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Shoes that look better with age...


mizanation

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well, thanks again, the seller told me it would retail over 500 at the store, anyway, cordovan or not, i still find the shoe very beautiful. It is something that i dont have right now.

If they would retail at over £500, then they for sure must be real shell.

And at £100 and given the fact that you really like them, I guess it's a no-brainer :)

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Hikers and skiers use Sno Seal and other waxes and oils for the soles, dating back to the days when lots of boots had leather soles...
^^ there are 2 things to consider if you;re thinking about leather soles on ice and snow. One is the slippery factor, which I've found is workable (not ideal) after the soles have been roughed up a bit. The other is waterproofing- leather soles do let water in eventually, and if you're out all day in rain or slush it can get really uncomfortable, and it doesn;t do the shoes any good either... Double leather would be a lot better for that I guess, although i've never had them

Thanks for the input. I'm not too worried about the slipping factor, but the water seeping through the sole is another story. I do remember my dad using Sno Seal on some of his boots when I was younger, and hadn't really thought about it before you mentioned it again. Hmm... what to do?

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so are there different type of cordovan? i dont think they are shell cordovan because of it didnt specifically say so. It said genuine cordovan? Dont know the difference between shell and genuine. So, if it is just regular cordovan, it just means horse leather?

I recently received a Brooks Brothers catalog, and they had a section of shell cordovan footwear (I assume that it's all made by Alden). Anyway, there was a page describing the leather, and in the next to last paragraph, it does say that shell cordovan can be referred to as "genuine cordovan"...

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^Good luck with the auction!

I decided to go ahead and try the Alden restoration service. I got the shoes so cheaply on eBay that, even with the $135 fee, it'll still end up being less than half of what I'd pay if I got them new. Which I think is still a good deal, since I expect that they'll be as good as new when I get them back (or better than new, since these are shoes that "look better with age"). Plus, they give you a new box, trees, bags, laces, etc. -- which seems like a small thing, but will add to my enjoyment a lot, I think. Here are some pics of the kit they send you if you call them about recrafting. The big green bag is what you send the shoes back in:

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I'll put up before/after pics when I get the shoes back. I plan to wear them with a suit; I could see people wearing them with jeans, but that's personally not my style. I like something on a chunkier last with jeans -- I wouldn't even wear AF60s with jeans, even though obviously it looks great on a lot of people here!

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A quality shoe tree can cost $30 or more, and it worths it because they will give you one that fit your shoe perfectly. And new box, cloth, bags, laces, and a deep clean. You pretty much going to get a new one back. So when will you expect your alden to arrive. Look at the service so far i can tell it would be satisfaction guarantee. I'll be excited to see some new pics from you.

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does anyone know anything about duck boots? Ive seen this kind of thing around before, but I don;t know if they have any history/stories:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qjpwnPW4c1o/SMe3jh74lxI/AAAAAAAAEAQ/OcxMMsxDVXA/s1600-h/9098BillCunninghamweb.jpg

picture courtesy of the sartorialist.

found them at LL Bean http://www.llbean.com/shop/guidePages/beanBoots/ . what do people think?

ps Fattybfat- good luck with the auction, and be sure to post pics if you get them :)

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does anyone know anything about duck boots? Ive seen this kind of thing around before, but I don;t know if they have any history/stories:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qjpwnPW4c1o/SMe3jh74lxI/AAAAAAAAEAQ/OcxMMsxDVXA/s1600-h/9098BillCunninghamweb.jpg

picture courtesy of the sartorialist.

found them at LL Bean http://www.llbean.com/shop/guidePages/beanBoots/ . what do people think?

ps Fattybfat- good luck with the auction, and be sure to post pics if you get them :)

Dont know anything on the LL Bean duck boot. But it looks perfect for the rain season. Interesting enough, today it rain so hard here and i am wearing my crocs. Anyway. One thing i know about 15 years ago. The duck boot were being mass production by Ralph Lauren. And maybe even today i can still see some around in the mall. And it is very famous by the latinos community in Texas.

Ask the seller many questions, so i just decided to BIN. Will post when i got it. One thing concern me is the size. Well, it is size 7 UK, which is same size as i worn on my stow. But i dont know would the low cut makes any difference.David of Trickers said it would fit well, so ...i trust him.

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Personally like the one above but with shorter height..5" maybe?

$59 seems a good price and with the resoling service and different width makes it even more considerable. But there seems to be a problem with sizing. Seem like it run larger and does not offer half size. Also, really want to know what makes up the interior? I doubt it is leather. It would be a hugh cons if it is mesh. Good for fishing, which i dont fish. Good for gardening as well. Something i dont do either. It would be for raining day only for me.

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brilliant! thanks a lot guys. sorry I edited after I found out they were LL Bean. Does anyone know if they have any pre-Bean history? They look like they could be military, or hunting, like Russel...

Ichiran- I agree 6" looks great. I think i might be tempted even higher though

llbean_boots.jpgthey;re really cheap too! only $75 for 6".

FBF, great that you;ve BINned the Trickers- and it sounds like a very good price. In my experience you ought to buy shoes slightly smaller than boots, as you don;t have the extra ankle support to hold them on, but of course you should go with their advice. Looking forward to pics!

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Figured I'd check in here since some of you folks are much more knowledgeable about this sort of thing: I'm looking for a pair of winter boots and I'm thinking of picking up a pair off of the Trickers eBay store (regardless of $60 shipping - ouch). Do you think these will work in the snow? I plan on picking up some sturdy wool socks for wearing underneath.

In addition:

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These will be available for a little over $200 it seems, but the color seems a little peculiar (although not entirely unlikeable considering I alreay have a pair of nice brown boots).

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These are a little more classic but will essentially be $300 all told.

Opinions / thoughts?

(also probably pick up a pair of the Beans since they're only $85 or so...)

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the one on top has the commando sole which would be abit better than the double leather sole one on the bottom. I dont think leather sole would be good at snow weather at all. But be honest, i dont think both will works in the snow. As the snow melt, the ice water will absorb to the leather which leave watermark. It can be done by polishing but still L.L. Bean seems to be a wiser choice.

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To be honest the Trickers and the LL Bean are completely different boots. The Trickers are traditional british Bench-made boots, and the Beans (which I only discivered for the first time about an hour ago!) look to be much lighter, and rubber-waterproofed.

I agree with FBF that a commando sole is better suited for winter (although if the price difference is that big, you could always get a cobbler to add them to double leather for you, either by resoling (expensive but stronger) or by gluing them on (cheaper and less long-lasting)). Also he's right that the boot itself will get in trouble in really wet conditions (ask Ichiran about Snoseal- sonds like it could maybe help you out)

The Trickers are nice solidly made boots though, and as English shoes go, they are very robust (even a bit too robust for my personal taste).

THe Bean boots look great to me, and at the price you can;t really go wrong. I'd love to see pictures and opinions from soemone who gets them- so please post of you do :D

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regarding LL bean, I wore a pair of 10" buffalo skin bean boots last autumn and winter, which is perfect in snow and mush. I recently got a pair of LL bean gumshoes aswell, to wear easier around town, but I have a feeling these really arent as comfortable as a higher boot with more ankle support.

They fit rather unstructured, far from a real leather boot. Very recommended though if you have need for water proof/resistant boots.

The rubber bottom is lined in some kind of mesh (or unlined, cant really remember) and they fit roomy. Size down atleast one from your "normal" size, which still gives atleast me room for ragg socks.

wdywt080120b.jpg

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I think I wear them tied loosely at the top in the pic, but with the full gusset tounge, its possible to wear them unlaced aswell. Getting atleast 8" is probably a good idea if you want to wear them with pants tucked into them.

And no, they dont breathe much ;) When out and around, its no big problem if you wear the right socks, but wearing them indoors (for lectures as I did) gets rather sweaty.,,

I think the low Gum Shoes are less sweaty since they dont close around the ankle, which might give them the upperhand this fall...

If they are only to be worn in sub freezing temps, getting the Thinsulate ones might be a good idea. I bought unlined, to have more flexibility, but they get rather cold in sub freezing temps. I plan to address this with getting some super heavy wool socks though.

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Figured I'd check in here since some of you folks are much more knowledgeable about this sort of thing: I'm looking for a pair of winter boots and I'm thinking of picking up a pair off of the Trickers eBay store (regardless of $60 shipping - ouch). Do you think these will work in the snow? I plan on picking up some sturdy wool socks for wearing underneath.

I like dainite myself, but any rubber sole will work well.

If you aren't OCD, you can just say fuck it and wear the leather soles. The double leather and storm welt will most likely keep out water even though they might seem like they are getting soaked. This is what they used to wear in the nasty bogs of Scotland before they knew modern waterproofing.

I personally am OCD, I hate wearing nice shoes through slush and snow. I have a 100% impenetrable pair of goretex hunting boots which I break out when I know I will confront real nasty weather. They stay dry and look better than those rain galoshes.

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I really cannot believe what I am seeing.

Or that you would even consider needing a boot for snow in SAN DIEGO!???!??!?

Does a person not always being in the place their superfuture account says they live in fall within the apparently relatively narrow range of things that are believable to you? That's somewhat akin to saying someone doesn't ever need an umbrella because they are inside at that particular point in time.

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I was considering dainite when my trickers need a resole. The commando is a bit of a pain with all the junk you pick up through the day. I somehow ended up with a central heating radiator bleed key in the sole of one boot!

As for snow, just get some sno-seal and take care of your boots. Those stows would be fine I say.

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I was considering dainite when my trickers need a resole. The commando is a bit of a pain with all the junk you pick up through the day. I somehow ended up with a central heating radiator bleed key in the sole of one boot!

As for snow, just get some sno-seal and take care of your boots. Those stows would be fine I say.

I'll second that. My gravel path is now mostly on the sole of my Trickers. Dainite for my next resole too.

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