Shoes that look better with age...

[denimjunky]

^Your black indys are sick, 3rd!

[Rivet Head]

1950's Sears Wearmaster work shoes I picked up at the Inspiration show...definitely aged a bit!

[GregoryH]

I am able to cop pairs of vintage work-shoes much like the ones rivet posted in numerous sizes...built-rite soles on most, cap toes, black, brown etc.

PM me if anyone is interested, I don't have pics but they are all in good vintage condition, willing to ship wherever if the price is right. If you are interested give me your shoe size and I will get back to you within a couple days with what I could find.

Looking for 75-100 shipped per pair depending on the condition (pics will be provided prior to sale of course)

[davichan]

super warm day in NYC,

so busted out the Alden Indys Natural Chomexel which have not seen much wear during the blizzards.

[rnrswitch]

1950's Sears Wearmaster work shoes I picked up at the Inspiration show...definitely aged a bit!

These are fuckin nuts. How much they set you back? How's the leather on them?

[Rivet Head]

They were $100...the leather is soft. I had the dealer bend the shoes to make sure the soles were still good!

[Happy Hooligan]

sears made some pretty fine stuff back in the day... good idea too to have the dealer bend the shoes.... was that learned by pricey experience?

[Rivet Head]

No, they felt a little stiff and I didn't want to be the one to break them. If the dealer broke them he had no recourse. No prior experience, just popped into my head at the time. Good though, huh?

[Happy Hooligan]

No, they felt a little stiff and I didn't want to be the one to break them. If the dealer broke them he had no recourse. No prior experience, just popped into my head at the time. Good though, huh?

I'll definitely will use that technique in the future... I almost bought a pair of the Whites shoes which look similar, but I like the Industrial / institution look of those sears much better....

[Megatron1505]

I know this isn't the "This or that" thread, but I'm guessing the expertise that I need is in here.

Wolverine Apprentice

Thorogood Oxford

They will be used for work in an electronics manufacturing environment. Thanks in advance.

[tomorrowstars]

[BrownMetallic]

^Your black indys are sick, 3rd!

tnx, DJ. i'm post up some 1st anniversary photos s:);)n

[alleyooptroop]

So I ordered my first pair of sd's directly from whites. Went with brown chrome excel, lowered block heel and double stitching. The process was pretty painless. I made my foot tracings and sent them a copy with all my specs. I stayed in contact with mark who I believe is the one in charge of all orders. Really nice guy who never seemed bothered with my check ins. I received the boots yesterday after about 5 weeks. Now I know why there's so much love for them here.

Unfortunately, there's not a totally happy ending. When I ordered I assumed that when I speced a single midsole and a leather sole that I would end up with 2 layers of leather in the forefoot. As you can see in the pics they ended up making a single leather sole. I called white's immediately and was passed from mark to rob. He checked with the manufacturing dept and deduced that it would be easier for them to just make a new pair with the double leather sole than tear up the pair I received. They're sending me a shipping label and my new pair is in the works right now. Rob couldn't have been nicer about the misunderstanding. I can't say enough about how well I've been treated and highly recommend going directly through whites.

Btw, rob said he would be able to sell the old pair through their eBay store with no problem.

[erk]

So I ordered my first pair of sd's directly from whites. Went with brown chrome excel, lowered block heel and double stitching. The process was pretty painless. I made my foot tracings and sent them a copy with all my specs. I stayed in contact with mark who I believe is the one in charge of all orders. Really nice guy who never seemed bothered with my check ins. I received the boots yesterday after about 5 weeks. Now I know why there's so much love for them here.

Unfortunately, there's not a totally happy ending. When I ordered I assumed that when I speced a single midsole and a leather sole that I would end up with 2 layers of leather in the forefoot. As you can see in the pics they ended up making a single leather sole. I called white's immediately and was passed from mark to rob. He checked with the manufacturing dept and deduced that it would be easier for them to just make a new pair with the double leather sole than tear up the pair I received. They're sending me a shipping label and my new pair is in the works right now. Rob couldn't have been nicer about the misunderstanding. I can't say enough about how well I've been treated and highly recommend going directly through whites.

Btw, rob said he would be able to sell the old pair through their eBay store with no problem.

glad to hear they're getting it fixed for you. I'm still not sold on the block heel though.

How was the fit?

[GregoryH]

response has been overwhelming, so here's some sample shots of the work shoes i'm able to get. generally they are exactly the same as these if not very very similar. The colors range from light brown to black, all seem to be in virtually unworn condition. Sole bending will be performed upon request

samples shown are 11.5 (light brown) and a 9.5 (dark brown) 11.5's are spoken for

[alleyooptroop]

glad to hear they're getting it fixed for you. I'm still not sold on the block heel though.

How was the fit?

Fit was spot on. It's a shame there was the misunderstanding. I could tell they would be all day long comfortable. Seemed weird to trace my feet but now I'm a believer.

[patrick_b]

So I ordered my first pair of sd's directly from whites...

Fit was spot on. It's a shame there was the misunderstanding. I could tell they would be all day long comfortable. Seemed weird to trace my feet but now I'm a believer.

Those do look great. I am so torn between a boot like your or the Viberg Service Boot in Mocha, like these spec'd by kiya:

One consideration would be price. Anybody know the price difference between the above two pairs of boots from Whites and Viberg?

[hieveryone]

It's probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 cheaper for whites...

Vibergs seems really awesome--The price just seems a bit much for me though.

[tomorrowstars]

My Frye engineers.

[Denim Phenom]

Looks like you need to condition those before they crack.

[Happy Hooligan]

where those frye's underwater for a while? I'd condition those quickly also...

[Revsta]

response has been overwhelming, so here's some sample shots of the work shoes i'm able to get. generally they are exactly the same as these if not very very similar. The colors range from light brown to black, all seem to be in virtually unworn condition. Sole bending will be performed upon request

samples shown are 11.5 (light brown) and a 9.5 (dark brown) 11.5's are spoken for

What are these!?

[pepper davies]

Here are my Red Wing Gentleman Traveler in Chestnut. I've resisted the temptation to post a photo until now that they've actually got a little bit of wear.

[kimhwan92]

I'm having a love affair...... (Sorry Alden, White's, Trickers, C&J)

Thanks Riff and Morse for your perfect sizing advice. They are spot on, sized up half from Alden barrie if anyone needs a reference.

What model is this?

[beatle]

congrats, alley - solid boots

[denimjunky]

^yeah. Whats wrong with single leather sole? Makes them look so much slicker.

[CrashTestBrummie]

Shoes that are starting to look better with 'age'...

C&J Arran

[CrashTestBrummie]

Tricker's Grasmere, with particular apologies to Paul T

[ThinFinn]

great purchases/boots on the last few pages guys...makes me feel i need some white's in my life

here are some "evo in progress" pics of my 9162's...and yes, i do love indigo stains

[patrick_b]

It's probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 cheaper for whites...

Vibergs seems really awesome--The price just seems a bit much for me though.

Thanks for the clarification. I figure a pair of White's SD's would run me ~$500 and according to your post the Vibergs are in the neighborhood of ~$700 so we're looking at a ~40% premium for the Viberg Service Boot.

I know what you mean about that being hard to swallow. If I had the opportunity to try both on and the Svc Boot fit better, it would be an easy justification. However since that's not the case, I'd be paying that premium based on aesthetics alone...that's a tough one.

However...that Mocha Service Boot looks so damn nice and once I got it, I wouldn't have to buy another pair of work boots again...ever... ...it would be the last pair I'd ever need.