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Spring is starting to show its glorious face, which makes now the ideal time to get in a warm-weather state of mind with cool-as-can-be shoes that will keep you comfy all day. HEYDUDE’s lightweight and travel-friendly shoe styles (which aren’t only for dudes!) fit those attributes to a tee and will soon become the on-the-go essentials you can’t live without — during spring break and beyond.
The brand is undoubtedly most known for its Wendy and Wally silhouettes. When FN’s commerce director, Adam Mansuroglu, tested the latter, he was beyond pleased with the style’s breathable canvas upper, cloud-like cushioning, and versatility for all of life’s occasions. The TikTok-viral Wally has an air of preppiness à la deck shoes yet also offers comfortable fabrication in a wide range of fun colorways and eye-catching prints. Just recently, for example, HEYDUDE released a special MLB collection with embroidered team logos and bold hues. Beyond such collabs (the latest being a tattoo-inspired shoe made with Jelly Roll), it’s constantly offering fresh variations on Wendy and Wally shoe styles: in the form of upgraded uppers, outsoles, and everything in between.
As for the Wendy — a for-females counterpart to the Wally— this HEYDUDE shoe features much of the same traits (slip-on capabilities; flexible outsole; breathable upper that allows your toes to move freely) and comes in colors that would fit a jeans-and-white-tee combo or even a spring dress. There’s a crochet Wendy, a cow print Wendy, many pastel-forward Wendys, and a Margaritaville Wendy for tapping into that Jimmy Buffet lifestyle (parrot and boat not required). We love the style for its support, construction, fashionable variations to fit every style aesthetic, and, best of all, the reasonable price tag that presents as a major steal when calculating its cost-per-wear value.
Our editors have carefully tested out even more HEYDUDE top hits, and we can safely say that all of them got high marks in our book. Sydney Sweeney also approves: Indeed, she was appointed as the brand’s global spokesperson last year with a campaign slogan that reads “beauty is comfort.”
“HEYDUDE has actually been in my ecosystem for a while now,” Sweeney explained to FN in an earlier interview. “My family is obsessed with them. When I go home, every single one of my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, like, everyone is wearing HEYDUDE …. [It] was already in my entire world.”
If you’re worried about whether or not the boat shoe has staying power, know that it’s simply not going anywhere and it just might be the most en vogue footwear of spring 2025. On runways last year, boat shoes were given chic updates via florals (from Valentino), rounded toeboxes (from Loewe), and pastel-blue suede (Santoni’s choice).
Here, we’re highlighting the top HEYDUDE shoes we’re shopping before they sell out fast this season: from fresh Wendy and Wally styles to other great footwear choices that combine effortlessly cool, laid-back style with supreme comfort. Our top picks below span from the best white shoes for women — taken to the next level by heat-friendly mesh uppers — to durable canvas versions to modern spins on spring’s best footwear trends. Just wait ’til you see all we have on deck.
For more than 75 years, Footwear News has been the shoe authority. Our coverage spans top industry news, retail trends, head-to-toe fashion, athletic and outdoor analysis, and more. Footwear News’ global network of editors has carefully curated all product selections featured using our expansive brand knowledge and thorough research to find quality, long-lasting items. Learn more about us here.
Stacia Datskovska is a Senior Commerce Writer at WWD and FN. Previously, she worked at ELLE DECOR as an assistant digital editor, covering all things luxury, culture, and lifestyle through a design lens. Her bylines over the past five years have appeared in USA Today, Baltimore Sun, Teen Vogue, Boston Globe, Food & Wine, and more. Prior to joining ELLE DECOR, Datskovska learned the ins and outs of e-commerce at Mashable, where she tested products, covered tentpole sales events, and curated gift guide roundups. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and international relations. Datskovska regularly reports on trending shoe styles, HEYDUDE’s included.
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