Shoes that look better with age...

[Cold Summer]

Heh. I bought a pair of Wesco 7500 in 2019, they're very well stitched and have no particular cosmetic issues.

My Mister Lou boots I bought in mid 2023 are comparatively sloppy, by far most noticeable on the stitchdown stitching. I found the uneven SPI so irritating that I ended up using black shoe polish to black out those white stitches, now the irregularity is practically invisible and I'm much happier with them, which is nice since beside that sloppy stitchdown work I love everything about the boots.

That seems pretty minor compared to the disparity above.

[Maynard Friedman]

1 hour ago, l13902733261 said:

That's post covid wesco for ya

I thought they were from the 90s?

[l13902733261]

38 minutes ago, Maynard Friedman said:

I thought they were from the 90s?

Nope. made in the 29th week of 2024 as the stamped numbers indicate. haven't seen any old wesco with those hipster natural veg tan leather.🤣

[mlwdp]

https://bakershoe.com/products/wesco-mr-lou-maryam-shell-cordovan

[Jared_Lee]

On 1/3/2025 at 8:42 AM, l13902733261 said:

That's post covid wesco for ya

That looks to me like the tongue on the left (right shoe) is just twisting leftward creating the appearance of a sharper point. Not saying they're perfect, but I believe the photo is distorting the shape significantly.

[shredwin_206]

It’s funny to me when people buy work boots and then get nit picky about stitching or boots being slightly off.  They’re still made by hand and not a robot so sometimes they won’t match up perfectly. 

[cultpop 0217]

Barker Black Archdale wingtip in antique chestnut calf. 

I've wanted these for about a decade but they were ridiculously priced. 

This used pair was a Christmas gift from my son and his husband. 

Love the crowned skull and crossbones motif on the toe, outsole, and insole. 

The design on the sole was made by hand with dozens of tiny brass nails. 

Amazing craftsmanship. 

[SLAYER]

Danner mountain light 

New vs ~ 1.5 years of wear

Looks so much better with wear

[smoothsailor]

Pretty cool @cultpop 0217, I noticed those shoes wayback to. I like that it’s still a classy shoe.

my wedding suit was from them, if I remember correctly. The buttons on sleeve where little skulls

[tod]

Candid shot: Chippewas on the left, White’s on the right. Both with years of wear.

[tod]

And here are three generations of Chippewa “engineer” boots (which were sometimes sold under L.L. Bean branding).  These are my work horses and have been out of production for a number of years, so I try to keep a pair always in reserve from eBay.

i’ve lost track a little bit of the years, but basically, from right to left:  (1) the first pair I bought, worn often for about 10 years (reheeled once) and now my yard boots, (2) that pair’s replacement and currently in regular use for the last 8 years or so, and (3) the lightly used pair waiting for their turn on regular duty.

 

[cultpop 0217]

Barker Black Archdale Wingtips on my feet. Seem to run a bit roomy so no dress socks. Might add a thin cork footbed to take up some slack. 

 

 

[Maynard Friedman]

@cultpop 0217, I have some Barker brogues - the Nunthorpe in rosewood (bought in 2014), which look similar to yours but without the skulls, etc. I had to send them back and exchange them for a half size down from my standard shoe size as they do come up big. They may be built on a similar last to yours. I know you can’t exchange your Archdales but just thought I’d let you know that it’s not you, it’s the shoes (although they’re still very nice)!

[mlwdp]

https://www.dicemagazine.com/blog/2025/red-wing-120?goal=0_6e6b9d158c-e41ab2af4d-456175807&mc_cid=e41ab2af4d&mc_eid=3fab05bb51

[Alec Leamas]

The upcoming John Lofgren Sahara desert boots have caught my eye. I'm on the verge of a pre-order.

https://speedwaysendai.com/collections/john-lofgren-bootmaker/products/pre-order-sahara-boots-khaki-japanese-suede

Would have to be in the khaki, of course.

I'm just really into the idea of an overengineered, overly dialled in desert boot. Like how far can we possibly elevate something? From modern day mass produced Clarks crap ones, all the way to this!

[jkbrwn]

I dunno, given how fragile a crepe sole is, you wouldn't catch me dead spending $760 on a pair of boots equipped with one, as lovely as those look....

Edited February 12, 2025 by jkbrwn

[CSL]

Are they really that fragile? I used to wear chukka boots back in the day and they always had a respectable lifespan. The biggest downside to the crepe sole was the dirt it attracted & retained.

[Alec Leamas]

Granted, I have had crepe soles fall apart in the past, though that has been on the cheaper end - I am told there are varying qualities of crepe (perhaps that's a given).

I also believe even with stitchdown construction and a crepe sole, replacement is possible.

[Alec Leamas]

Also - I wouldn't pay $760 either! On that Speedway link I see them at 76800 yen, which I make out to be  ~$500 today, do you guys see a different price on there, from a US IP address??

[ATWM]

6 minutes ago, Alec Leamas said:

Also - I wouldn't pay $760 either! On that Speedway link I see them at 76800 yen, which I make out to be  ~$500 today, do you guys see a different price on there, from a US IP address??

I see jpy 84480 / usd760 

[julian-wolf]

That silhouette looks a lot more awkward than the more standard desert boot chukkas that they did a few years ago (and I think the earlier ones were around 400 USD at S&S, which felt more reasonable)

[willi]

JL stopped using crepe soles for a while and took some time to find a new supplier. They've done a more recent run of the desert chukka with the new crepe sole, I don't know anything about how to new one compares. Franklin and Poe still have a few of the desert chukkas from that run around: https://franklinandpoe.com/collections/john-lofgren-bootmaker/products/john-lofgren-military-desert-boots-japanese-suede-sand?variant=46881434140918 . I've checked these out but I've given up on the JL lasts for my feet.

[CSL]

9 minutes ago, julian-wolf said:

That silhouette looks a lot more awkward than the more standard desert boot chukkas that they did a few years ago (and I think the earlier ones were around 400 USD at S&S, which felt more reasonable)

The uppers appear to be same as his M-43 Service Boot.

Edited February 12, 2025 by CSL

[willi]

3 minutes ago, CSL said:

The uppers appear to be same as his M-43 Service Boot.

I don't think that's the case, I think it's closer to (if not the same as) the suede that's used in the desert chukka I linked above. JL's standard m-43 is a roughout chromexcel leather.

[julian-wolf]

Agreed @CSL, seems like a very similar pattern. It works well (aesthetically, at least—much less so from a fit perspective) with the standard V-bar sole, not so much with the crepe though 

[CSL]

29 minutes ago, willi said:

I don't think that's the case, I think it's closer to (if not the same as) the suede that's used in the desert chukka I linked above. JL's standard m-43 is a roughout chromexcel leather.

Willi, I should have been more specific. I was referring to the model, not the leather. 

[willi]

54 minutes ago, CSL said:

Willi, I should have been more specific. I was referring to the model, not the leather. 

Oh I see what you mean, my mistake.

[Geeman]

Clarks may not be the greatest and not on par with JLB, but that's why they are 140 quid vs 700 quid. 

As a long time Clarks wearer I've got crepe soled desert boots still going after 10 years.

[willi]

Clarks are great

[Double 0 Soul]

Incredible shoes for the money!

The only thing standing between Clarks and a pricing upscale is the retail environment.. it's stuck in the 90s.. style classics like Desert boots and Wallabees (or Cornish pasty shoes as my Mrs calls them :) are sharing retail space with orthopedic shoes for pensioners or 'my first shoes' for middle-class toddlers.. if you didn't know the Clarks brand and saw them in a modern retail space (ie 1940s - Mom n'Pop -esque:) .. with some carefully curated blurb, they'd retail for 3x the price they do now..