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Shoes that look better with age...


mizanation

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can someone (demonito) what is the advantage of different soles? ive seen cats paw and heard of it on here but dont know anything about those. i have alden indys if that means anything

Coleslaw gave the PC story on these soles but this is the realistic story.

Bill shed light on these soles a couple years back and everyone drank gallons upon gallons of the Cats Paw Kool-Aid. Scene points were amassed while the soles couldn't keep up.

Soles that are 50+ years old won't last and you'll spend more money trying to look cool vice spending the money on a sole that will hold up to the oh so gentle suburban life we put these things through.

The sole on your Indy's will last you long enough and there isn't anything wrong with them. Save the money. I have a pair of Ultimate Indy's with a lug sole and I like the cork sole better.

I'm sure tmadd will neg rep me for this since he says I never offer anything good to this thread.

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Gorgeous boots! I like that toe cap length. I've seen some that are a little too short for my taste. Mine are the full size long White's style ones which I love, but I might eventually order a pair in black dress leather and go for the shorter ones like you got on there, they look great.

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Coleslaw gave the PC story on these soles but this is the realistic story.

Bill shed light on these soles a couple years back and everyone drank gallons upon gallons of the Cats Paw Kool-Aid. Scene points were amassed while the soles couldn't keep up.

Soles that are 50+ years old won't last and you'll spend more money trying to look cool vice spending the money on a sole that will hold up to the oh so gentle suburban life we put these things through.

The sole on your Indy's will last you long enough and there isn't anything wrong with them. Save the money. I have a pair of Ultimate Indy's with a lug sole and I like the cork sole better.

I'm sure tmadd will neg rep me for this since he says I never offer anything good to this thread.

I would try to pos rep to offset the tmadd neg rep, but I must spread some around.

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Thanks much! Yeah, I was concerned that the caps would come out too short, but I think sending in a picture really helped them understand what I was looking for.

Yeah, I think I'm going to stash these pics of yours so I can use them as a guide for my next pair. Then I'll have a pair of SD that are full caps, short caps, and no caps. That sounds like a nice collection :) Though I'll probably wait a while before I add another pair, the two I have now should keep me happy for a little while.

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Thanks much! Yeah, I was concerned that the caps would come out too short, but I think sending in a picture really helped them understand what I was looking for.

RK, can you give us specifics on your SD's? What kind of leather? Are those double leather soles? What did you ask for regarding the cap length?

Cheers!

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Hey fellas, new here but I've been lurking for a few months now...what an epic thread this is! Really a gold mine of great information and pics of leather boots/shoes.

Thought I'd share a few pics of my custom Semi-Dress.

CIMG2319.jpg

For those that haven't had the pleasure of owning a pair of White's, a few observations:

-even though they may look a bit "clunky," it's just an illusion. Once they're on your feet they feel light and trim.

-once broken in, they fit like an old leather glove. Really some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn.

-don't let the "Arch-ease" scare you off...although it's very prominent and might feel a bit weird at first, it conforms to your arch within a few days of wearing. Truly outstanding support.

Over all, I couldn't be happier with these boots. The custom ordering process was a smooth experience, handled by phone and fax with Mark at White's. Excellent customer service, very easy. I made a special request to have a shorter cap-toe than they normally make, provided a picture of what I meant, and it turned out exactly as I envisioned. I'm also very pleased with the leather lining...buttery smooth and adds a bit of structure to the boot.

As far as care, I treated them with Obenauf's LP when I first received them, and have since hit them up with Saphir cream polish once or twice. They have broken in beautifully.

Good looking boots there. Could you share some details? For example, which leather, single/double sole, antique eyelets, etc. Also, tell me about sizing.

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Thanks for the kind words. My SDs are made from the standard dress black leather with antique brass eyelets/hooks. They have a leather double sole with a brown stain, and they are lined in brown leather.

I'm really happy that I went with the dress leather...it's very comfortable, durable, and it's breaking in very well.

As far as the cap toe goes, I indicated that I wanted one a little shorter than the standard length one. There was a bit of confusion as to exactly how large I wanted it, but I emailed them a couple of pictures to illustrate what I was talking about and they pretty much nailed it.

As far as sizing goes, I sent foot measurements and tracings to White's via fax, and they matched my foot with a 9.5D last. Normally I wear 10.5 in running shoes, 10 in casual shoes, and 9.5 in dress shoes. So I was a bit surprised to be provided a 9.5, but they fit perfectly, with plenty of room for the piggly wigglies. Hope that helps!

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I saw this awesome pair of Wesco's on their Facebook page.

They show some of their custom pairs and I thought this pair looked pretty nice. Is this anyones?

2585_152025240392_130765095392_6207397_2096632_n.jpg

Anyone know if these are plain-toe or lace-to-toe? They look a bit different in the stitching i've seen on their website - tough to tell.

Very nice looking boots... I think they're 8" Jobmasters

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Coleslaw gave the PC story on these soles but this is the realistic story.

Bill shed light on these soles a couple years back and everyone drank gallons upon gallons of the Cats Paw Kool-Aid. Scene points were amassed while the soles couldn't keep up.

Soles that are 50+ years old won't last and you'll spend more money trying to look cool vice spending the money on a sole that will hold up to the oh so gentle suburban life we put these things through.

The sole on your Indy's will last you long enough and there isn't anything wrong with them. Save the money. I have a pair of Ultimate Indy's with a lug sole and I like the cork sole better.

I'm sure tmadd will neg rep me for this since he says I never offer anything good to this thread.

I don't hate your contributions, I hate your hate. I'm not a big fan of you playing the dollar-police, but I'm on board with the factual aspects of nearly everything you are saying here (except your certainty that I will be bestowing neg rep upon you) even if I am not a fan of how you decided to say it. Also, your comment about appreciating the cork sole on the Indy's definitely served to remind me that despite our differences on a few minute issues, and our approaches to them, reminds me that when it comes down to it, we see more things the same way than from the diametrically opposed stances that often are made apparent in this thread.

I think that Cat's Paws are a terrible purchase if all you are concerned with is durability/function per dollar spent, but if you are willing to spend a little extra on something "looking right" even if it is to the detriment of durability, then that's your call, and it could well be worth it to you, especially if you are getting soles that are from the 90's/early 00's instead of examples that are 50+ years old.

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Guest jbone45
I don't hate your contributions, I hate your hate. I'm not a big fan of you playing the dollar-police, but I'm on board with the factual aspects of nearly everything you are saying here (except your certainty that I will be bestowing neg rep upon you) even if I am not a fan of how you decided to say it. Also, your comment about appreciating the cork sole on the Indy's definitely served to remind me that despite our differences on a few minute issues, and our approaches to them, reminds me that when it comes down to it, we see more things the same way than from the diametrically opposed stances that often are made apparent in this thread.

I think that Cat's Paws are a terrible purchase if all you are concerned with is durability/function per dollar spent, but if you are willing to spend a little extra on something "looking right" even if it is to the detriment of durability, then that's your call, and it could well be worth it to you, especially if you are getting soles that are from the 90's/early 00's instead of examples that are 50+ years old.

Tmadd, I hate to say this but you seem like a big puss. You and a small number of people here love to throw around the word 'hate.' You girls complain of people being 'hateful' or 'hating' if they have different tastes than you may have. If you can't handle people criticizing your look or your damn soles then don't post them.

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Hmm I think it may be an illusion because of the non-cuban heel and the eyelets to the top. Otherwise they look like pretty standard SD to me, with different leather.

I know I mentioned it before, but when you see these in person and put them on they really are the opposite of clunky IMO. I was concerned about that before I got them and it turned out to be not a big deal at all.

Also, if anything the straight-down heel might actually make it feel more clunky...FWIW it's my understanding that the underslung heel aids with smooth, comfortable gait, helping them roll through the stride rather than clomping down. Just my 0.02.

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Guest jbone45
Do you, now?

Yeah, actually I do. I don't like putting people down. Tmadd is a knowledgeable and helpful guy. However, I don't mind calling people out on something they posted. Don't call me a "hater" because I may have different tastes than you.

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Tmadd, I hate to say this but you seem like a big puss. You and a small number of people here love to throw around the word 'hate.' You girls complain of people being 'hateful' or 'hating' if they have different tastes than you may have. If you can't handle people criticizing your look or your damn soles then don't post them.

I've never once tried to defend anything that had to do with my "look", mostly because there are a lot of things about it that I don't consider defend-able. Plus, like I said, this isn't an issue with people that have different tastes than I do, but with people who have more or less the same taste, but like to interject their own edicts about whether certain purchases are "worth the money" in a universal context. While those opinions are fine as personal means of determining product-purchase value, openly calling out anybody who wants to purchase a certain product as a money wasting fool lacks a bit of perspective from dudes that also wear $200+ jeans. If that makes a dude sitting behind a computer think I might be a big puss, I'm ok with that.

These arguments are just as bad, if not worse than the barrage of sizing questions for most of the people that read this thread, that's definitely been something I've complained loudly about, so I'm going to start posting some pictures everytime I contribute to this aspect of it. Just took an especially poor picture of my Indy's the way they generally look for daily wear, displaying the recently added Cat's Paw orthopedic heel. Appropriately enough, I went into Eddie's planning to get whatever standard orthopedic heel as a cheaper and longer-lasting alternative to the Cat's Paw, but it was all he had for orthopedic heels in my size, and I decided the $10 was worth not having to wait a little longer.

DSCN1506.jpg

Edit:

Yeah, actually I do. I don't like putting people down. Tmadd is a knowledgeable and helpful guy. However, I don't mind calling people out on something they posted. Don't call me a "hater" because I may have different tastes than you.

I believe he was making light of the fact that you actually USED the word hate, and then complained about the uses of the words hate. They don't actually contradict each other the way you used them, but I did laugh at the unfortunate word choice. Also, I should probably clarify that when I said I hated DP's "hate" I didn't mean him "being a hater", I meant I hate when he's a jerk.

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I don't hate your contributions, I hate your hate. I'm not a big fan of you playing the dollar-police, but I'm on board with the factual aspects of nearly everything you are saying here (except your certainty that I will be bestowing neg rep upon you) even if I am not a fan of how you decided to say it. Also, your comment about appreciating the cork sole on the Indy's definitely served to remind me that despite our differences on a few minute issues, and our approaches to them, reminds me that when it comes down to it, we see more things the same way than from the diametrically opposed stances that often are made apparent in this thread.

I think that Cat's Paws are a terrible purchase if all you are concerned with is durability/function per dollar spent, but if you are willing to spend a little extra on something "looking right" even if it is to the detriment of durability, then that's your call, and it could well be worth it to you, especially if you are getting soles that are from the 90's/early 00's instead of examples that are 50+ years old.

thanks, i was just curious about them. i think once i wear my soles down a shit ton i will get vibram or lugz. thanks for the help people

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