Shoes that look better with age...

[julian-wolf]

MOTO #2121 in light brown Latigo

A few weeks ago we were in Atlanta for a family wedding, and my partner’s mom spilled a bunch of laundry detergent on these. Wiped them down with a wet rag and ordered some leather soap and leather cream for next day delivery (wonders of the modern world).

Still dry & dirty vs. wet after a wash:

 

Dry again after their wash…plus the view from the suburban front porch (could be worse):

 

Conditioned them right after the last photos, but didn’t have a good brush on hand. Fast forward to today, finally got around to brushing them off and lightly buffing. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but I’m really happy with how these are breaking in.

[cultpop 0217]

Another day...another old pair of boots. 

Freshly cleaned and polished vintage two tone Tony Lama Black Label Cowboy work boots with Vibram soles. Love the patina. 

Denim: Mister Freedom Cali Outlaws in Cone Mills

 

[redragon]

Recently pick this bowling inspired shoes from Radiance Blue Shanghai, it's collaboration effort between Hsin Wei (founder of RB) & Rock Yeh (shoemaker behind Feit, visvim, etc).

Very unique choice of leather (kangaroo) & shape, excited to see how it evolves...

[Thanks_M8]

Post polish RW merchants I got in 2017.

[shredwin_206]

had Nicks do a full beeswax treatment to my roughout boots. Very waterproof now and they look great 

[redragon]

Shoes that look stagnant with time 

Got these some years before the pandemic, feels like nothing much change at all. Seriously very hard wearing leather (bison), fitting for a "work" shoes.

[Maynard Friedman]

After about 14 years with these Red Wings, I think they look worse with age! They’ve been resoled twice and were a half-size too small (as I bought them in a half-price sale and @almostnice kindly told me they’d stretch a bit) so I could only ever wear them with thin socks.

They’ve been my dog walking boots for the last few years but now the sole has no grip so they’re of no use in muddy parks and I just wear wellies in the winter instead.

In addition to the 2 resoles at the Vibram shop (neither as robust as the original sole), they’ve also had the mocc toe stitching repaired. Overall, I’ve really enjoyed wearing them and I’ve a pair of their Chelsea boots in ebony harness leather with a black crepe sole - I’m over the white.

Anyway, today they go in the bin. Farewell old buddies, it’s been a pleasure!

[Double 0 Soul]

Plant those seedlings in them and leave them in the garden.. 

[Maynard Friedman]

They’d blend in well as they’re the same colour as the pots. This morning I had to rebury one of my daughter’s dead mice that had been dug up by a fox overnight!

[House md]

My 875‘s, nearly 20 years old. Still solid and comfy.  My favourite boots, they‘re my friends in good and bad times. Cleaned today, ready for colder summer days. They‘ll get their 2nd resole this autumn.

Edited May 31 by House md

[House md]

22 hours ago, Maynard Friedman said:

After about 14 years with these Red Wings, I think they look worse with age! They’ve been resoled twice and were a half-size too small (as I bought them in a half-price sale and @almostnice kindly told me they’d stretch a bit) so I could only ever wear them with thin socks.

They’ve been my dog walking boots for the last few years but now the sole has no grip so they’re of no use in muddy parks and I just wear wellies in the winter instead.

In addition to the 2 resoles at the Vibram shop (neither as robust as the original sole), they’ve also had the mocc toe stitching repaired. Overall, I’ve really enjoyed wearing them and I’ve a pair of their Chelsea boots in ebony harness leather with a black crepe sole - I’m over the white.

Anyway, today they go in the bin. Farewell old buddies, it’s been a pleasure!

…even RW‘s need a little bit of care. 

[Maynard Friedman]

Oh they’ve had plenty of care but that’s how they looked after their last winter sojourn. I wasn’t going to clean them up just to take photos before throwing them away.

[House md]

1 hour ago, Maynard Friedman said:

Oh they’ve had plenty of care but that’s how they looked after their last winter sojourn. I wasn’t going to clean them up just to take photos before throwing them away.

Ok. I never saw oiled leather so dried out. My 875‘s are still super smooth, no cracks or something (20 years!). But honestly, I never wear them in winter (obviously 875‘s aren‘t winter boots). and I clean and oil them twice a year. I was a bit sad that your pair went to the bin 😉

[Maynard Friedman]

Where I live, most people still wear trainers in the winter so these would be regarded as heavy duty winter wear. 14 years of pounding the pavement, beer spills in the pub, kicking a ball around with my kids and schlepping through muddy parks, chasing a lively whippet have taken their toll. I didn’t want to pay for a 3rd resole, which would have been necessary as a rainy day would have me skidding across the pavement in them but I appreciate your concern!

[House md]

5 minutes ago, Maynard Friedman said:

Where I live, most people still wear trainers in the winter so these would be regarded as heavy duty winter wear. 14 years of pounding the pavement, beer spills in the pub, kicking a ball around with my kids and schlepping through muddy parks, chasing a lively whippet have taken their toll. I didn’t want to pay for a 3rd resole, which would have been necessary as a rainy day would have me skidding across the pavement in them but I appreciate your concern!

Yup, a worn sole can cause bad accidents. I once slipped while entering a foot locker store (sic!) on a rainy day and fell flat on my ass 😅

Edited May 31 by House md

[redragon]

Motoratory hand-dyed blue sneakers ~8 years old. (Is it still division of moto?)

Indigo laces from Buaisou, the original leather lace snapped off couple of years ago...

The original color of the leather coming through nicely as it ages, vibram sole still going strong, really solid pair of work.

Edited June 1 by redragon

[House md]

…and here‘s my super secret tip fof cleaning red wing boots and leather generally: curd soap („Kernseife“).

This soap cleans leather perfectly and contains no aggressive chemicals. It is „overfatted“ and cares all leather products. Highly recommended!

Edited June 1 by House md

[nopal]

I could’ve probably been kinder to these Church’s slippers, but they’ve served me well for around 15 years and I’m sure they will continue to for many more.

[tod]

Lace marks on my Chippewas.

[LoneWolfWelding]

I’m really into American made workwear & I was super hyped when I found out these house shoes are made right here in Vermont. Queen City Footwear house shoes. I’ve been thinking about getting a second pair with the rubber sole add on for regular wear 

[shredwin_206]

[Thanks_M8]

Got rid of these today. 

Bought 2018, worn as sandals for a lot of summers, used as beach shoes and whatnot. Will not replace them as their footbed gives me blisters in recent years.

[dylanbooth78]

These will look great with some wear!

[Broark]

So a bit of drama in the fancy shoe community, evidently Oak Street Bootmakers is being investigated by the FTC for false claims of their shoes being made entirely in the USA.
Reddit link breaking down more information about the FTC warning.
Specifically this Storm Boot is in question. They've recently released it (it's still headlining the front page of their website), but mysteriously all of them are now marked down 50%.

To make things more interesting, Brett Viberg took to Instagram and seemed to call them out for their false claims as well say saying a former employee helped them establish the production and develop the last with proprietary Viberg lasts: Reddit link.
So it appears that Oakstreet is producing the boots in the Dominican Republic, then importing them to have the sole attached and finally slapping a made in USA label on them.
Oakstreet has since added an icon on their website saying the boots are "Made in USA with domestic and international materials from trusted sources".
I know that this practice isn't uncommon in the industry by any means. I've always heard of some fishy things regarding Oakstreet, but this seems to firmly substantiate them.

[indigoeagle]

50 minutes ago, Broark said:

To make things more interesting, Brett Viberg took to Instagram and seemed to call them out for their false claims as well say saying a former employee helped them establish the production and develop the last with proprietary Viberg lasts: Reddit link.
 

In that discussion anothers case gets alluded to.
Amazing in many ways.

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2021/07/13/richard-hajjar-bianca-de-la-garza-alden/

 

 

[Broark]

22 minutes ago, indigoeagle said:

In that discussion anothers case gets alluded to.
Amazing in many ways.

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2021/07/13/richard-hajjar-bianca-de-la-garza-alden/

I remember this popping up, crazy that he embezzled $30 million and received a 70 month sentence.
Hell, he might be free already.

[Cold Summer]

It wouldn't be a big deal if makers like Oak Street were just transparent about doing this stuff. It's the deception and obfuscation that makes me never want to buy products from these sorts of brands.

[Broark]

Totally agree, just be transparent with where your stuff is sourced.

[Maynard Friedman]

^^ But being transparent likely means lower prices, as seen in Broark’s post above, and therefore impacts the bottom line.

[youngofthesoonest]

I never followed OSB closely but I always got the impression that they were very marketing oriented with all the right buzzwords and vagueness so this isn't that surprising...didnt expect viberg to chime in like this but we were due for some boot drama. I remember reading about the Alden situation but it still blows my mind how he was able to embezzle that much with no one noticing and then get what seems like a relatively light sentence.