Big decisions will be made this month. World-altering, even. So, who has your vote? The white one or the orange one? Below are four of the most significant sneaker launches of the year, all landing in November. From new classics to something more left field; joint tickets to very singular visions. Expect Sacai’s latest take on several Nike legends (all at once), plus the reissue of a Dunk previously only available in Japan. Look out for the next stop on adidas’ City Series European tour and Casablanca’s second reworking of the striking new New Balance. You should find something that ticks every box.

Ms Chitose Abe has already taken the Waffle Racer, Nike’s talismanic 1972 shoe that a sportswear empire was built on, to some strange places. But where last year’s LDV Waffle Daybreak (or LDWaffle as it became) had the appearance of a glitch in the multiverse, it did at least combine two loosely affiliated shoes. Sacai’s latest effort takes the superbrand’s fledgling technology and beams it into the future, borrowing its cutting-edge Vaporfly system. In truth, though, this hybrid owes a debt to the Pegasus, the workhorse of Nike’s running roster, marrying that line’s 1983 debut with its present-day incarnation. A frenzy of mesh and rubber, with tongues and Swooshes playing patty-cake, this particular edition also nods to another Nike icon, coming in a similar colourway to the original Cortez. Someone’s done their homework (and shown their working out, too).

Last year, adidas released a version of its Barcelona City Series honouring – no, not the Catalan capital, but, confusingly, Manchester. Well, one half of it. The Barcelona 99 marked the 20th anniversary of Manchester United’s “Fergie time” comeback to claim the Champions League title at Camp Nou. As such, it came in white with scarlet stripes, as well as the club emblem plastered across the footbed (Red Devils in the details). This latest addition to the brand’s City Series – an Interrail through European hotspots and adidas’ archives – is a non-partisan remodelling of that shoe. A classic silhouette, with a chunky sole, it is a fitting tribute to the hometown of Messrs Joan Miró and Antoni Gaudí, not to mention the extra-time twist of that night 21 years ago.

By the end of the 1990s, the Nike Dunk had undergone something of a conversion from basketball, the sport it was originally developed for in the mid-1980s, to skateboarding. In its low-top guise, modified with hefty laces, it offered skaters the grip, protection and durability they were after. Around the same time, the shoe was garnering something of a cult following in Japan, a nation where sneakerheads always seem to be one step ahead. This year saw the revival of the “Ugly Duckling Pack”, a triptych of colourways first launched in Japan back in 2001, but never to set foot outside the country – until now. This iteration, our pick of the three, comes in an eye-catching orange known as Ceramic, with the Swoosh in a light green called Nori, a tone named for the seaweed sheets used to wrap sushi, punctuated with black on the toe box, sides and heel for an altogether striking look.

Evidence that there is more to New Balance than reissues and technical upgrades came earlier this year with the arrival of the 327. True, the shoe saw the Boston sportswear brand pulling in styling cues from footwear previously seen on 1970s joggers, but here each detail was magnified and exaggerated, almost to cartoonish proportions. Tapping into luxury streetwear brand Casablanca for its launch was a real statement of intent. Where their first collaboration, announced ahead of summer, came in bright, citrusy colours, this season’s batch comes in notably more sombre tones. Muted, yes, but no one is going to miss that bulbous sole or the massive branding across the upper. A refined sophomore edition of an instant classic.