaker, with a thick, flat sole. That makes it sit sturdy under trousers and look a touch more robust than an Air Force 1 without turning clunky. The white-and-black does nothing to change that. You can wear it under a light jean, black trousers, a skirt with a long coat; it all works, because the shoe itself claims no colour.
One thing I notice with white sneakers: the fewer contrasting panels, the faster they look worn out. Here the black heel block helps. It’s the spot you first scuff against a kerb or a bike pedal, and it’s where you’ll notice it least.
What it costs, and why that’s interesting
The retail price of this 550 is around €140, and that’s also what most regular stores charge when it isn’t on sale. But this is a colourway that’s been running for a few years, and you see that in the offers. On Solezilla.com there are twelve active listings in euros right now, spread across webshops and resale, and the range is wide: from €63 on a resale platform (in a common men’s size, not an edge size) up to €150 at Geturbrick. In between sit a cluster of regular shops around €83, Farfetch near €115 across most of the range, and Sneaker Ask at the top near €143. What that means is simple: on this shoe you only pay full price if you don’t look.
And unlike a lot of the pairs we track, this one reaches beyond the euro zone. Stadium Goods shows it at roughly £56 in the UK and around $74 in the US, with Shoe Palace near $90 stateside. Not a big UK or US pool, but a reference if you’re not paying in euros.
The Hypescore, and what it says here
On our New Balance pages this 550 carries a Hypescore of 76, in the ATOMIC band. That sounds heavy for a shoe this calm, but it mostly says something about how broadly it’s searched and traded, not about scarcity. This is not a release you queue for. It’s a shoe everyone knows, plenty of people wear, and which is therefore always moving on the market. That’s also why it’s there to find under retail: there’s enough of it, and the demand holds.
The 550 White Black is, for me, the safest pick within this model, and I mean that as a compliment. It draws no attention, lasts in the rotation, and is there now for less than retail if you look by size. Compare the prices per size at the shops that stock it on the New Balance 550 White Black page, and within a minute you’ll know whether that €140 is needed or not.