Shoes that look better with age...

[l3ootlegs]

Then theres the WWII military watches. This is a Waltham from 1945

And pocket watches this is a turn of the century Elgin

that pocket watch is very unique..!!

[mizanation]

greg, when the weather is warm, i like to rock a pair of chuck taylors with my baracuda. otherwise, i rock shell cordos--which i think are ideal. however, now i think my frye engineers will be my weekend boot. luckily they go with everything!

thanks for the watch suggestions. the history of the wrist watch is very interesting. again, military application pushed the envelope:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wristwatch#Wristwatches

[RAISED BY WOLVES]

kinda off topic, but the way people wear fashion is so interesting to me... i'm not really talking about the people in this thread--the people in this thread are the realest mutherfuckers on superfuture but definitely about people in the street and other parts of this forum.

it's interesting to me how 90% of people who wear western fashion have never stepped foot on a ranch or ridden a horse or had to walk through acres of sweet-smelling, fresh manure. or 90% of people who wear logger fashion have never walked around on a log yard. most interesting to me is how 99% of people who wear white trash fashion have never been in a trailer park. same with 99.99% of the suburbian kids who wear clothing with guns on them never packed heat.

can't blame them. i wear military stuff sometimes but i've never served.

what do y'all think about this?

What do I think?...

I think I forsee a blog entry.

[Chicken]

something interesting about this pair. i would probably get them if they were my size.

[mizanation]

What do I think?...

I think I forsee a blog entry.

i'm so lazy. it's easier for me to post to this thread than to post to my blog. hell, i can't even get myself to take pictures to post here.

[LeicaLad]

Eclectic is the best description for the interests of this group. We’re engaged in a discussion mostly about cool footwear, but the group having the conversation is truly an interesting group. I’d love to hang with any of you, for any length of time. It continues to be a really interesting and enlightening conversation.

I think I appreciated Familyman’s description best (am I surprised?): that I, too, have done a lot of different things, but none that actually defined/s me for any length of time. Actually, I may go through my entire life without a good answer to that standard question: “So, what do you do?†Besides describing whatever I’m up to at the moment, I’ve never been able to fill in that, “Well, I’m a ______â€, blank with anything simple -- like I’m a lawyer, banker, whatever. At least I'm working on making it through my whole life...

I’ve always headed for the edges, the borders, both geographic and human. When I worked in the White House, I hung out with the bicycle messengers after work. Like Greg, I went through a period of time where I knew an awful lot of transsexuals. Later, in Burma, I did research on the large trannie population who make up the Nat culture. As noted, it's always about finding that further, as yet unknown, edge.

OTOH, I’m married to proper princess and have a 9-yr-old daughter. No simple description will suffice. But, after all that, I know there are kindred spirits here. Cool shoes are merely our excuse to hang and chat.

Damn fine excuse, tho! Thus, I raise my glass in a toast to the denizens of Miz’s thread!

[skalogre]

Then theres the WWII military watches. This is a Waltham from 1945

Love teh field watch!

[mizanation]

i was reading about da vinci the other day. now that guy was very eclectic. he became a master at many disciplines--scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, and writer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci

i dabble in so many things but i have yet to master anything. which is a source of some disapointment for me. it amazes me how someone like da vinci, a mere mortal, could accomplish so much in a short lifetime.

[GregNYC]

Airfrog - do you wear the Waltham? What watch do you wear on a day-to-day basis?

[ayn]

interesting discussion... I'm not feeling wristwatches that got diamonds on them though... to each his own I guess...

[englandmj7]

OTOH, I’m married to proper princess and have a 9-yr-old daughter. No simple description will suffice. But, after all that, I know there are kindred spirits here. Cool shoes are merely our excuse to hang and chat.

Do your wife and daughter live out in the boonies of Pakistan with you? I lived on damn near every continent growing up and want to continue to live in obscure/new places for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I don't think my wife feels the same way. She is European and loves to travel, but whilst I would cherish the opportunity to live in say, New Delhi, she would rather be in Europe. What to do, what to do.

[LeicaLad]

My girls are parked in Bangkok, as it’s only 5 hours flight away. I’m on contract with the State Dept and no official Americans can have family in Pakistan. My wife was a diplomatic child. Her dad was an ambassador, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, which is to say she married down! Anyway, she’s pretty willing to live anywhere. She’s rather annoyed not to be allowed here.

During WWII, her mother drove a jeep to deliver supplies to her husband on the front line. When supplies ran low, she sold personal jewelry to buy supplies to shuttle to the front. The wife thinks that she should do no less, so is quite annoyed with the official policy.

[airfrogusmc]

Airfrog - do you wear the Waltham? What watch do you wear on a day-to-day basis?

Lately its been the Waltham. Actually have it one right now. It keeps great time. I got it on ebay for $60 (the seller had it listed wrong). When I got it it was running VERY FAST so took it to watchmaker here in town. He said it was all original and a great watch. He adjusted for $55 and its been running GREAT ever since.

[Edge_Of_Denim]

LeicaLad, I cannot be the first to suggest to you that you get your experiences down on paper, or on a hard drive, as suits the present day.

I was just in Costa Rica, vacationing. We made it into Granda, Nicaragua. Trying to absorb the devastating poverty, and the beauty of Granada itself, and sensing a definite charge in the air, the possible residue of matters still not fully resolved, was thrilling and disorienting. What travel should be.

This is a great thread.

Now about those shoes...

[englandmj7]

My girls are parked in Bangkok, as it’s only 5 hours flight away. I’m on contract with the State Dept and no official Americans can have family in Pakistan. My wife was a diplomatic child. Her dad was an ambassador, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, which is to say she married down! Anyway, she’s pretty willing to live anywhere. She’s rather annoyed not to be allowed here.

During WWII, her mother drove a jeep to deliver supplies to her husband on the front line. When supplies ran low, she sold personal jewelry to buy supplies to shuttle to the front. The wife thinks that she should do no less, so is quite annoyed with the official policy.

Cool; very interesting. I didn't know that Americans couldn't have family there; I have heard it has changed alot in the past ten years. I have a friend at work who is from Pakistan and he says he has no desire to ever go back because of how different it is there now. Actually, when I was 5 I lived in Karachi for 2 years.......don't remember anything unfortunately.

Sounds like you've got a great wife for the lifestyle you have; lucky man.

[Superstar]

so, couldnt stay out of this one any longer.

these are my EXS boots, the brand is very unknown I believe (no website), but the boots are really nice. the leather is a little bit dry allthough, but i oil and grease them up every now and then.

[lowrider]

GregNYC - do you collect any other swiss mechanical watches? Vacheron, Patek, JLC, or AP?

[GregNYC]

No I don't any more. I used to - Zenith, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre, Panerai, Omega. But somehow Vacheron, PP and APs have never appealed to me. How about you?

[lowrider]

No I don't any more. I used to - Zenith, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre, Panerai, Omega. But somehow Vacheron, PP and APs have never appealed to me. How about you?

Interesting... VC, PP, and AP are among the most hallowed names in horology. I admire your individuality. I'm still developing my tastes.

I'm a new collector and only have 2 mechanicals in my collection. The Kermit and a late 60s early 70s 18K WG VC Royal Chronometer that I just got back from VC Geneva after 10 months for a full restoration. I hope to pick up a Sincere Edition JLC Reverso GD before they're all gone.

This truly is a forum filled with facinating individuals.

Cheers.

[GregNYC]

There's another aspect I forgot - bicycles! I like track bikes, no brakes. Here's my website, lots of pictures. It will get lots of new stuff this spring:

http://oldskooltrack.com

[dave023]

We just love the sport here in Belgium... there's velodrome tournament called the" 7 days of Ghent" ...

You need some good legs and whole lot of balls to get in the 'drome....

[LeicaLad]

Now this is what I love about this thread. A bunch of guys chatting, with occasional diversions into other stuff we like, how stuff does or doesn’t fit into our lives, and then someone posts some cool shoes and we start over (reboot, so to speak) again.

Oh, and I love bikes. A great tragedy (loose usage of term) in my life was when my bespoke Tom Ritchey (built personally by Tom) was stolen in Bkk last year. Rumor reached me that the thief got $100 for it. Arrrrgghhh!

Greg: What a great bike site (and links)! I miss my bikes. Those I still have are in storage in different places. sigh.

[ang_kangkong]

Positive rep for Greg.

Wish I was a better rider, myself. Central Park's right across the bridge for me, and I really wish I could go and ride in the summer. ANy place you'd recommend has lessons for the fixed hear in the city?

[mizanation]

damn, greg, didn't know you were into track bikes. that site is great, i've perused it before. in japan, they bike everywhere and track bikes are supposedly very popular now in tokyo (although i saw mostly the usual bike with the basket). people don't lock their bikes in japan, cuz no one steals them. however, last time i went, a cop was stopping all the bikers on a street cuz he was looking for a bike thief. maybe bike crime is on the rise...

wearing my frye engineers today and i can tell they are going to look great in a few months/years...

[GregNYC]

KangKong - no place that I know of with lessons. But we can hook up in Central Park some weekend when it's hot. There are some old-skool guys there by the bandshell, and we can show you stuff. You can also come with us to a bike messenger alleycat race or a skids and sprints competition. There's one called Rumble in the Bronx, and the Mermaid Day Parade has one as well.

Miz - I've ridden that very bike in Tokyo as well. Fantastic cycling city. In fact those handlebars on that red bike I got in Ueno!

[GregNYC]

News on Indy boots - yesterday I got a new pair 8 1/2 EEE and they feel pretty good on the feet. Best pair I've had, and the same dark reddish brown color, not weak orange like a year ago. I learned from the president of Alden that this model, the Alden 405, came out in 1968, an entire 13 years before the Indiana Jones movie.

[Chicken]

greg, from what we've read, the wardrobe person for the indiana jones movie was going to assign harrison ford to wear a pair of red wings in the movie. but harrison was already in love with his aldens and thus he persuaded the staff to use the 405s, instead.

so yes, the 405s was around way before they became known as the indys.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

yeah, apparently, harrison ford used alden 405s from his carpentry days, well before indiana jones

[familyman]

There's another aspect I forgot - bicycles! I like track bikes, no brakes. Here's my website, lots of pictures. It will get lots of new stuff this spring:

http://oldskooltrack.com

Oh you've GOT to be kidding me. I've spent a lot of time clicking around that site. Although I don't ride very much right now I did quite a lot a few years ago and even did a MS150 on my fixed kogswell. My FAVORITE bike is an old Pinarello time trial frame that I ride fixed. This is an early setup though that's always changing.

I spent some time watching some friends who rode on the velodrome here in Houston but never tried it myself. We somehow all need to sit down and have a drink sometime.

[mizanation]

et tu familyman??? this is getting kinda weird....