Shoes that look better with age...

[denimdestroyedmylife]

hmmm... those calfskins are like the lovechild of our boots, miz. it has eyelets all the way up and the leather soles of yours, but it is built on the same last as mine, with the same silhouette. i'd cough up the extra $100 to go shell cordo, though.

the leather/denim nexus was pimped by nudie in their "naked truth tenet"; i actually just noticed that they dropped the line about leather and denim getting more beautiful with age. anyone know what i'm talking about? now it reads:

Naked Truth

Nudie is the ”naked truth about denim”. Denim has the ability to age beautifully – formed by its user into a second skin, naked and personal. The longer it lives the more character it gets. The indigo is a living colour that fades and gives the denim its character. The more you wear your jeans the more beautiful they get. Jeans are more than just a piece of clothing.

but wooster, you are right------the japanese have well documented their interest in how denim and leather ages. i do enjoy the leather aging reports on denimgallery/heavy as much as the denim counterpart.

i'm waiting for the superfuture thread: the evolution of leather shoes, before and after pics.

EDIT: oh i found the old text on the mynudies site

Nudie is the "naked truth about denim". Indigo is the living color that fades and together with your lifestyle gives denim its character. The longer they live the more character they get. Besides leather, only denim has the ability to age so beautifully - formed by its user into a second skin. Jeans are a lot more than just a piece of clothing; a pair of jeans is like a second skin, naked and personal = Nudie.

i wonder why they changed it... afraid to alienate animal rights folks?

[mizanation]

i think what you hit on might be an underlying concept of wabi (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi) in both denim and shoes. maybe that's a theme that attacts many of us on the denim front, and you were intuitive enough to make the connection. i think this is some pretty original stuff you guys are posting.

btw, liked your blog entry on the boots.

thanks for bringing wabi-sabi up. yes, i believe wabi-sabi is seen in denim and leather. some japanese disagree, though. they like to reserve the concept of wabi-sabi to more "japanese" type stuff. but it's not gonna change my mind. japanese people are very fond of saying that wabi-sabi can only be understood by japanese people, which is a bunch of bullshit. when chicken or ryu get back here, maybe they can add their viewpoints... of course, this topic deserves its own thread.

btw, thanks for reading my blog! more interesting stuff to come...

[mizanation]

ddml, maybe someone disputed the fact that only leather and denim age beautifully. i guess it's more opinion than fact.... but i tend to agree.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

(ir)regardless, there's some commonality between the way leather and denim ages, even if it that quality is ineffable.

[familyman]

My attraction to quality denim is actually an outgrowth of my love for shoes and boots that age well. There is nothing so pure as boots and jeans that have been loved and aged with the owner paired with a nice plain tee. It's like old furniture or old wood floors that carry a patina of age on them. They tell the stories of years of adventure with friends. They transcend the object to become history.

I have a passion for family antiques as well. Just this last month my wife was rocking my daughter in the same rocking chair that my great grandmother had rocked my dad in when he was a baby. The history and continuity was beautiful.

[mizanation]

nicely put, familyman!

[familyman]

Ok, I decided to stop being lazy and post pictures of my boots. Although not in the same style as the aldens posted above I love them. They're from Russell Moccasin and are hand made buy a bunch of guys in Wisconsin, the same for 100 years. You send them a foot tracing and 10 or 12 other measurements from your foot and leg and they make a boot that fits perfectly. It really does fit that well, they were super comfortable out of the box and continue to get better and better. I've only worn them 30 times or so since I got them in the spring but it's just been too hot to want to put on wool socks and heavy leather boots for the past few months.

http://www.russellmoccasin.com/index.html

[mizanation]

nice, another custom boot company, like wesco.

[familyman]

Like wesco but in a different style. Russell has always been about moc toe hunting boots where wesco is a true work boot company for loggers and linemen. All good stuff.

[petng]

What do you guys think about these Tricker Boots http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.es-port.com/item/trickers/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=3&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dtrickers%26hl%3Den%26lr%3Dlang_ja%26sa%3DG%26as_qdr%3Dall

[crisis]

those tricker and russell boots are nice. I'm looking for this redwing model but the only sites that pop up with it are japanese sites. It sucks, i can't find them in the country they're made in. Here's a pic of them worn in. If you know where to get these, let me know.

[xcoldricex]

there's a red wing boot shop near me in michigan- won't be able to check it out for awhile though.

[vivaloschet]

those have been coming up on ebay fairly often. Check this seller's other items: http://cgi.ebay.com/RED-WING-8165-INTERNATIONAL-BOOTS-black-white-NEW-7-5-D_W0QQitemZ230013073754QQihZ013QQcategoryZ63850QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[crisis]

thanks for the heads up and the offer to check the store. I e-mailed that seller and she said the boots are pretty rare to come by and she only has a 7.5 so no luck. I might end up having to go through a Japanese bid service. ehhh sucks haha.

[obsessis]

those boots are awesome, miz. i'd get a pair if they weren't $500.

did you buy the shoes without them fitting not knowing if they'd stretch or not? you are nuts!

[coolhunter]

um...you´ll have to walk around with these, for I dont know how long, before theyll look remotely wearable..

[mizanation]

those boots are awesome, miz. i'd get a pair if they weren't $500.

did you buy the shoes without them fitting not knowing if they'd stretch or not? you are nuts!

thanks man, they fit really good in the store! they are almost broken in now. maybe another few days....

[avanjaz]

rnrswitch or others with the indy, how is the sizing? Do these seem pretty true to size in length and width? I wear a 11.5 ee in new balance and its probably my most comfortable shoe so I've been waiting to try them on before deciding, but no stores around here have them in stock.

[Shorty Long]

I wear the NB's 881s in a 9.5...I got my Aldens (indys) in 9 (at the suggestion of the shop in SF) and they fit perfectly

[familyman]

What do you guys think about these Tricker Boots http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.es-port.com/item/trickers/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=3&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dtrickers%26hl%3Den%26lr%3Dlang_ja%26sa%3DG%26as_qdr%3Dall

I'm really a fan of the Trickers wingtip boots. They come up quite often on ebay but demand a high price. I spent quite a while watching every auction in my size but they never slowed down. They're a nice looking boot.

[mizanation]

rnrswitch or others with the indy, how is the sizing? Do these seem pretty true to size in length and width? I wear a 11.5 ee in new balance and its probably my most comfortable shoe so I've been waiting to try them on before deciding, but no stores around here have them in stock.

the indy's run slightly big. you would want to size down a half-size as suggested by shorty long.

[rnrswitch]

true dat!

2 1

[Watchout Lester]

miz nation

I swung by the alden store the other day to check out the boots in person. i've got a great pr of frye roper's, but come fall will probably want to add something else into the mix. my question is (and don't get me wrong, i think the cordo boots look great, but...) how the fuck could you pass over the indy's for them??? not to mention yuo save 200$, but the color and the shape in my opinion, so much better, especially for this topic (jeans) if you bought em' to wear with a suit that';s somethin else.

carlos is good dude, i'll be back ther in the fall witrh my 260$ in hand

[mizanation]

whatsup lester,

the reason why i got the cordo's versus the indy's is because the cordo's were on sale for $480. the indy's are never on sale, so i figure, i can get them whenever i want later.

also, my work has a business casual dress code, so my cordo's match much better with my work outfit. the indy's are a little too casual, i think...

[denimdestroyedmylife]

alden 405's in shell cordovan-------that's badass!

click for link to leathersoulhawaii

quoted for relevance and troof.

[ang_kangkong]

Crisis, I liked those boots so much I checked the Dave's store here. They don't carry that style of Red Wing. And according to that ebay link, they're a discontinued model.

[truestorytravis]

My problem with many of Red Wing's offerings is the wedge sole. It's hard to dress that up. Crisis you've discovered my frustration. I've found a couple of Red Wings that I do like, but they are only available out of the USA. I know I can use a buying service, but it's just kind of a pain.

[sam113]

DDML-

How are those Aldens treating you a week in?

Stretch, Softening, etc.?

Still fighting that buyers remorse?

[denimdestroyedmylife]

hey sam,

i love the boots. wearing them now. they feel good. they've been molding around my feet. actually not very hot in the summer, surprisingly. my wallabees are way hotter for some reason. it is worth retail price.

i don't regret buying them, though i don't like the idea of having to pay them off.

the black af60s are very under-the-radar. pretty non-descript, really. my wife hasn't even noticed them. they look like plain-old black shoes to the untrained eye. if you happen to see what's going on above the ankle, you might mistake them for combat boots. i like being the only one knowing their cachet. i feel like i'm drinking moet out of a paper bag.

[sam113]

Nothing like a bag of bubbly.

Do you know if they are exclusive to the Carmel store?

My local Alden dealer hasn't even heard of them.