Shoes that look better with age...

[denimjunky]

New heels (and laces) on the WIlliam Lennon 78PTC.

Lovely leather, quite translucent so they need quite a bit of buffing up, fairly soft too so they show small dings.

Can we see those heel mendings close-up?

I went to the neighborhood cobbler and asked for appropriate mending of mine too, you see.

[Paul T]

Can we see those heel mendings close-up?

I went to the neighborhood cobbler and asked for appropriate mending of mine too, you see.

THis was neighborhood cobbler, too:

[morse9443]

What a surprise, my British doppelganger orders the exact shoes I want. Happy birthday Fresco!

I just ordered a pair of semi-dress after weeks if not months of procrastination.

It was my birthday a week ago so f**k it.

Dress brown

standard last

standard heel

single leather midsole

vibram half sole

natural edge

tan leather lined

All antique eyes

Bakers have a couple of discounts going at the moment too.

Can't wait.

I'm ready to drop the price on my BH if anyone is interested in them.

Edit: Paul and CTB, repping english boots. Looking good!

[fre-co]

Ha! If only we were the same size we could share...

Can anyone proxy me some Alden waxed laces? I can't get anything like it round here and my shell indys don't work so well with my closest alternative.

[morse9443]

Are these them? http://www.alden-of-carmel.com/index...sories_184.htm

Paypal me for the laces + post fee and I'll shoot 'em across the pond for you.

Here's my Smoke Jumpers one year+ of outdoor labor. Bruised but far from beaten.

[hollowsleather]

I die a little every time I see a 6" smoke jumper. Must make them mine.

[davichan]

Morse your SJ are so good,

real wear there on those boots.

love them...

can i ask, is that a close single thread trim you have on them??

[fallen angels]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-12/red-wing-makes-made-in-usa-pay-plans-to-add-125-dealerships.html

nice little article about Red Wing's success by keeping everything Made in USA

[RRLselvageDenim]

Missed out on these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=400208413184&si=vcjjU0QsjiKq9zqC8d837OvTilI%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEDWX:IT#ht_695wt_907

[morse9443]

is that a close single thread trim you have on them??

Thanks davi, no these are standard double welt trim. I'm not even sure they'd do that close, single welt on a smoke jumper. it's a much heavier work boot than the SD.

nice little article about Red Wing's success by keeping everything Made in USA

Unfortunately, they use their "made in the USA" image to command a high price for chinese made crap (cheap labor and cheap components). Little of what red wind produces now is actually made here.

[FENWAY]

(love affair documented with shitty iphone camera)

Love the Pitt boots! How are they breaking in? Mine feel narrow for Barrie last boots.

[Sinji]

My Redwing Chukka's, about 1 year old. Untreated.

I recently got one gash on the toebox. Any good ideas how I can make it less noticable?

[L555BAT]

I'm ready to drop the price on my BH if anyone is interested in them.

What's the fit like on them if you don't mind me asking? I usually take a UK 8½ in boots/shoes (usually Trickers)

[Tiro]

15 mos old, recently re-heeled with ortho Cat's Paw [@Cesar's, NYC]

those look amazing, are they black or just really dark?

either way, love the color

[denimjunky]

Just got my new SDs from whitesriver. Btw, Im selling my brown semi dress on the bay as some of you might have noticed already.

Double leather sole, 1/4" lower heel.

Now these are gorgeous! Love that excel!

Sorry for the photo spam...

Got some wear in the sole already.( On dry surfaces!)

Lowered heels

Now for the thisses or thatses.

Which type of laces look best with these?

Tricky? Yeah, I thought so too...

[spidereye]

I prefer round leather laces,looks more classic.Nice boots man.

Sinji mustang paste will do.My iron ranger.is more badly wounded.

[CrashTestBrummie]

Well, it's turning into a good week...no sooner had I posted the Lotus veldtschoen to the Shoe Healer for resoling, then I found these Grenson Archie in a charity shop for a tenner...it's the colour rhat got me...fuck, my mother says that when she drops cash on shoes...

Dug these Clarks out of the wardrobe, too - not worn these for a while but had them for around ten years:

Little bit of cleaning to do with these two pairs...

[fre-co]

What's the fit like on them if you don't mind me asking? I usually take a UK 8½ in boots/shoes (usually Trickers)

I wear 8 1/2 - 6 width in trickers. These whites are a little narrower. Probably closer to a 5 width (standard)

[morse9443]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-12/red-wing-makes-made-in-usa-pay-plans-to-add-125-dealerships.html

nice little article about Red Wing's success by keeping everything Made in USA

I was wrong, article says they assemble or manufacture about 60% in the US.

good line from the article, "85 percent of their casual shoe business is done outside North America among white- collar, 18-to-35-year-old men who wear them after work with expensive jeans." They know their market.

[Goominim]

I was wrong, article says they assemble or manufacture about 60% in the US.

good line from the article, "85 percent of their casual shoe business is done outside North America among white- collar, 18-to-35-year-old men who wear them after work with expensive jeans." They know their market.

haha, self absorbed yuppie douchebags…so true

[smittybat]

Haven't seen these on here yet. I just got these 2 weeks ago.

Loake Burford

[CrashTestBrummie]

One thing though: why would you make a veldtschoen boot, and use a leather sole - surely having a slippery sole on a heavily water-resistant boot is something of an oxymoron, no?

Might be of interest to a couple of you...done some digging and found something from the Northamptonshire Record Office in the National Archives relating to Lotus:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/onlinelists/GB0154%201978-217.pdf

According to this, the veldtschoen method was originally designed to keep out ticks (presumably in what is now South Africa, then part of the British Empire, as it's an Afrikaans term), and just also happened to be 'waterproof'.

From reading around, seems like it was the standard construction method for the original desert boots, which makes sense...there's a photo album of how a veldtschoen shoe is made here:

http://riotgeer.blogspot.com/2009/01/veldtschoen-photo-essay.html

[Highvoltage]

I've been looking through this thread over the past week, and have decided that I need a pair of quality boots. My first choice was the Red Wing Beckman in brown with the semi lug sole. I went to several stores today, and only found them in my size in black cherry. I'm not really feeling that color, so I will have to order them. One retailer carries Alden's, and their "Indy" boot oozed quality. They also didn't have my size.

Since I'm going to order whichever boot I choose, I figured I'd ask for some advice. Alden are priced about $100 more than the RW. I can see the difference in the leather, but the RW come with a lot of support. (repairs, laces, hardware all covered, and readily available locally)

Also in the same price range are the Wolverine 1000 mile boot. I haven't checked them out in person, but I do like the hooks for ease of lacing. I'm only considering the standard model, the SD looks amazing, but my wife would flip if I spent that much coin on boots. White's Semi-Dress also look great, and again I haven't seen them up close, or tried a pair on.

I really want a pair that will last a long time, that I can enjoy for years. I'm really sick of the disposable nature of most things people buy. I have a pair of Varvatos boots, that look pretty nice, but they are made in China, and I don't see them lasting for more than a single season, let alone 5 years from now.

Should I order the RWs that I know will fit well, or go with something else? Is the difference in quality of the Alden's worth the premium, or does the local service offset that?

Sorry for the rambling post, but I really want to make an informed purchase that I won't regret. I also look forward to posting some pics of them in this thread a year down the road.

Thanks

[airfrogusmc]

I've been looking through this thread over the past week, and have decided that I need a pair of quality boots. My first choice was the Red Wing Beckman in brown with the semi lug sole. I went to several stores today, and only found them in my size in black cherry. I'm not really feeling that color, so I will have to order them. One retailer carries Alden's, and their "Indy" boot oozed quality. They also didn't have my size.

Since I'm going to order whichever boot I choose, I figured I'd ask for some advice. Alden are priced about $100 more than the RW. I can see the difference in the leather, but the RW come with a lot of support. (repairs, laces, hardware all covered, and readily available locally)

Also in the same price range are the Wolverine 1000 mile boot. I haven't checked them out in person, but I do like the hooks for ease of lacing. I'm only considering the standard model, the SD looks amazing, but my wife would flip if I spent that much coin on boots. White's Semi-Dress also look great, and again I haven't seen them up close, or tried a pair on.

I really want a pair that will last a long time, that I can enjoy for years. I'm really sick of the disposable nature of most things people buy. I have a pair of Varvatos boots, that look pretty nice, but they are made in China, and I don't see them lasting for more than a single season, let alone 5 years from now.

Should I order the RWs that I know will fit well, or go with something else? Is the difference in quality of the Alden's worth the premium, or does the local service offset that?

Sorry for the rambling post, but I really want to make an informed purchase that I won't regret. I also look forward to posting some pics of them in this thread a year down the road.

Thanks

ten + years and going strong

[superbeveridge]

Realistically I think Red Wings will have a longer life. The Alden's have gained in popularity hugely but as it is a smaller company they seem to have struggled with the output. Don't get me wrong, I have two pairs of Alden (the Roy's and the Indy's) and I love them and I also have a pair of Beckman's. I have heard some horror stories recently about the Indy boots. Namely that their quality control has gone down due to the amount of volume they are trying to put out. Mine have been fine but I wouldn't buy a pair that you couldn't try on or that didn't come from a trusted retailer. Alden's factory customer service is stuck in the 50's so do not expect much help if something goes wrong. I much prefer my Alden's for me to wear but it seems like the Red Wings would do you well.

I have no experience with Wolverine or White's but there are definitely people here than can add in about those brands.

Oh and the issues I have heard about the alden's are namely the Welt stitch coming loose and the stitch at the bottom of the laces where the upper comes to a corner quick often loosens up.

[superbeveridge]

Oh and a side note I wear my Alden's everyday and rotate them. I only wear my Red Wings for harder beater work. Any of the brands you mentioned can be service by a decent cobbler. Do not worry about a local guy knows your shoes specifically he should still be able to take them apart, repair them and put them back together.

[Baeyer-Drewson]

good line from the article, "85 percent of their casual shoe business is done outside North America among white- collar, 18-to-35-year-old men who wear them after work with expensive jeans." They know their market.

haha, self absorbed yuppie douchebags…so true

Not really. Almost every kid I knew growing up rocked skate gear (and 85% of them didn't skate), and around the Sydney beaches and city I still see tons of older guys in "surf" gear (even though 85% don't surf).

Some guys just like work boots, nawmean?

[Happy Hooligan]

HIghvoltage... pick a boot you like for now, because it will not be your only pair...

I started with Wesco then a few years go by and I bought a pair of Aldens, then a few years go by and and I get another pair of Aldens... then you guessed it a few years go by and I've got a pair of Whites on the way...

So pick what you want now, and I know in a few years.... you'll be getting another pair...

[Highvoltage]

HIghvoltage... pick a boot you like for now, because it will not be your only pair...

I started with Wesco then a few years go by and I bought a pair of Aldens, then a few years go by and and I get another pair of Aldens... then you guessed it a few years go by and I've got a pair of Whites on the way...

So pick what you want now, and I know in a few years.... you'll be getting another pair...

I think this will most likely be the case. I will probably order the RWs tomorrow, as I know they fit well, and are well built. I think they'll fill the need I have, for the time being. Down the road I'm sure I'll branch out and try something new, maybe grab a pair of Alden's when I buy my next pair of jeans and break them in together.

Thanks all for the advice-

[beatle]

airfrog - gorgeous pair