Shoes that look better with age...

[dave023]

any news Bill??thank you

[Watchcap]

My new Indy's vs. My mod'd Red Wings.....a battle royale

Love those Red Wings, Bill. What model are they?

[Sais]

you cant go wrong with Timberland Field boots

[Bill2]

Ok, here's an update on a few of the questions asked in the past page:

The Red Wings are 8130's that I had resoled with an all leather sole. They are size 9D

The indy's are pictured nearly brand new. They are size 9.5D. They have since gotten a good shining with melatonian neutral wax.

Sizing: The indy's fit me perfectly at a 9.5D. They are definitely longer than the red wings but slightly more narrow in the toe box so the extra length is more comfortable for my wide forefoot.

Comfort: The Alden's win the comfort test hands down. They are lower profile (lower heel) and more flexible . The redwings feel much heavier overall, clunkier. Also, it is very apparent that the Alden's are the orthopedic shoe; they are very sturdy and solid and provide good ankle support.

I've been wearing the indy's nearly everyday...I'll post some more pics in another week or so after some more wear and a good polish.

-Bill

[Servo2000]

Any idea as to what the boots were used in this Rag and Bone ss07 show? Or something similar. I don't own any boots but these look rad.

Just bumping this because I'm very curious as well. Couldn't find any closer pictures myself, so I seriously doubt anyone is going to be able to tell.

[Whodinihimself]

my old school Docs from highschool that i found today while helping my pops clean out the basement..ahhh the joys of coming home for the holidays

...wore these pretty much all through highschool...the soles are almost all used up...i wish i was still a size 9.5 as these are broken in just the way i like em....but...ill have to be selling these on Supermarket soon..the insole is branded Limited Edition btw...but i havent the foggiest recollection why...

[MilSpex]

Dunks. Dunks also look better trashed.

[__3xL]

Who said trashed shoes milSpex ?

shoes that are broke in ( to deff ) aint gonna be trashed dude ..

[dave023]

Ok, here's an update on a few of the questions asked in the past page:

The Red Wings are 8130's that I had resoled with an all leather sole. They are size 9D

The indy's are pictured nearly brand new. They are size 9.5D. They have since gotten a good shining with melatonian neutral wax.

Sizing: The indy's fit me perfectly at a 9.5D. They are definitely longer than the red wings but slightly more narrow in the toe box so the extra length is more comfortable for my wide forefoot.

Comfort: The Alden's win the comfort test hands down. They are lower profile (lower heel) and more flexible . The redwings feel much heavier overall, clunkier. Also, it is very apparent that the Alden's are the orthopedic shoe; they are very sturdy and solid and provide good ankle support.

I've been wearing the indy's nearly everyday...I'll post some more pics in another week or so after some more wear and a good polish.

-Bill

Thanks Bill!

[dave023]

BTW , bought myself some Red wing 3140 last saturday...

Hope they will age beautifully...

If anyone has some pics of those aged babies....

[mizanation]

nice RW's dave. those look awesome.

whodiini, those docs look great too. did you polish them occassionally? looks like they have a nice shine to them.

[nshadows1]

How do the Indy's run in size? Any suggestions to purchase online? I like them but the color seems a little light and red any ideas on darkening them up?

[mizanation]

i think your questions have been answered in this thread before, but i'll tell you anyways. indy's (and i think all alden boots) run a little big, so you might want to size down a half-size. people have experimented with using darker polish to darken up the indy's with some success.

on a different note, last friday, i took chicken to see my old greek shoe repair man. when we got there, there was a bunch of delicious catered food and two big jugs of alcohol, one clear and one wine colored. minas, the old greek guy, told us that we are just in time for the party and offered us some of his homemade grappa (the clear jug). grappa, btw, is 60% alcohol. we had like 4 shots each. we also ate our fill of great food. we had a great time. i'm glad chicken picked a good day to visit my favorite shoe repair guy.

[cultpop 0217]

ok, here are my friend's "dead man's" shoes. he got them in a thrift shop in toronto. apparently the previous owner died and they donated these shoes to the shop. luckily, they fit my friend perfectly. they are not shell cordovan, but very high quality calfskin. any branding has long been worn off. he's worn them for 7 years, and he estimates that the previous owner had them at least 5 years. they could be even much older than that, but it's hard to tell. they are definitely well worn though, and look great. enjoy:

just awe inspiring...

i need some new shoes.

[Chicken]

i think your questions have been answered in this thread before, but i'll tell you anyways. indy's (and i think all alden boots) run a little big, so you might want to size down a half-size. people have experimented with using darker polish to darken up the indy's with some success.

on a different note, last friday, i took chicken to see my old greek shoe repair man. when we got there, there was a bunch of delicious catered food and two big jugs of alcohol, one clear and one wine colored. minas, the old greek guy, told us that we are just in time for the party and offered us some of his homemade grappa (the clear jug). grappa, btw, is 60% alcohol. we had like 4 shots each. we also ate our fill of great food. we had a great time. i'm glad chicken picked a good day to visit my favorite shoe repair guy.

my indys have stretched a bit since i got them, too. so it's probably better for you to get them a little snug. but probably want to be careful with the front and the back width sizing -- that could affect the overall length you want to get, too.

man miz, that was some gooooood grappa. i'm definitely going back!

[GregNYC]

Mizanation and I were talking about good shoes, with a retro look. They look better as they break in. Leather soles, not composition. You keep the shoe leather conditioned and highly polished and re-soled when needed. You give the shoes a day or two of airing out between wearing them. Which means you need more than one pair! They will last for decades. Shoe addicts say that if you have 7 pairs of good shoes and rotate them throughout the week, they will last you for life.

Here are some of my favorites. One is has a 50's + 60's style, like an FBI agent. Or think Tom Hanks in "Catch Me If You Can" or Tommy Lee Jones in "Men in Black." The other one in the pic is my Corcoran jump boots. In WWII, U.S. paratroopers wore them in brown. Since the late 50's/early 60's they phased them out for black.

[/url]

The very best place to get these secret agent shoes is not Alden as one might think, but Allen Edmonds. AE's fit and last shape are vastly superior, as is the surface of their shell cordovan and their beefy double-thickness leather sole.

www.allenedmonds.com

The model is the Leeds

http://tinyurl.com/ynd57j

They come in calfskin and shell cordovan. Cordovan polishes up to a higher gloss, but costs about $100 more. There is a current U.S. Government contractor, Bates, who makes a very low-price equivalent. Just like the Army "low quarters" I used to wear. Check out the Bates #1208:

http://www.copshoes.com/p-B1208SA.html

Speaking of the Army, you can get current Army-issue combat boots by Wellco, another contractor:

www.wellco.com

Another style I like is the classic Chelsea boot, or ankle boot. They developed from British and Australian equestrian culture. Many English companies make them, but the very best and sturdiest are from R.M. Williams in Australia:

www.rmwilliams.com

For under $100 there is the very sturdy Blundstone's, also from Australia:

www.blundstone.com

Other boots I like include logger and smoke jumper boots, as from Wesco and White's. Chippewa and Georgia make them too, but they their quality has slipped and they are now outsourced to be made in China, and just don't fit very well any more. But Wesco and White's are still supposedly very good quality:

www.westcoastshoe.com

www.whitesboots.com

Then there are the classic American worker's boots, Red Wings. I have the 875,s and am waiting for a pair of 1911s from Cultizm. long time, and are much sturdier than Timberlands:

Very similar to these is the Indy Boot, which has been discussed here a lot. I'm not such a big fan of Alden - the Indies don't fit me, and their hue is much too orange these days.

For the classic British hand-made shoe, there are many great makers. Some of the best known are Edward Green, John Lobb, Crockett and Jones, links below. I have some great C & J chukka boots:

http://tinyurl.com/y8ev86

http://tinyurl.com/sbojz

I like them better than these Alden chukkas, which I also have:

http://www.aldenshoes.com/images/1339.jpg

Any of the British firms will make bespoke shoes, but the cost is around USD $4K.

Here some more links:

Indy Boot

www.indygear.com/gear/boots.shtml

Allen Edmonds

www.allenedmonds.com

Especially their Leeds

http://tinyurl.com/ynd57j

John Lobb

www.johnlobb.com

Crockett & Jones

www.crockettandjones.co.uk

Edward Green

www.edwardgreen.co.uk

Bates

www.batesfootwear.com

R.M. Williams

www.rmwilliams.com

Blundstone

www.blundstone.com

Wesco

www.westcoastshoe.com

White's Boots

http://www.whitesboots.com/

Red Wings

www.redwingshoes.com

Corcoran and Matterhorn

www.corcoranandmatterhorn.com

www.stompersboots.com

Wellco

www.wellco.com

A great place for more information is this list of links on Styleforum.

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=12201

[so-so]

What a post...!

[LeicaLad]

Indeed, a most excellent and informative post.

My only frustration: Cultizm does not have the 1911 (anymore). I spent months hunting a source besides the overpriced German sites. Even Red Wing corporate tried to help through their Singapore stores. No luck. Now I'm looking at Trickers, but I will spend time following some of your links.

Again, Thanks for a very excellent post.

[GregNYC]

Thanks LL. I had just written to Dejan asking him to order them, and he told me he's done it. I'll let you know how that turns out. I wonder why RW corporate markets these overseas but not in the U.S....

[dave023]

Indeed, a most excellent and informative post.

My only frustration: Cultizm does not have the 1911 (anymore). I spent months hunting a source besides the overpriced German sites. Even Red Wing corporate tried to help through their Singapore stores. No luck. Now I'm looking at Trickers, but I will spend time following some of your links.

Again, Thanks for a very excellent post.

LeicaLad,

They have the RW 1911 here in Brussels but asking price is 249€ or $329...If you'd like and really want them I can have a look if they've your size..

But I 'd choose the indy boots at that price!!!

[LeicaLad]

Yeah. This IS the problem. It makes no sense that they don't sell them in the US.

A few people HAVE found them in US stores, but strictly luck-o-the-draw. I commute between Bangkok and Peshawar, so not many chances to track these down. I also agree that, once Red Wings cross into $300+ range, then you might as well look at Aldens or Trickers. (Actually, I went to order the Alden Indy Fan version, but they were out of my size 10 or 10.5 and the wait is 5 months+.)

Such is my on-going luck in these matters. No matter, tho. Plenty of fall back options. But those 1911, 1913 & 1914 are pretty cool, eh?

[dave023]

Yeah. This IS the problem. It makes no sense that they don't sell them in the US.

A few people HAVE found them in US stores, but strictly luck-o-the-draw. I commute between Bangkok and Peshawar, so not many chances to track these down. I also agree that, once Red Wings cross into $300+ range, then you might as well look at Aldens or Trickers. (Actually, I went to order the Alden Indy Fan version, but they were out of my size 10 or 10.5 and the wait is 5 months+.)

Such is my on-going luck in these matters. No matter, tho. Plenty of fall back options. But those 1911, 1913 & 1914 are pretty cool, eh?

You know what, ythey don't have your size of RW 1911 here, it's the same size I have so....

Another option went down:(

[superBobo]

there is so much great info in this thread!

my main problem buying boots on the internet is sizing. I´m a 11 D/EE on Redwings (nike and most other sneaks size 12).

What should I go for in Chippewa bike/engineer boots?

[GregNYC]

LeicaLad,

They have the RW 1911 here in Brussels but asking price is 249€ or $329...If you'd like and really want them I can have a look if they've your size..

I might take you up on the RW 1911's if Dejan can't get them.

[dave023]

I might take you up on the RW 1911's if Dejan can't get them.

Ok no problem, just tell me and I'll have a look.

[headcoat]

Does anyone know the reason why certain Red Wing models are not sold in the US? I really want a pair of 1911's without the hassle of an international order. It seems absurd that all the best styles of an American shoe company are not even available in its own country.

[GregNYC]

Some of my favorites:

Allen Edmonds Calfskin Leeds

Crocket and Jones Coniston

Alden Cap Toe Shell Cordovan Boot

R.M. Williams Craftsman Yearling

[Analog]

GregNYC : thanks for the pics and insight

I really find the RM site frustrating - they really need to put up some more images of the shoes imo. I shouldn't have to work so hard, emailing back and forth, asking for descriptions/clarifications

[poly800rock]

First picture-post here.

These are a bit more fashion over function than the rest of this post, but I think you'll agree these belong.

Dries Van Noten A-5 Vamp

http://img375.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shoeslg9.jpg

Okay, I'm retarded. Followed the whole mountain-icon direction, and still can't imbed a fucking picture. Someone want to help the slow?

those are fucking awesome, where did you find those?

[PG2G]

Those R.M. Williams look waaay better in your pics than on the website.