Shoes that look better with age...

[amlai]

Jcrews version is Horween Chromexcel upper and lined...

The regular 403 didn't even used to be leather lined, just canvas ..

I believe the 403 is leather lined. The 405s used to be canvas lined. I think as of this year they are now leather lined as well, but cost a little more than they used to.

[morse9443]

new RWxWoolrich look pretty cool

[Christmas In A Submarine.]

i bought some NOS chippewa boots on ebay a while back (think i posted photos, not sure). they are nice boots, but i always thought the brown leather was a bit flat in color and texture - i'm sure this has to do with the tanning process, but i'm not that well versed in leather production. i'd heard and read various things about using black polish on brown leather to give a bit of depth and character. the boots were due for a cleaning after a recent hiking adventure, so i decided to give them a black polishing.

first 3 photos are most accurate color, and the outdoor photo is close too. on the indoor photos the right boot had been cleaned but not polished, while outdoor is uncleaned & unpolished next to cleaned and polished.

since these are not "formal" boots in any way, i did a very quick polish job. i liked the way they looked with more black in the creases and in various clumps, so i left them that way. they could be shinier and the color could be more even. this will be worn off pretty quick anyhow and i'll add another coat. may try different shades of brown down the line as well.

fwiw- I think it looks good after the dark polish. However, boots will darken naturally over time from the grime that accumulates in the folds and in the pores of the leather, no matter how well you clean and polish them. So personally I would've just waited instead of artificially speeding up the process.

Though like I said, I think yours look quite good, just wanted to point it out so that others looking to darken their boots won't think they must use polish to do so...

[Aquaphor]

I just got my White's Retro Oxfords. I originally wanted the Block heel but screwed up the order and ended up with the Standard heel. After wearing it for a day I've grown to like the curved heel. The heel profile is pretty low so it's not really that noticeable with jeans.

It came with puffy round black laces which I didn't like, so I changed them to Brown Kiwi laces which looks much better IMO.

[edmond]

theyre nice what size? looks really nice can you do a fit pic?

[Aquaphor]

Size 8D. Same size as my Semi-dress sizing.

These oxfords, visually look more like normal length shoes as opposed to the their boots which always look shorter due to the shape.

Will take some fit pics tomorrow or something!

[edmond]

i like how the toe cap is shorter than usual

[Aquaphor]

Yeah, it came like that. I didn't have to specially request to shorten it.

[photo]

Aquaphor those look great! What sole do you have on them?

[Dead_Wizard]

Those flannel panel redwings look alright, but I bet they bump the price up from last years edition (which looked practically identical) due to the collaboration status...

Anyone have experience with Whites Rainier shoes? Thinking about ordering a pair for winter.

[Aquaphor]

Aquaphor those look great! What sole do you have on them?

Vibram 269

[TallyHo]

fwiw- I think it looks good after the dark polish. However, boots will darken naturally over time from the grime that accumulates in the folds and in the pores of the leather, no matter how well you clean and polish them. So personally I would've just waited instead of artificially speeding up the process.

Though like I said, I think yours look quite good, just wanted to point it out so that others looking to darken their boots won't think they must use polish to do so...

this is all true, but i do take exception to the comment about "artificially speeding up the process" because that had nothing to do with my motivation. it may not show well in those photos, but the boots looked a lot "newer" after the polish than before. it's not like sanding jeans or something, and i do not have a "worn look" that i'm hoping to achieve. any time you polish shoes, you change the way they look. this was simply meant to show how medium brown leather looks after a black polish.

it's true that many leather goods will darken over time (i don't believe all, and again, i believe it falls to the tanning process) but they would never look like this naturally, or with clear polish.

i asked a gentleman at a shoe repair place about using black polish on brown leather and he thought i was crazy. he kept insisting i should use black dye, and i kept insisting i wasn't interested in turning them black. i was stubborn enough to ignore his input and thought i'd share the results.

they also look great after a few wears - creases and scuffs show the lighter color underneath.

check out this (far more refined) pair - much lighter brown leather with black polish on the toe caps:

these probably went through several cycles with the black polish to get them to darken that much. they were also clearly buffed out way more extensively than my boots - but these are dress shoes.

long story short, i think it makes cheaper leather look like much higher quality leather.

i would not do this on a pair of aldens, or other nice shoes/boots.

[beatle]

Quick ad in case you need some German Army Sneakers

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showthread.php?t=223631

[choice]

custom mocha viberg stallions

crossposted from waywt

[marineabilly]

^ Veddy Nice!!

[fattybfat]

very nice shoe, but the price are insane. It kind of remind me of the Indy shoe. However, this one is just like the semi-dress style into low cut.

Any fit pics?

[slide13]

those White's oxfords are amazing!!! I'm very jealous of those things. Would love to get a pair but just can't justify the high cost compared to their boots. Still....they are beautiful.

[Christmas In A Submarine.]

this is all true, but i do take exception to the comment about "artificially speeding up the process" because that had nothing to do with my motivation. it may not show well in those photos, but the boots looked a lot "newer" after the polish than before. it's not like sanding jeans or something, and i do not have a "worn look" that i'm hoping to achieve. any time you polish shoes, you change the way they look. this was simply meant to show how medium brown leather looks after a black polish.

it's true that many leather goods will darken over time (i don't believe all, and again, i believe it falls to the tanning process) but they would never look like this naturally, or with clear polish.

i asked a gentleman at a shoe repair place about using black polish on brown leather and he thought i was crazy. he kept insisting i should use black dye, and i kept insisting i wasn't interested in turning them black. i was stubborn enough to ignore his input and thought i'd share the results.

they also look great after a few wears - creases and scuffs show the lighter color underneath.

check out this (far more refined) pair - much lighter brown leather with black polish on the toe caps:

these probably went through several cycles with the black polish to get them to darken that much. they were also clearly buffed out way more extensively than my boots - but these are dress shoes.

long story short, i think it makes cheaper leather look like much higher quality leather.

i would not do this on a pair of aldens, or other nice shoes/boots.

Point taken.

And I think you're right that most of the time black polish will have a different effect than simply age and wear. However in the case of workboots that are truly worked in I can say from experience that light colored boots will end up looking, though not identical, very similar to the black polish effect. (Darkening up in the creases, etc.) Anyhow, like I said, I think they look good, and I didn't mean to compare it to ghastly things like jean-sanding.

[beatle]

I didn't think navy suede was a good idea..I was wrong

http://www.leathersoulhawaii.com/2010/07/27/alden-shoes-navy-suede-ptb-x-2-lsw-lsbh/

[ranonranonarat]

wow those look fucking great.

[fre-co]

I think they look pretty boring myself

[ranonranonarat]

to each his own i guess

[Happy Hooligan]

I'd wear those shoes in a minute. Not sure I'd do the boots though...

[edmond]

custom mocha viberg stallions

crossposted from waywt

we have the same taste! what sole on those?

[joelz]

I'm still not sold on suede - seems too fragile to be worn serious (eg rain) - tho i could be totally off base...

[rodeo bill]

just please don't you step on 'em.

I'd go with the boots!

[beatle]

I actually never had a problem with the durability of suede leather...

[Aquaphor]

Here are some quick fit pics (Pls excuse the weird pants)

I'm know they're really expensive compared to the regular SD boots, but I'm really

loving the convenience of these oxfords.I don't have to go through the hassle of doing

laces every time I take off or put on the shoes!

[slide13]

damn those look amazing! I really really want some now...thanks a lot!

[Joseph Hill]

There's nothing wrong with changing the look of your boots with different color polish. Do people look at a Gibson Les Paul with a sunburst finish and say 'eh, they just varnished it that way to look old'?