Shoes that look better with age...

[cameosis]

@marcusV2 hehe, excellent! have to say i never fancied the tread sole much, but there are some great boots that have it as the basic outfit, so i too have a few remix ideas in my head. it's wonderful how much a sole changes the look of a shoe -- just like a haircut

[longshanks]

A few photos of my Viberg natural waxed flesh service boots. These are the ones Viberg did for Superdenim/Real McCoys London on the 1035 last with the commando sole.

Picked them up around the beginning of December and managed to wear them to Berlin, London, Manchester, and the back to Austin. I've tried not to baby them and really like how they've worn in so far. I've thought about picking up some flat waxed laces, I'm just concerned about how they would fit with these eyelets being a bit on the smaller side. 

 

[edmond]

Whixh should inwear first the alden 990 or 975??

[cameosis]

by the way, here is a beautiful example of how NOT to treat your shoes -- i'm surprised the shoes held up for eight years without any care ... leather is cracked on the outsides, that dude probably never thought of cleaning and conditioning his boots.

https://www.heddels.com/2015/12/fade-day-red-wing-shoes-4183-8-years/

[HGS]

Not as bad as these...

https://www.heddels.com/2015/11/fade-day-red-wing-classic-moc-no-875-14-months/

 

@edmond I love the 975 but get that plain toe in action!!

[mlwdp]

10 minutes ago, HGS said:

Not as bad as these...

https://www.heddels.com/2015/11/fade-day-red-wing-classic-moc-no-875-14-months/

 

@edmond I love the 975 but get that plain toe in action!!

The comments on the boots are hilarious!

[cameosis]

he needs to be jailed for assault and battery against his boots.

[Iron Horse]

14 hours ago, cameosis said:

by the way, here is a beautiful example of how NOT to treat your shoes -- i'm surprised the shoes held up for eight years without any care ... leather is cracked on the outsides, that dude probably never thought of cleaning and conditioning his boots.

https://www.heddels.com/2015/12/fade-day-red-wing-shoes-4183-8-years/

LOL, don't remind me of those. This is what happens when we don't get good submissions. 

[cameosis]

11 hours ago, Iron Horse said:

LOL, don't remind me of those. This is what happens when we don't get good submissions. 

what baffles me the most is that these folks think it's cool to "treat" your footwear (or other clothes, for that matter) like that and that it even looks "good" (not knocking different tastes, just for the record).
the fact of the matter is that you can enjoy good boots for decades with minimum care and the occasional resoling, why hasn't anyone filled them in on that, or why don't they realize that you need not waste everything?

i don't know, reviving and then wearing old boots -- as posted before -- personally is much more fulfilling than destroying new ones ... oh well, rant over

[Iron Horse]

8 hours ago, cameosis said:

what baffles me the most is that these folks think it's cool to "treat" your footwear (or other clothes, for that matter) like that and that it even looks "good"

I blame Reddit. 

Edited April 16, 2017 by Iron Horse

[tod]

^^ though it does say that he oiled them regularly. only so much you can do..

Edited April 19, 2017 by tod
typo

[mlwdp]

Wolfpack just got in some Attractions engineer boots for sale.

[Iron Horse]

33 minutes ago, tod said:

^^ though it does say that he oiled them regularly. only so much you can do..

Just more proof that boots do need occasional cleaning. 

[cameosis]

13 hours ago, tod said:

^^ though it does say that he oiled them regularly. only so much you can do..

with snake oil, i tell ya! 

[mlwdp]

Anyone here able to post a single sole Whites Nomad in brown or black chromexcel or not with a Vibram 700 composition half sole?  All I keep seeing is double sole only.  Is there a reason for this due to this type of sole?

[mlwdp]

Wrong post

Edited April 20, 2017 by mlwdp

[Iron Horse]

Not supposed to do any shopping until June, so I'm hiding these new Lofgrens at the office away from the little lady. 

[mrman]

@Iron Horse Where did you pick up those Lofgrens? I'd like to get them in size US11, JPN29, but can't seem to find them anywhere.

Edited April 21, 2017 by mrman

[Iron Horse]

1 hour ago, mrman said:

@Iron Horse Where did you pick up those Lofgrens? I'd like to get them in size US11, JPN29, but can't seem to find them anywhere.

I got those from Standard and Strange, the last size 10 they had in the sugarcane denim. Looks like both they and Self Edge are sold out in your size; however, TSPTR has a standard denim version in size 11. John Lofgren makes sneakers for them:

https://tsptr.com/collections/accessories/products/cadet-sneakers-denim?variant=31203614593

Edited April 21, 2017 by Iron Horse

[mlwdp]

Today I officially joined the Whites boots club.  Ordered the Nomad in Black chromexcel with Vibram 700 sole in brown edge in size 6D. I don't see myself buying anymore boots at this point anymore since I've been wanting a engineer boot for awhile.

Now the waiting game begins. 

[volvo240thebest]

nice one! look forward to see them. A few days ago I've scored my second pair of second hand White's too. Semidress this time. Will post pics when I have them...

[mlwdp]

3 minutes ago, volvo240thebest said:

nice one! look forward to see them. A few days ago I've scored my second pair of second hand White's too. Semidress this time. Will post pics when I have them...

Yeah I actually debated between the Nomad and Smokejumper but then I took a look at my Unmarkeds and they somewhat sufficed as a Smokejumper alternative based on the silhoulette.  I kept hearing about "white bite" and the functionality of the boots in 700 lug sole as I do not need them for work and they  would have taken a lot of time to wear in let alone the sheer clunkiness of them.  I probably would have hated them honestly due to pain.  I even debated on getting a double sole (in both boots,mind you) with a Vibram half sole for the Nomads.  I like the price of under $500 and I don't have enough money to pay over $800 for no boot like Clinch etc.  Thats ridiculous but I understand it's going towards quality.

I'll break in the Nomads during the summer and just rotate my oxfords with them until cooler months.

[corporalclegg]

Super old Indy boots think the color is brick. Probably had them about 8 years and with some minor stitching repairs still going strong

 

[tod]

13 hours ago, corporalclegg said:

Super old Indy boots think the color is brick. Probably had them about 8 years and with some minor stitching repairs still going strong

Did you have the speedhooks replaced with those contrasting ones, or was it a special build to begin with..?  (Look great btw.)

[rodeo bill]

^not my boots, but I have similar age Alden boots, and the brown paint on the speed hooks has mostly chipped off, leaving the bright steel showing through

[mlwdp]

If anybody here has small feet and is contemplating on ordering Whites from Baker Shoes...

So I spoke today to Kyle and he told me that Whites last only start from 6.5D.  I measured in at 6.5D and assumed that I would need a 6D in the Nomad for my boot.  I'm waiting on them clearing it up and wondering if the 6.5D will suffice enough.  My Nomad order:

Toe Vamp Leather: Black Chrome Excel by Horween Upper (Shaft) Leather: Black Chrome Excel by Horween Counter Leather: Black Chrome Excel by Horween Heel Base: Standard Heel Lifts: Standard Midsole: Single Edge: Brown Sole: Vibram 700 Size - Length: 7 Size - Width: D (medium)

Size Choices only start at 7 D btw.

Edited April 24, 2017 by mlwdp

[edmond]

You know what they say with people

with small feet

[erk]

small shoes?

[propellerbeanie]

Have you guys heard of a channelled insole Goodyear welt? I was on the Viberg website recently and I saw this. I don't know much about shoemaking, so I'm not sure what to think of it. I googled it and Yuketen came up as a company that uses it on some (or all?) of their shoes. 

@mikecch, I'm sure you've heard of this. I'm guessing this construction will be more costly as it is supposedly more labour intensive than typical gemming practices. I wonder how much less likely welts will be prone to failing using this method because I haven't been wearing boots for a long time and can't say from experience.

 

[mpukas]

From my limited knowledge of shoe/boot making, the original Goodyear welt was made by hand by cutting a rib into the midsole. The machine was created to make the process easier and quicker and get the same result. I think it's one of the coolest parts of boot construction. The glued-on ribbing was made to make the process even easier. Gemming/ribbing gets bagged on a lot, but I've personally not heard of any quality boot failing because the ribbing came unglued from the midsole. I've been told by fellas here, more in the know than I, thatmost high-end shoe/boot makers use some sort of glued-on ribbing for the GYW. It could be said that gemming/ribbing is the dirty little secret of GYW, and all the GYW-fan-boys are being duped. 

 

Youtube has many videos of various methods. If you search for Redwing, you can clearly see on their mass-produced work boots that they glue on a synthetic/plastic ply-rib to the midsole. If you search for Rios of Mercedes - AWESOME BOOTS! - you can see a good demo of them using their ribbing machine, as Viberg now has. 

 

In the meantime, check out these mad crazy welting skills. To really appreciate it you have to watch the whole thing.