Shoes that look better with age...

[indigo_junkie]

indigo_junkie- do you have an especially wide foot?

Um. wide-ish. Depending on the boot, I either go with medium or wide (say a D or E). I fit an 8G on the RMWs (G is supposedly their medium size). But the Henley's have the widest toe box of any of the RMs, so I'd probably fit a 8H on say a Craftsman (which is what I believe a similar shape to the Baxter).

nb: GAh! What happened to the original Baxter site? the new Baxter site looks like it was done as a highschool web design project.

[LeicaLad]

Nice Clapton Red Wings. Show ‘em your love and they’ll be looking good for years. I’m among those curious for feedback on the various Anniversary editions.

Greg - Many thanks for the link on the Matterhorn. Very interesting gear. If I’d seen that earlier, I might have gone there. I’m marking them for consideration come next winter.

From Indigo-junkie’s posting I learned that Gowings is gone. I haven’t been back to Australia in about 3 years, so didn’t know this. Man, that was such a cool place. I bought a lot of stuff there. I’m really sad to know it’s gone. Oh, and Welcome to the thread, Indigo!

The Quoddy’s are interesting. I have a nice pair of Minnetonka moccasins that I got really cheap in a closeout sale. A really nice moc with a natural (non-) sole is hard to beat for comfort.

Okay. This is my “chat†post on the latest major boot acquisition:

My Grenson Ilkley boots finally arrived and I’ve had a chance to wear ‘em a bit. This is my second or replacement pair, as the first turned out to be surprisingly bigger than I expected. Fortunately, I bought them from Pediwear in the UK, who were very responsive and cross-shipped a smaller pair within hours after I’d contacted them. I stepped down a half size from a UK10 to a UK9.5 to get an excellent fit. I’m normally at the upper side of a US 10.5E, so this came as a surprise. Due to distance, it’s taken me well over a month to get these, but that’s where I am, not the vendor.

I really do commend Pediwear for service, price, and good communications and advice leading up to the sale. They also threw in a free pair of cedar boot trees, polish, spare laces and shoe bags. Very nice.

These are a great country boot, which is what I wanted. Dressy, although I doubt one would wear them with a suit. Jacket and chinos, yes, Denim, pretty much all the time. These are well made and feel great straight from the box. I’m really glad to have taken the time to swap them to get the right size. This pair fit perfectly.

I know nothing about Grenson lasts. I can say these are in the “gun boat†school. Lots of toe room in the box. The commando sole boots seem to always come on the “wide only†lasts. This is true of Tricker’s boots, too. You “clomp†in these, simply because of the massive construction and the think monster sole. Time will tell if that lightens up as they break in. The point, however, is that “sleek†these ain’t.

An interesting aside: I had done substantial homework and had firmly settled on getting myself a pair of Tricker’s Malton boots. I wasn’t totally thrilled with the color, but liked everything else. I’d even acquired a pair of Tricker’s Keswick country shoes, which simply amazed me with their construction. (See post #1000 in this thread!) I was in the final stages of ordering, even having sweet-talked another 10% discount on the price for the Tricker’s, when Skalogre popped up in this thread with links to his SF posts of his Grenson’s. They looked just as good, and I really liked the color a whole lot more.

Equally interesting, Pediwear gave a polite nod to the Ilkleys when I asked them for a blunt assessment between the two strictly on construction quality. They were clear that both are great boots, but that of these two boots the Grenson has a bit better finish. ‘Twas the icing on the cake for me. I love Tricker’s gunboats, but I appreciated their advice. My impression with boots now on my feet: These are really good looking boots and I like how they feel, too!

The Grenson’s peeking out under the SC 47’s.

One observation that Skalogre has repeatedly made is confirmed: the commando sole on these babies, like all true commando soles, suck up gravel and muck like a dry sponge does water. BUT, given all that traction, it’s a great tromping boot in adverse settings. Skalogre also reports on the headache of cleaning out the brogue-work. After the past few days, I can also confirm that this is true, but brushes are cheap here, so I’ve just dedicated a few brushes for the preliminary tasks of vacating brogue-work. Once the muck is dry, it seems to brush out okay.

This move into boots has been a curious experience. I haven’t owned, let alone, worn a lace up boot in some years. Now, in short order, I have two new pair (and keep looking at more): The Grenson Ilkley and a pair of Alden 307 work boots. (More about the Alden’s later.)

These are a bit of a change for me. They do feel strange, particularly going up and down stairs, if you haven’t worn full boots in a while. That, and the weight of all that leather.

After living in Thailand, I moved to Burma (aka: Myanmar) to run an HIV/AIDS control program. There, the formal dress and proper office wear is a longyi (a large sarong sewn into a tube), cotton jacket and velvet (flip-flop style) slippers. (The velvet flip-flops are very nice, comfortable, cool and very cheap!) Country fieldwork travel meant strapped Teva sandals or running shoes. In cultures where you take your shoes off before entering almost any structure, laced shoes -- let alone boots -- are a severe pain in the butt. I’m not even sure I’ll take my boots on my upcoming runs back to Thailand (where my family is based).

Anyway, I thought the years there, totally immersed in slipper culture, had pretty much cured me of shoe acquisition disorder, let alone high-top leather boot lust, but it’s back in a virulent form. Even at my distance from any normal notion of shoe store, this thread has reaped its damage.

Which is also to say: I really like these things. They are comfy and I feel like an armored tank. This is great during this cold season, but I’m wondering how much I’ll like them when the hot season comes. And it gets really, really bl**dy hot here.

So, I can firmly recommend the Grenson Ilkley’s as a great country style brogue boot. I also really recommend Pediwear as a dealer. They were really nice and helpful throughout the process.

Now, if I can only decide what’s next... I’m Jonesing already. The fallout from the failed LeatherSoul special order gives me a (brief) break, but the shell cordo siren is calling my name. Cap toe boots, but I really want an Oxford rather than blucher boot. Now, THERE’S a special order we could campaign for!

(According the AAAF, this boot is requisite for proper white tie dress.)

See: http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/Tutorials/AntongiavanniWEDDINGATTIRE.htm

In the meantime, I’m (still) thinking hard about the R.M.Williams boots -- the jodhpur, in particular. I’m really, really trying to resist. I think of them to distract me from the shell cordovans...

My daughter’s college fund is already in jeopardy.

(And, while I blame you ALL for my behavior, I really want to say THANKS to all the contributors to this awesome thread!!! I really love the wide ranging diversity of cool shoes and boots.)

Musings on the Alden 307 boots may take a bit longer. Gotta consider how to describe coming to terms with the CDI last.

Cheers!

[indigo_junkie]

I was definitely sad to see them close too. And they didn't have a big closing down sale or anything (well, not that I heard of). Just a few signs that everything was going due to them closing down. I only heard about it through my brother's GF who worked there on the weekend. Managed to make my way down and grab a Gowings brand lambskin leather jacket for $240AUD (something like 60% off I think).

It was kind of strange to see the old Gowings building on George St just empty like that. That store was a real Sydney landmark. A couple of months after it closed, I went into the city to discover it had been turned into a Supre outlet store (NOOOO!!!!!). For those that don't know, Supre sells low priced womens clothing that'll only fit girls in single digit dress sizes (and Australia is 4 sizes higher than women, so a size 6 is a size 10 here - I think...) Gowings was the place to go to buy all the cool weird stuff that you couldn't get anywhere else before the internet came along. kangol hats, hacky sacks, electric scooters/skateboards, obscure manga T-shirts, etc... I used to go there for all my RM moleskins. Ah... so sad.

I heard around that the Gowings building was bought up by Apple to become their new megastore here in Sydney. Anything has to be better than Supre.

[synthi]

Great post LeicaLad and have to say that your Grenson / Canes combo looks awesome, exactly the look I'm going for.

[dave023]

From left to right:

Red wing chukkas 3140

Red wing 875

Paraboot Chambord Marron

Paraboot Avignon black

Paraboot Avignon Gringo

Paraboot Michael Marron

Paraboot Michael Gringo

[Curious_George]

My Grenson Ilkley boots finally arrived and I’ve had a chance to wear ‘em a bit. This is my second or replacement pair, as the first turned out to be surprisingly bigger than I expected. Fortunately, I bought them from Pediwear in the UK, who were very responsive and cross-shipped a smaller pair within hours after I’d contacted them. I stepped down a half size from a UK10 to a UK9.5 to get an excellent fit. I’m normally at the upper side of a US 10.5E, so this came as a surprise. Due to distance, it’s taken me well over a month to get these, but that’s where I am, not the vendor.

I think they definitely run a little big. I'm usually an 11.5 so I went with the 10.5, and it's maybe a tiny bit long. But I decided to keep them because I couldn't step down any further in width (I have wide feet). I originally looked at the Tricker's too, but changed my mind due to my love for the color of the Ilkley (plus they were a lot cheaper). They're awesome boots. I like how they look with the SC47s too, although I wear mine a bit differently.

[viv1984viv]

A while ago, and im not sure where a guy posted some black boots/trainers that were very stylised and contempory looking, strange seams going across the shoe and a two part heel then ball&toes sort of soles......

They were all black, anyone know what I mean??? Post a link please...

Also, im going to try and buy some shoes/boots instead of denim from now on, I seem to allways end up in the same shoes for anything casual to smart nowadays so im looking for brown cheseas and the like. I cant quite stretch to Alden or Churches, but can stretch to £150ish ( I have my eye on some fryes but I really ought to buy something more smart and english looking first ),

Anyone know anything about the quality of samuel windsors???

http://www.samuel-windsor.co.uk/ProductsInCounter.cfm?subcat=4940&ShopRef=73&cat=574

Or charles tywhitt??

http://www.ctshirts.co.uk/content.aspx?DepGrpCode=MENC&CntCode=casualshoes&level1=MenCasual&level2=casualshoes

both look good because of sales but id like some background, are tywhitt boots worth £100? Is the samuel windsor offer to good to be true, both companys mention goodyear welting, handmade, leather soles etc

opinions please...

[mizanation]

so many shoes, so little time (and funds)....

[GregNYC]

Here they are, the 1911's. They fit better than I thought, but not perfect. Too long and narrow for my feet for great comfort, but definitely wearable!! They come with pretty cool waxed cotton laces. Notice, no speed lace holes. These are Goodyear-welted old-skool boots. Here are some pics!

[synthi]

Those are really nice Greg.

[superBobo]

Those really, really look good Greg! Wich size did you end up with, and what do you usually wear in RW?

[GregNYC]

I ended up with a 9.5 D, though I would have preferred E, but I understand from Dejan they don't come in E or EE. In the 1911s, size 10 would be too long, and the 9.5 is a wee bit long too. For me, a very good 1911 would be a 9 EE, but they don't exist!

Normally in Red Wings I'm a solid 10E, based on a few models I've tried. My beloved 875s are 10E, and they are among the best fitting boots I've ever had!

[familyman]

Those are great looking boots Greg. I love the sole on them. Very nice.

Update on the Alden wingtips. I wore them to the Zoo today with the kids. Walked around for about 5 hours with a 25 lb baby on my back 90% of the time. When I got back home my feet felt GREAT. Not pain, not tired at all. Simply amazing. I've always read on the forums that a properly fitting pair of really good leather soled shoes can be as comfortable as sneakers for a days wear but I never believed it. Until today. I'm a believer.

[GregNYC]

Also, im going to try and buy some shoes/boots instead of denim from now on, I seem to allways end up in the same shoes for anything casual to smart nowadays so im looking for brown cheseas and the like.

That's cool, give play to the inner Imelda. Trouble is, footwear doesn't cost less than jeans!

Anyone know anything about the quality of samuel windsors???

http://www.samuel-windsor.co.uk/ProductsInCounter.cfm?subcat=4940&ShopRef=73&cat=574

Or charles tywhitt??

http://www.ctshirts.co.uk/content.aspx?DepGrpCode=MENC&CntCode=casualshoes&level1=MenCasual&level2=casualshoes

Samuel Windsor - never heard of them! The chukka boots look good, but I would stay away from any Chelsea boot that has only one pull-strap. The pull-strap on the front (as in R.M. Williams and Bundstone) is actually more useful than the one in the back. The reason you need two is that they fit so snugly on the foot (nice!) that they are very hard to pull on day after day. You can do it with only one, but especially make sure that the pull strap is not leather. I saw a broken leather pull-strap on the store demo model of a John Lobb Chelsea - scary for a $1200 boot!!!

I heard from the folks on AAAC that Loakes are the private label makers for many of the Charles Tyrwhitt shoes, and that the quality and price are both pretty good.

[GregNYC]

Familyman - I'm totally with you about the comfort of a good-fitting pair of leather soled shoes. I've found this to be the case with Alden, R.M.Williams, Crocket & Jones, and Allen Edmunds. My next attempt will be White's Semi Dress boots!!

[familyman]

My next attempt will be White's Semi Dress boots!!

I'm looking forward to that. The whole process sounds very similar to Russell. You give them a whole bunch of measurements and they take them and try to match them to one of the lasts they have in stock (which is a LOT) if they can't match you then they make a new one that will fit your feet. Now that's service. One of the really neat things about my Russells is that because they use my leg measurements to make the upper the sides of the boot lace almost perfectly parallel all the way up. I've got pretty skinny ankles so I've never had boots fit lik that before and it's pretty cool. I'm thinking that Whites will be sending you a boot that fits just as well or better. The infinate rebuildability is also really appealing. Think of what a 50 year patina would look like.

[GregNYC]

My order to White's is going out tomorrow. My wife helped me by tracing the outline of my foot on the order form. I called them last week - it takes 5 weeks to construct the shoes and ship them. They should fit like a dream. And I like their support policy - rebuilding for life. I'm pretty much a curmudgeon when it comes to polish and upkeep, so that patina ought to look pretty good, I agree!

[viv1984viv]

That's cool, give play to the inner Imelda. Trouble is, footwear doesn't cost less than jeans!

Samuel Windsor - never heard of them! The chukka boots look good, but I would stay away from any Chelsea boot that has only one pull-strap. The pull-strap on the front (as in R.M. Williams and Bundstone) is actually more useful than the one in the back. The reason you need two is that they fit so snugly on the foot (nice!) that they are very hard to pull on day after day. You can do it with only one, but especially make sure that the pull strap is not leather. I saw a broken leather pull-strap on the store demo model of a John Lobb Chelsea - scary for a $1200 boot!!!

I heard from the folks on AAAC that Loakes are the private label makers for many of the Charles Tyrwhitt shoes, and that the quality and price are both pretty good.

Thanks man, mmmmm, the windsors are so cheap though! Ill search Andy...

[batorizer]

LeicaLad, the grensons look great, the color on those is very nice; I'd like to get myself into a pair one day.

For now, these have caught my eye:

[gimmegimme]

LeicaLad, the grensons look great, the color on those is very nice; I'd like to get myself into a pair one day.

For now, these have caught my eye:

..errrrr :eek:

[GregNYC]

Miz, thank you for one of the best threads ever. So in the 7 months since you posted your first inquiry, which shoes have you purchased? What's next? And did you ever find the brand your friend from the U.K. was wearing?

[Chicken]

sweet. thanks for posting these.

[drapygo]

Found these shoes from my dad. He purchased them sometime in the 1980s... can anyone tell me some more info on them? Thanks.

I'm going to get them leather re-soled, the original sole seems to be falling apart.

Pictures taken with cellphone.

[GregNYC]

They'll look good with jeans!

[CactusArmy]

Where the hell can I get Trippen boots online?

[LeicaLad]

Greg: Your experience with the Red Wing 1911s underscores the strength and weakness of Red Wing. They make this truly superb, old-skool boot but refuse to sell it in the US, and make it only in narrow to mid-width fittings. They’re crazy! It would seem that these would give the Indy a real run for the money, presuming you could get them to fit. I, too, am happiest in E or EE fittings. Why is Red Wing so stubborn on this? (..he asked rhetorically..) Anyway, many thanks for the photos. Damn fine looking.

A boot-to-boot comparison with the White Semi-Dress boots will clearly be in order. From the photos, the styles seem very similar. Those Red Wings, particularly those, can be rebuilt indefinitely, too. You might want to ask Miz’s shoe man to do a little width stretching. Given the baseline quality, they’d probably give enough to become comfortable. Just a thought.

[LeicaLad]

Musings on the Alden 307 “Nine eyelet Plain Toe Blucher Work Bootâ€

Well, as noted earlier, I got these boots as a surprise. [Fast recap: Won on Eprey, where listing said they were leather-soled Dress Chukka, but arrived as 9-eyelet work boot.] Initially, I was none too pleased, but I mellowed on it pretty quickly. First, I only paid $100, including shipping. Two, the proceeds go to a charity that I already knew about. And, three, the boots are pretty nice, anyway. Different than expected, but nice. What the hell.

Peeking out from a new pair of SC-45 Lee repros. (Note: I don’t wear my jeans turned up like this, but the stacking hid too much to make any photo worthwhile.)

Clearly, they are not the fine, leather-soled boots I was hoping to wear as “dress casual†or even with suits. These rubber “unit soled†babies definitely fall into the “work boot†category. Alden calls them work boots. You can find them at the Alden shoe site under the CDI last group.

For details, see:

http://www.aldenshoe.com/cat_ortho_cdi_306.htm

When I first put them on, I was very pleased with how comfortable they were. I liked them. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long. Within my first kilometer of walking, the insoles were climbing up the back of my foot. The loose factory-supplied insole, I later learned, is meant to be replaced with an orthotic insole of your choice. Oh, great! Like I have lots of orthopedic supply shops in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan! As everything has to be ordered and shipping can take 2-to-6 weeks, I put them on the shelf along with half a dozen other failed/pending projects to wait delivery of replacement insoles.

Given what I could read on the Alden site about the CDI last, and putting that with the feel of spare vertical space inside the boots, it was pretty clear that simple, flat insoles (aka Spenco greens) wouldn’t be adequate. Having no real experience in exotic orthotic devices, I ordered some Superfeet deluxe models from REI. I chose REI because delivery has been good from them. For reasons that I simply do not understand, Amazon will not deliver insoles overseas. Books and lots of other stuff, but not insoles. They had specials on, too. Go figure. Replacement insoles must be considered dangerous, or perhaps a threat to homeland security.

They don’t classify this as a hardship and danger post for nothing, eh?

So, I ordered a pair of 10-11 E-width insoles to fit into my Alden 10.5E boots. It took just under 3 weeks to get them. They said they were 10-11, but are nearly 1/2 inch short. I’m sure if I can ever get an insole that is right, I know I will like these boots.

In short, the boots are really nice. I’m wearing them with these fancy Superfeet insoles, anyway. They’re okay, but the hard plastic heel cup, high profile and short run make the insoles the dominant feature of the current wearing experience.

The Alden boots, themselves, are very soft, yet sturdy. I definitely like them. I may end up gluing the original insoles that came with the boots back into place. Other than the insoles sliding around, the boots were quite comfortable with them. The spaciousness of the box is actually a pretty nice feeling.

The leather of these boots is very soft and pleasant to the feel. Construction is Alden quality, which is to say, very good. The sole is very forgiving if you’re on your feet for extended periods of time. The boots are not leather-lined, but rather, like the standard Indy boot, cloth-lined. The soft-toe seems awfully fragile for a “work bootâ€. I have no doubt they’ll be scuffed up in no time.

Basically, for the money I paid, these are a great pair of boots. For the full price (SMRP = $350), I’d strongly suggest going with the Indy. OTOH, if you actually need special foot supports and know your way around the world of fancy replacement insoles, then these are great boots.

So, that’s my "boot report" for now. Cheers!

[familyman]

Thanks for the writeup LL. That's not a boot I'll be rushing out to buy but I'm glad you (mostly) like them. For $100 they sound like a good deal.

How easy is it to send you a package? I could drop down to the store and pick you up a pair of Dr. Schols work boot insoles (molded heel cups and all that) and send them to you and it wouldn't be any problem at all. If you can give me the length and width of the inside of the boots I'll make sure they're long enough.

I do wonder if I'd end up on a watch list for sending insoles though.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

For now, these have caught my eye:

batorizer----those are SICK!!!

i am getting a pair ASAP

nepenthes (engineered garments/needles) sells a boat shoe like that:

also, check out the boot:

click for more info

!!!

[jubei]

I wish my 1911s fit me... They were so nice