Chelsea boots - who wears them? Recommendations please.

[Tom71]

I feel ya, man. I got my first pair of RMWs while still at uni - back then, they were a local Aus brand more associated with farmers than hipsters. I think I’ve had three more craftsman since then, along with the gardener and lachie. The new comfort craftsman feels a bit too flimsy- thin, dressy leather and a very thin sole (or maybe I’m just more used to thick soled American work boots now?). The gardener and lachie are still my faves, but I feel they have priced themselves out of the market. They are definitely $400 good. Maybe $500 good. But not $700 good.

Oh, and I solved the flimsy sole issue on that only pair this week:


View attachment 699188 View attachment 699189

Yes, this sole config looks the bomb!

This seems to be the same leather as I have in my OG boots.

AFAIK, RMW went through three stages:

- Original: only available leather was a super robust, pliable fatty kangaroo leather. Brown and black only, both rather dull but indestructible.

- Sold to LVMH: as you described it; prices exploded, quality imploded

- resold to Oz: prices still high for base line; outrageous for special offerings; quality really nice again; fun fact: you now need to size up 1/2.

 

[npthaiduong]

I am a big fan of RM Williams Chelsea boots and already have three pairs in different colors. One important note is that their G width is very true-to-size. For example, I wear my sneakers in size 9.5D, but with RM Williams, I wear 8.5G (equivalent of 9.5D) for a snug yet very comfortable fit. You can get them for a bit cheaper from an Australian retailer called Blowes .

Another great pair of Chelsea boots I have comes from an Indonesian brand called Brisselblack (formerly known as Benzein). The craftsmanship is top-tier (even surpassing RMW), and the quality is well worth the asking price (approximately $600–700 for non-exotic leather). However, you will need to wait 5–6 months to have your boots custom-made.

 

[jchance]

I have a pair of John Lobb Chelsea boots. I like them and wear them a lot. Very easy to put on.

If I were to get a new pair, I’d get the John Lobb Jodhpur boots instead, I like that a lot more.

 

[Harris HTM]

Managed to take sime photos today. The biggest advantage of a chelsea boot is how easy and fast you put them on and take them off.

 

[codex]

As a budget pair I bought blundstone dress chelsea boots the other day. #1900. They look sharp and are comfortable. Not good year welted though.

 

[Bucket]

Thanks all for the responses, feedback and personal experiences. I'm really intrigued by the RM Williams Gardener and the Trickers Stephen.
A little sizing advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm roughly a 9 on the brannock scale, with a narrow to regular width, low volume foot. I typically wear a 9D in the AE Higgins Mill, or 8.5D in all AE shoes, an 8 in Viberg 2030 Service Boot and a 9 in Adidas Stan Smith and On running sneakers. What size would you recommend in the RMW Gardener chelsea boots? Thanks so much.

 

[Pandemic]

Thanks all for the responses, feedback and personal experiences. I'm really intrigued by the RM Williams Gardener and the Trickers Stephen.
A little sizing advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm roughly a 9 on the brannock scale, with a narrow to regular width, low volume foot. I typically wear a 9D in the AE Higgins Mill, or 8.5D in all AE shoes, an 8 in Viberg 2030 Service Boot and a 9 in Adidas Stan Smith and On running sneakers. What size would you recommend in the RMW Gardener chelsea boots? Thanks so much.

The general advice is to go down a whole size on RMWs, but for Gardeners I prefer a half size down as I usually wear thicker socks with these.

 

[Tom71]

The general advice is to go down a whole size on RMWs, but for Gardeners I prefer a half size down as I usually wear thicker socks with these.

Oh wow, that interesting.

I would have said same size as the Vibergs or +0,5 for thicker socks.

To the best of my knowledge, RMW uses British sizing, so a 9 RMW equals a 10 US equals a 43 Euro.

My craftsman are 9 and 9,5, and I’d size the larger one equals a size ten Red Wing or Viberg.

 

[Pandemic]

Oh wow, that interesting.

I would have said same size as the Vibergs or +0,5 for thicker socks.

To the best of my knowledge, RMW uses British sizing, so a 9 RMW equals a 10 US equals a 43 Euro.

My craftsman are 9 and 9,5, and I’d size the larger one equals a size ten Red Wing or Viberg.

That sounds right. I’m a 10.5 on the Brannock and wear a 9.5 RMW dress boot and a 10 Gardener or Lachlan with thick socks.

 

[Bucket]

I ended up ordering a UK 7.5 / US 8.5, which is .5 smaller than my brannock ... fingers crossed. My Blundstones are also UK 7.5 / US 8.5, so I'm hoping I have the same luck.