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Shoes that look better with age...


mizanation

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Yes, Brooks Brothers Peal. They are actually black, I took a bad pic here. You can still get the brown ones on the BB site.

PS Im still shaking my head over the fact that I have a Brooks Brothers product now. I used to hate this brand with a passion back in my rebellious high school days. Anyone remember how they used to make fun of BB on "In Living Color"? Anyway, just thought Id share...

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There are some really nice wholecuts here. I love how this thread ebbs and flows between so many styles.

I'm about to post my review of my new Red Wing 1911s, but didn't want to make it seem like I didn't look at and appreciate some great posts in the past couple of days.

Thanks, guys.

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Okay, BIG post time.

Well, it’s about time I report on my “new†Red Wing 1911s. I got these from GregNYC (thank you, Greg, very much), ‘cause they didn’t fit him. There is no doubt that the sizing is pretty far off from what they’re marked. Moreover, the last on these is apparently designed with the Euro-Skinny foot in mind. Both Greg and I fall into the slightly wider “D/E†American foot camp. I just couldn't resist when he said they were my size in length.., at least.

These are marked US 9.5 D, UK 8.5, EU 42. Not likely. These were much closer to a US 10.5C-. That’s a C-minus. Greg had his cobbler do a bit of a width stretch, and they are now maybe just into the D width category now, probably a D-minus. My foot loves an E width, but many of my shoes are D. The first few days of wear had me wondering if I was going to be passing these on, too, but I don’t give up easily.

I recently acquired some of those fancy shoe trees in a group buy organized on SF that are particularly wide. I ram those in every night. Combined with about a week’s daily wear, either the shoes are relaxing or I’m no longer noticing the pain! Actually, I think the combined effort of wear and wide shoetree means the shoe is, in fact, giving way.

THUS, I am happy to report that I like these more and more everyday. They are good looking and I am thinking of them as a snug but comfortable fit. They are clearly lighter in weight than, say, my Grenson Ilkley boots, so it is hard to make a direct comparison. It’s sorta like they’re made for different purposes. The Grenson’s are clearly a more substantial boot, but the Red Wings are about as elegant as you could hope for a blucher-style workboot. (Is that too contradictory?) They are a light boot. The Vibram sole is nowhere as huge as the commando sole of the Grensons. The Ilkley feels like a combat shoe, but looks like a heavy dress brogue. The 1911s feel like a light-hiker and look like a sexy working boot. I’ve not had a chance to really hike any true distance, so I cannot really comment on them in this regard. In time, I’ll report back.

Fit wise, however, this pair further underscores the need to either try your pair on, or communicate clearly with your vendor. I knew these began life quite narrow, but was willing to take the risk. This was for a shoe marked as “Dâ€. Even after a cobbler’s effort, they barely touch into the “D†terrain. The last is clearly European at heart, and very different from, say, the Alden approach of providing enough toe box room to accommodate large inserts. I certainly have NO room for any inserts into these babies, unless they be paper thin.

But, I repeat, I do like them. They certainly look good, and the leather (Horween) takes a shine quite nicely. The dusty environment where my photos are taken detract from the shine, but when buffed, they are very good looking.

Are the worth the money? Hmmm. Tough question. Given a single choice, I think the Grenson Ilkley is the more formidable boot. It lives at a higher plane of footwear. And, purchased in the bi-annual sale from Pediwear, costs about the same as the Red Wing 1911s. But, if you love Red Wings, these are very nice indeed – when you can find ‘em. Again, my thanks to Greg, ‘cause I’d given up finding them any other way.

Just my humble user’s report.

Photos: These are the last of the season. I’m stuck on the ground for the rest of my contract. Safer, yes, but the chopper view is SO much better.

RedWingsbullets-a.jpg

I was hoping to be wearing my new Eternal 868s, but they haven’t arrived yet. (Zipangu treasures shipped them out at light speed. Tracking showed them into the APO system in barely 24 hours. A week later, I’m still waiting.) Alternatively, I would have been wearing my new 5EP jeans.., except they were stolen from the post. Godmother is kindly sending a replacement pair, so I hope they don’t get stolen! Grrrr.)

RedWingsbullets-b.jpg

SO, these photos have me wearing my SC 1945 Lee repros. I have to admit, they are still my favorite jeans. I’ll report on the Eternals and 5EPs, if and when they arrive!

RedWings-Right.jpg

My right foot, just for a better view of the actual boot under discussion.

And, finally, the wide view that a 24mm lens can offer.

RedWings-wide.jpg

That's it for my cool view opportunities. Cheers! :cool:

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that does it, no 1911s for me if they are that narrow! :(

They indeed have a narrow and long last.

After trying a size 11I bought my standard size 10.5 and still I have some space left in my toe box.( 10 was too small tho.)

Still, they're very comfortable.:)

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LL - great post and great pictures as always. I love the 1911's but now I'm just way too shy about the sizing to order a pair. I'll just live the boots through your pictures.

I wasn't aware that you were in a 'shoot back' type of situation. I'm not sure why but I had the impression that you were in one of those unarmed and flying for peaceful reasons so don't shoot at us sort of things. Not that it's any safer either way. Keep being careful man.

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Hi Familyman,

In theory, we’re armed only for defensive purposes. We fly over what is called FATA, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which have long governed themselves under ancient tribal codes. The Government has never been particularly welcome, so potshots are not unusual. (There’s room for long discussion here of how our gov’t generally misunderstands the extent to which the national gov’t can come in and order the tribals around, particularly now that we have, shall we say, miscreants in the areas.) But, we’re hunting the poppy fields. Those tribal groups making the big $ don’t particularly want to be found. Thus, the hardware.

I don’t know why we were so loaded for bear on Tues. We doubled up on guns and the belts were loaded on each ship. In the end, it was a peaceful day of flying both high and low. I’m really sad that this was my last flight. Sigh.

Kohistan-b.jpg

Gotta run to work. Will chat more about the boots later.

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Tarmac: Nice Grenson's. What model are those?

More on the 1911s. I need to enlist Dave023 here. My pair are marked 9.5, but are clearly a 10.5 in length. You mention getting your “regular†10.5, after trying on both an 11 and a 10. Can you give a bit of advice as to how close to a “normal 10.5†your pair of 1911s are? We can try to be useful as well as entertaining here.

I spent a long time hunting for a pair, and I hate to discourage others because the sizing is, shall we say, irregular. If we can sort out the variation, it will be useful.

Clearly, I would say to get them wider than “normalâ€, unless you actually have a Euro-Skinny foot. Does anyone know if these come in an “E†or other wide® designation? Generally, I'd suggest "widing up a size", to coin a phrase.

These are a nice boot, and I liked the idea of getting a pair of redwings that are a bit nicer, while more retro at the same time. SO, how do we help out those who, like 95% of those hunting for the Euro-edition Red Wings that-they-refuse-to-sell-in-the-US, can’t try them on?

Dave023, your pair look really nice, too. Tell us more about your size explorations, please.

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Tarmac: Nice Grenson's. What model are those?

More on the 1911s. I need to enlist Dave023 here. My pair are marked 9.5, but are clearly a 10.5 in length. You mention getting your “regular” 10.5, after trying on both an 11 and a 10. Can you give a bit of advice as to how close to a “normal 10.5” your pair of 1911s are? We can try to be useful as well as entertaining here.

I spent a long time hunting for a pair, and I hate to discourage others because the sizing is, shall we say, irregular. If we can sort out the variation, it will be useful.

Clearly, I would say to get them wider than “normal”, unless you actually have a Euro-Skinny foot. Does anyone know if these come in an “E” or other wide® designation? Generally, I'd suggest "widing up a size", to coin a phrase.

These are a nice boot, and I liked the idea of getting a pair of redwings that are a bit nicer, while more retro at the same time. SO, how do we help out those who, like 95% of those hunting for the Euro-edition Red Wings that-they-refuse-to-sell-in-the-US, can’t try them on?

Dave023, your pair look really nice, too. Tell us more about your size explorations, please.

Hi,

First I'd like to say your previous mail was very accurate!

They have a long and snug last.

As stated before I've tried an size 10D and 11D and finally chose my standard size 10.5D which I also have in the 875.

The size 11 was way to large and size 10 was to snug, therefor I chose to buy the 10.5D. If I have to compare them to my 875 size 10.5 I'd say they're about a half size longer but this doesn't distrurb me at all. I just have a little extra space left in the toe box.

I've showed them to a local cobbler and he told me the fit was perfect. The 875 also have a wider last than the 1911.

So in conclusion, I do like the fit on my 1911 but a 10 E would also have been perfect

Hope this helps.

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Yup. Sure does.

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I’m really sad that this was my last flight. Sigh.

Kohistan-b.jpg

LeicaLad, I'm gonna miss your landscape shots.

I've been wanting to buy Red Wing boots for sometime but am afraid to do so because of the sizing issues as well. They run .5 or whole size bigger as I know...

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I think the Red Wing 1911's are available at cultizm.com. Saw some cherry-red two weeks ago in their shop here in germany. Perhaps Dejan could measure them and compare them with the 875s he also got in many sizes.

Tom

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Perhaps that 1911 was the Euro size - 0.5 to 1 size less than US shoe size.

Anyway, here a pic of my new AF64 Indys I got from Alden of Carmel. Props to Chicken for the sizing tip, but I went with a half size up to 9E, so that my toes can have a bit more room, and I can wear thicker socks.

These are going to have to tide me over until July when my Russells are due to be completed.

af64.jpg

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Damn, those AF64 Indys are exactely what I'm looking for!!!

Do you have any pics of the Russels you've ordered?thank you

The 'heavy oil leather' is actually a lot darker in real life than in the photos on Alden of Carmel. Kind of reminds me of heavily oiled drizabones (anyone aussie would know this). Really soft and moist, almost wet, sort of...

I don't have any pics of the Russell Imperials that I ordered out. Here's a link to the description page.

http://www.russellmoccasin.com/boots_traditional/traditional_imperial.html

I ordered them in late March and won't get them until mid July. About 4 months in total, about 1 month longer than shoes, I think. I liked the pair of hikers that familyman had and there was this pic of this old guy with his 20+ year old Imperials on the Russell site, and I said to myself, 'I gotta get these boots!' I ordered the one in red brown leather. I'm not a fan of black boots. Black shoes and brown boots for me. Might start saving up for a pair of black cordovan AEs after the russells get here.

I actually got a pair of Alden Indy's first, but it had a definite defect in the welt (not to mention grease stains from about 100 people trying on the boots and the box was old and ratty). I returned them for a full refund. Started talking to Adam at AoC. Eventually went with the AF64s which I think would be more suited to what I'm going to use them for, anyway. Might get a pair of 405s later in the year (from a different supplier).

I'm going to use them as my primary walking boot. I walk about 6-8km a day. From home to the station, from the station to school, between classes, and then back again. I've been wearing my Blundstones up till now, and these boots have got a lot to live up to considering the comfortableness of my Blunnies (may be comfortable, but not really longlasting, and with the PU injected sole, unresolable. But then for $AUD80. I used to just buy a new pair every 2 years)

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The 'heavy oil leather' is actually a lot darker in real life than in the photos on Alden of Carmel. Kind of reminds me of heavily oiled drizabones (anyone aussie would know this). Really soft and moist, almost wet, sort of...

I don't have any pics of the Russell Imperials that I ordered out. Here's a link to the description page.

http://www.russellmoccasin.com/boots_traditional/traditional_imperial.html

I ordered them in late March and won't get them until mid July. About 4 months in total, about 1 month longer than shoes, I think. I liked the pair of hikers that familyman had and there was this pic of this old guy with his 20+ year old Imperials on the Russell site, and I said to myself, 'I gotta get these boots!' I ordered the one in red brown leather. I'm not a fan of black boots. Black shoes and brown boots for me. Might start saving up for a pair of black cordovan AEs after the russells get here.

I actually got a pair of Alden Indy's first, but it had a definite defect in the welt (not to mention grease stains from about 100 people trying on the boots and the box was old and ratty). I returned them for a full refund. Started talking to Adam at AoC. Eventually went with the AF64s which I think would be more suited to what I'm going to use them for, anyway. Might get a pair of 405s later in the year (from a different supplier).

I'm going to use them as my primary walking boot. I walk about 6-8km a day. From home to the station, from the station to school, between classes, and then back again. I've been wearing my Blundstones up till now, and these boots have got a lot to live up to considering the comfortableness of my Blunnies (may be comfortable, but not really longlasting, and with the PU injected sole, unresolable. But then for $AUD80. I used to just buy a new pair every 2 years)

I think those Russels look great and the price seems really honest to me! They definitely will get a lot better with wear! Great buy!!

I've been wanting a pair of Alden Indy boots for a long time now, but I'm scared to buy them online due to the sizing.( and it's impossible to find them overhere.)

My Red wing boots 875 have a perfect fit for me and are a US 10.5D, so I've been wondering what would be my alden 405 size?Still haven't found the answer.

A pair of AF64s would fit my lifestyle much better, I walk a lot too and the weather here isn't really tropical.

Funny, I bought t he Blundstone 500 last week and I'm amazed how comfortable those are, especially considering their price. It's like wearing sneakers! ( Any pics of your worn in Blunnies??)

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I've been wanting a pair of Alden Indy boots for a long time now, but I'm scared to buy them online due to the sizing.( and it's impossible to find them over here.)

My Red wing boots 875 have a perfect fit for me and are a US 10.5D, so I've been wondering what would be my alden 405 size?Still haven't found the answer.

Tell me about it. I took a huge risk getting these boots online. If Chicken's feet weren't exactly the same as my own, I don't think I would have risked it.

Down the line, I'm prolly going to try and get someone to proxy buy a pair of Redwing 877s for me, because they sell them here for $AU405 which is about $US330. They sell them for 180USD or something. wtf?

My pair of current Blunnies (pair number 4 for me) haven't had too much wear. About 3/4 of a years worth. I use them as my primary motorcycle boots now. I wish I still had my first pair of blunnies. I got them in 1998. Used them at the Orica chemical plant that I worked at for a year. Had all sorts of goodies splashed in on it; sodium hypochloride, hydrocloric acid, ferric acid, nitric acid, caustic soda, etc... then I wore them for about 3 years about 30,000km of motorcycle riding and about 1000km of walking. They completely fell apart, to the point where the steel shank got exposed and made a clanking noise every time I walked on a hard surface. And they were still as comfortable as the day I got them *(not as water tight unfortunately - my feet got wet constantly) My mom threw them out. Of course I didn't do anything like polish them or oil the leather. The leather upper went grey and disintegrated. I'll be taking better care of my AF64s, of course. I can't buy another pair of these for $80.

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Tell me about it. I took a huge risk getting these boots online. If Chicken's feet weren't exactly the same as my own, I don't think I would have risked it.

Down the line, I'm prolly going to try and get someone to proxy buy a pair of Redwing 877s for me, because they sell them here for $AU405 which is about $US330. They sell them for 180USD or something. wtf?

My pair of current Blunnies (pair number 4 for me) haven't had too much wear. About 3/4 of a years worth. I use them as my primary motorcycle boots now. I wish I still had my first pair of blunnies. I got them in 1998. Used them at the Orica chemical plant that I worked at for a year. Had all sorts of goodies splashed in on it; sodium hypochloride, hydrocloric acid, ferric acid, nitric acid, caustic soda, etc... then I wore them for about 3 years about 30,000km of motorcycle riding and about 1000km of walking. They completely fell apart, to the point where the steel shank got exposed and made a clanking noise every time I walked on a hard surface. And they were still as comfortable as the day I got them *(not as water tight unfortunately - my feet got wet constantly) My mom threw them out. Of course I didn't do anything like polish them or oil the leather. The leather upper went grey and disintegrated. I'll be taking better care of my AF64s, of course. I can't buy another pair of these for $80.

The 877/875 are the same price here ( Belgium)...which I found very expensive for a pair of work boots but they're really great!!

Which additional options have you taken on your Imperial boots?

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The 877/875 are the same price here ( Belgium)...which I found very expensive for a pair of work boots but they're really great!!

Which additional options have you taken on your Imperial boots?

How much were they in US$ if you don't mind me asking? If it were a little more expensive, I'd just buy it here (can't try them on in Sydney. Only know of a store in Melbourne that sells them). But we're talking almost double the price, and I think Redwing has done a Sugarcane-esk crack down on their US account holders selling their boots to Australians at normal US prices. Some of the online boot stores don't even return my emails about the 877. Not too fussed at the moment about it, but yeah, I love that orange-brown leather and crepe sole. You'll be seeing me with a pair by year's end for sure.

I got the boot in chrome red-brown leather (not too impressed by the French veal, at least not +$65 more impressed), with leather uppers, steel shank and Vibram Montagna sole. There's not all that many options on the Imperials, since its got a fair few built in.

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Those Fan Indy’s (AF64s) are really MAJOR boots. I spoke to Andy and wanted to order a pair around Xmas time, but he was out of my size. I was too impatient to wait the 5-6 months for the next batch. These and the 405 are built on the Trubalance last which runs about a half size big (in US sizing). I’m assuming Indigo-Junkie sized UP because he was comparing to Aussie/UK sizing (??). For me, the Trubalance last says size down a half size.

It’s odd that several people have had problems with particular 405 boots. Quality control seems a bit slack on this model, it seems. I can guarantee it ain’t that way with the Fan shoes.

Indigo, do keep us posted on the break-in experience, particularly given your daily mileage. Photos, too.

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