Footwear to go with our jackets

[Pandemic]

Monkey Boots go with everything, really. Usually pair them with blue jeans.

View attachment 711099

I forgot you were a fellow IWC pilot watch owner! Wha brand of boots are those?

I showed a pic to my wife and she asked if they were bowling shoes.

 

[3.14nche]

I showed a pic to my wife and she asked if they were bowling shoes.

It's probably why I was drawn to the style as they remind me of a pair of Linds I had when I was a kid.

I also usually wear them with denim

but not only this one is a pair of climbing pants from Bronson

or OG-107 but can't seem to find a pic of it.

 

[Tom71]

I forgot you were a fellow IWC pilot watch owner! Wha brand of boots are those?

I showed a pic to my wife and she asked if they were bowling shoes.

These are "Himel" Boots (not made by the man himself, of course, but some collab. I forgot who he was teaming up with, but it wasn´t Viberg this time).

The boots are sturdy AF, and the horsehide is super beautiful. On the minus-side, they are not the most comfy boots I have.

Sorry for flashing the watch to that extent; the photo is from when the watch was new, and I sent it to a friend. It´s the bronze Version of the big pilot, but it started of pretty "golden".

 

[Pandemic]

These are "Himel" Boots (not made by the man himself, of course, but some collab. I forgot who he was teaming up with, but it wasn´t Viberg this time).

The boots are sturdy AF, and the horsehide is super beautiful. On the minus-side, they are not the most comfy boots I have.

Interesting- thanks! I’ve recently taken an interest in this style, but I guess I’m still figuring out where it fits. I’d always thought of monkey boots as mod/skin but it seems very popular now in the Americana workwear scene.

Sorry for flashing the watch to that extent; the photo is from when the watch was new, and I sent it to a friend. It´s the bronze Version of the big pilot, but it started of pretty "golden".

Lovely! I recently got a vintage Rolex homage watch as a beater, but my ‘good’ watch is an IWC mkXV that my wife gave me a few years ago.

 

[Bfd70]

Power Lineman's pole climbing boots. Somewhere between 40-50 years old.

(edit: These were originally sold as motorcycle riding boots in a US magazine called Easy Riders. I'd wager that magazine has long since died but it was a Harley rider thing, naked women on the cover and inside a general tone of f the man. The boots were marketed by the magazine directly and as they had an idiot in their marketing department the boots were originally sold in the 1970's under the trade name "Nasty Feet". They were originally made by RedWing and then later by Chippewa (or vice versa). These are in outstanding condition for being 50 years old. With a little bit of a stretch and a thin gel insole they'll be more fun to wear. Unless you go searching you'll probably never see another pair).


View attachment 709841

Lets get some more picture angles. Also, i remember easy rider quite well.

 

[lina]

Tell me about monkey boots. Who wears them? What do they go with?

I was vaguely aware of them in the mod and skinhead scene, but have been seeing more and more boots in this style with more of an Americana/ heritage workwear vibe to them.

Growing up in a thoroughly working class community in Western Pennsylvania, I always knew this style as “roofer’s boots”. I think that was their original function, with the lace to toe offering a tighter fit as the foot flexed on the angled roof.

 

[Herrvallmo]

Monkey Boots go with everything, really. Usually pair them with blue jeans.

View attachment 711099

I know this is a thread about footwear but that Big Pilot is amazing Tom! I really love the model(or models really) a lot but I can't wear it without it looking like a plate on my wrists sadly...

The boots looks great to should I add!

Cheers

 

[Tom71]

Growing up in a thoroughly working class community in Western Pennsylvania, I always knew this style as “roofer’s boots”. I think that was their original function, with the lace to toe offering a tighter fit as the foot flexed on the angled roof.

Funny you should say that. I know that Thorogood makes the roofer style for a pretty long time. I thought they “borrowed” the look from military boots of Eastern European armys. That’s always been the origin of the design for me.

 

[Tom71]

I know this is a thread about footwear but that Big Pilot is amazing Tom! I really love the model(or models really) a lot but I can't wear it without it looking like a plate on my wrists sadly...

The boots looks great to should I add!

Cheers

Thank you!

The size “wears itself away” to a large extent. I had a Panerai with the same diameter and moved it as the size just didn’t work to my eyes. With the IWC I never had doubts. On the wrist it’s certainly not an offensive look. It even slips under a shirt cuff as the case is karge but not that high.

 

[Pandemic]

Thank you!

The size “wears itself away” to a large extent. I had a Panerai with the same diameter and moved it as the size just didn’t work to my eyes. With the IWC I never had doubts. On the wrist it’s certainly not an offensive look. It even slips under a shirt cuff as the case is karge but not that high.

I sometimes feel my Mk XV is a bit small, by modern standards. Even if it is significantly bigger than the old Rolex’s of the 50s. It’s funny how watches have gotten so much bigger over the years.

 

[Tom71]

View attachment 711689

I sometimes feel my Mk XV is a bit small, by modern standards. Even if it is significantly bigger than the old Rolex’s of the 50s. It’s funny how watches have gotten so much bigger over the years.

... and now they´re getting smaller again.

For me, the "ideal" size depends on a multitude of factors, including height of the case, funcitonal bezel or not, "business" of the dial etc.
The sweet-spot for me is anything in between 40 and 42mm. A bit more is possible, less not so much. I will revisit when we all got to see more sport-watches with 36-38mm as started with the new "Explorer" from Rolex...

The "Mark"-series from IWC is an absolute icon. A collegue just bought the new release on a black rubber strap. Can´t go wrong...!

 

[Pandemic]

I know we are off topic for footwear, but one last watch post to say that I agree. My current ‘beater’ watch is a homage to the Rolex 3865 famously worn by Connery in Thunderball. The main difference being that this one is 40mm instead of 36mm:

 

[Edward]

They definitely are. A link to the sort of marketing that Easy Riders was known for is both **** and here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/286181389930?_skw=nasty+feet&itmmeta=01JXEH5VG1BEBM0QVGMTE01PAH&hash=item42a1bd766a:g:vYUAAOSwcc9nQ-Cj&itmprp=enc:AQAKAAAA4FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1e5vjTvsatJiLgqpA2ce/NaEPWtJSmUfMhTY4hQVSy5lcbSoz6s/wJTYzYyuoZtX8S9NpF8s7ukXwRTYyy+WpCwlG/owX/IM8BUtfQr0dBw8xA6QfH5rW7FAmRF1aVx3nAD5WkHRhepJw7HDdq8xN8VJmakrL69KwYxVrCzqMu95hKzDQd7KfiOfP4hoTywb1gYcQEQnGUotm1eziTp6UWI8TwKpaywHI+vKlOO+tHJ3G0BmDmGGoBugQfH2NgjUxM/u2QHb655NN2WihDYLzhq|tkp:Bk9SR7S4l9HrZQ

Oh, my. [/George Takei Voice]

I wonder whether they cleared that with Chippewa first? It's amazing (and, frankly, a positive thing) how ads have moved on in recent decades in terms of this sort of thing.

Tell me about monkey boots. Who wears them? What do they go with?

I was vaguely aware of them in the mod and skinhead scene, but have been seeing more and more boots in this style with more of an Americana/ heritage workwear vibe to them.

Growing up in a thoroughly working class community in Western Pennsylvania, I always knew this style as “roofer’s boots”. I think that was their original function, with the lace to toe offering a tighter fit as the foot flexed on the angled roof.

Both correct. There are two styles of boot you commonly see referred to nowadays as monkey boots, though they have different origins entirely.

The American style boots originated as roofer boots, as @lina notes. An inter-war design, to the best of my knowledge. The lace to toe design allowed for the boots to be worn in a manner much more fitted to the foot, and they were worn by those working in occupations like roofing and so on, where nimble footing was essential to avoid a dreadful accident, and thus good grip in the feet was important. The neat fit, no looseness, aided agility. This is the sort of boot we've seen appear in recent decades on the US-style heritage workwear scene, and which is enjoying its moment in the sun now.

British monkey boots were indeed associated with several post-war youth scenes. Mods were first, I believe: look at shots of Pete Townsend in the 60s, you'll often see him wearing them. In the 70s and into the early eighties, they were favoured by a lot of punks (helpful to have light, good-gripping boots you could run in if you stuck out in those days; punk-bashing was a thing in some places). Skinheads who couldn't stretch to the expense of DMs were also often seen in monkey boots (which then as now were available at a significantly lower price). Skinheads could also be seen wearing them if they couldn't afford DMs (a nicely observed detail in This is England - the scene where Shaun's mum takes him hopping for his new skinhead boots, and he ends up with monkey boots - "special ones, from London" - instead of the DMs he really wanted).


They first appeared in the UK sometime into the turn of the 50s. The mythology - wholly untrue, but persistent - is that they were "the boots the Czechoslovakian army wore in WW2". My understanding is that there was no such official army at that point due to occupation by Axis forces. What we do know, though, is that the boots known in the UK as monkey boots originate in Eastern Europe and were a fairly common pattern of basic workboot behind the iron curtain at the time.

This is the sort of thing we're talking about:

That's the classic profile, a lot of brands still make them. Cheap, basic boots - you can buy the all day long bow for GBP50 or so. Sole are flat, with no real heel but significant grips on them. For some afficionados, that "M" shape in the stitching is a definitive part of the design (like a raglan sleeve on a Harrington). The "monkey boot" appellation seems largely to have arisen from the idea that the grip and flexibility of the sole was such that you could "climb anything" in them. (In latter years, I've also heard of skateboard kids razoring off the tread to give them a flexible, thin, low profile flat sole, a sort of DIY version of the "barefoot shoes" that have become available on the market in recent times).

As with desert boots, a big part of the attraction for many was that they were ,simple, basic, and cheap. And as with anything cheap and utilitarian that becomes fashionable, the big money brands soon do their own version. These days you can buy them from DMs themselves as "The Church" (note the 'M' stitching):

Or Solovair:

The British style has remained a much more casual boot, notably, and hasn't hit that point of the American style where in usage it starts to border into something that becomes almost regarded as as much a dress shoe as anything. There are, however, those who are evolving the American style in the UK - for example Trickers' Ethan model:

Which is available in a wide range of colours, leathers, and soles:

...some of them more in the direction of the British style, some leaning closer the American roofer style boots.

The "monkey boot" term seems to have become fairly universal in recent years. he more Americanised style is the one that really appeals to me. I tend to have a marked preference for pre-1960 styles, and the American style lean very much more into that aesthetic. I have a pair of Cat-branded lace to toe boots somewhere I bought nearly twenty years ago. Nice pair, in the American style, though with more of a Commando style sole. Not the Airwear sole of which I'm not a fan, though (looks too modern for me, and doesn't wear as well as leather or a solid rubber sole in my experience). I'd love to try some RedWings, Thorogoods or Trickers (I've seen a cracking pair of Trickers in leather and canvas, but not my size).

There are of course other lace to toe boots - it's a common style in hiking and mountaineering boots I've seen, again I imagine for the sure foot in situations where you don't want an accident caused by a loose boot. I don't tend to regard these as monkey boots, though - just a different thing that happens to share that approach to lacing.

 

[Tom71]

Oh, my. [/George Takei Voice]

I wonder whether they cleared that with Chippewa first? It's amazing (and, frankly, a positive thing) how ads have moved on in recent decades in terms of this sort of thing.





Both correct. There are two styles of boot you commonly see referred to nowadays as monkey boots, though they have different origins entirely.

The American style boots originated as roofer boots, as @lina notes. An inter-war design, to the best of my knowledge. The lace to toe design allowed for the boots to be worn in a manner much more fitted to the foot, and they were worn by those working in occupations like roofing and so on, where nimble footing was essential to avoid a dreadful accident, and thus good grip in the feet was important. The neat fit, no looseness, aided agility. This is the sort of boot we've seen appear in recent decades on the US-style heritage workwear scene, and which is enjoying its moment in the sun now.

British monkey boots were indeed associated with several post-war youth scenes. Mods were first, I believe: look at shots of Pete Townsend in the 60s, you'll often see him wearing them. In the 70s and into the early eighties, they were favoured by a lot of punks (helpful to have light, good-gripping boots you could run in if you stuck out in those days; punk-bashing was a thing in some places). Skinheads who couldn't stretch to the expense of DMs were also often seen in monkey boots (which then as now were available at a significantly lower price). Skinheads could also be seen wearing them if they couldn't afford DMs (a nicely observed detail in This is England - the scene where Shaun's mum takes him hopping for his new skinhead boots, and he ends up with monkey boots - "special ones, from London" - instead of the DMs he really wanted).


They first appeared in the UK sometime into the turn of the 50s. The mythology - wholly untrue, but persistent - is that they were "the boots the Czechoslovakian army wore in WW2". My understanding is that there was no such official army at that point due to occupation by Axis forces. What we do know, though, is that the boots known in the UK as monkey boots originate in Eastern Europe and were a fairly common pattern of basic workboot behind the iron curtain at the time.

This is the sort of thing we're talking about:

View attachment 711715

That's the classic profile, a lot of brands still make them. Cheap, basic boots - you can buy the all day long bow for GBP50 or so. Sole are flat, with no real heel but significant grips on them. For some afficionados, that "M" shape in the stitching is a definitive part of the design (like a raglan sleeve on a Harrington). The "monkey boot" appellation seems largely to have arisen from the idea that the grip and flexibility of the sole was such that you could "climb anything" in them. (In latter years, I've also heard of skateboard kids razoring off the tread to give them a flexible, thin, low profile flat sole, a sort of DIY version of the "barefoot shoes" that have become available on the market in recent times).

As with desert boots, a big part of the attraction for many was that they were ,simple, basic, and cheap. And as with anything cheap and utilitarian that becomes fashionable, the big money brands soon do their own version. These days you can buy them from DMs themselves as "The Church" (note the 'M' stitching):

View attachment 711716

Or Solovair:

View attachment 711717

The British style has remained a much more casual boot, notably, and hasn't hit that point of the American style where in usage it starts to border into something that becomes almost regarded as as much a dress shoe as anything. There are, however, those who are evolving the American style in the UK - for example Trickers' Ethan model:

View attachment 711718

Which is available in a wide range of colours, leathers, and soles:

View attachment 711719

...some of them more in the direction of the British style, some leaning closer the American roofer style boots.

The "monkey boot" term seems to have become fairly universal in recent years. he more Americanised style is the one that really appeals to me. I tend to have a marked preference for pre-1960 styles, and the American style lean very much more into that aesthetic. I have a pair of Cat-branded lace to toe boots somewhere I bought nearly twenty years ago. Nice pair, in the American style, though with more of a Commando style sole. Not the Airwear sole of which I'm not a fan, though (looks too modern for me, and doesn't wear as well as leather or a solid rubber sole in my experience). I'd love to try some RedWings, Thorogoods or Trickers (I've seen a cracking pair of Trickers in leather and canvas, but not my size).

There are of course other lace to toe boots - it's a common style in hiking and mountaineering boots I've seen, again I imagine for the sure foot in situations where you don't want an accident caused by a loose boot. I don't tend to regard these as monkey boots, though - just a different thing that happens to share that approach to lacing.

Roma locuta, causa finite!

Comprehensive as per usual, @Edward. Thanks much for the part about the “myth” of the Czech army origin. I’ve been parroting that one a lot, myself and shall refrain from that henceforth.

 

[pillepalle123]

1940 swedish army, triple stitched square toe boot. This is the predecessor of the M57 Marchkänga which is much more common.





Gonna (re-)sole it with a ruber halfsole and toplift and wear it.

 

[cbez]

I feel like new boot prices are getting totally out of hand. They're also saying prices will increase soon.

These are going beyond average hobbyist might spend a little extra to get a quality product, into exclusively rich guy toys.

 

[AeroFan_07]

I feel like new boot prices are getting totally out of hand. They're also saying prices will increase soon.

These are going beyond average hobbyist might spend a little extra to get a quality product, into exclusively rich guy toys.
View attachment 713706

Completely agree.

Honestly, I've been snatching up some of my favorites in 2nds and even 3rds off ebay if "gently worn" and a desirable type, just due to new prices going so stratospherically high. Not trying to be a "hoarder" (collector, much nicer term) but just trying to have a rotatable stock.

 

[Pandemic]

Yep. I’m about to push the button on my third pair of Indo boots. Five years ago they were a bargain, now they are a relatively good deal.

 

[milkbaby]

Combining the recent talk about monkey boots and the remark about Indonesian boots above, here are pics of monkey boots by Indonesian bootmakers Fortis Boots that I just happen to be wearing today.

 

[Zoro]

That's a... Ehm... Interesting choice of angle in the first picture.

Oh well, who's the maker of the belt? It looks thick. Solid. Tight.