Footwear to go with our jackets

[Edward]

I’m still on the low key hunt for a sleeker, dressier engineer in EEE width. These could fit the bill in Shinki teacore:

View attachment 321808

https://www.instagram.com/p/CM55tu4hjFU/?igshid=18ouzien739xg

Much may depend on how you qualify 'dressy', but Lewis Westways might be another option:

As a shorter version of the classic Lewis Motorway boots (10", like a classic engineer), these definitely have that sleeker profile thanks to the Lewis rear-zip design. I've had my eye on these for a fair few years; next time I make a big boot purchase it may well be these.

If you don't like the zip, they do do a traditional engineer boot, but with a much more 'English', svelter profile:

https://www.lewisleathers.com/productinfo.html?code=MechB-A10

Two pairs incoming. When does it become a real problem? Well, truth is, I sold two I didn't like so I'm again at 10 altogether.

Those fleece lined ones much be nice in the Winter. I like especially the pair second from right. Recently come to appreciate harness boots, and my next pair of boots are quite likely to be a brown pair of harness as long as I can find a nice pair in the right shade of reddish-mahogany brown. Looking at Grinders quite likely - relatively cheap (£100), but well solid - as a start point.

 

[Monitor]

Much may depend on how you qualify 'dressy', but Lewis Westways might be another option:

As a shorter version of the classic Lewis Motorway boots (10", like a classic engineer), these definitely have that sleeker profile thanks to the Lewis rear-zip design. I've had my eye on these for a fair few years; next time I make a big boot purchase it may well be these.

If you don't like the zip, they do do a traditional engineer boot, but with a much more 'English', svelter profile:

https://www.lewisleathers.com/productinfo.html?code=MechB-A10



Those fleece lined ones much be nice in the Winter. I like especially the pair second from right. Recently come to appreciate harness boots, and my next pair of boots are quite likely to be a brown pair of harness as long as I can find a nice pair in the right shade of reddish-mahogany brown. Looking at Grinders quite likely - relatively cheap (£100), but well solid - as a start point.

Haha, not sure which ones you mean and I guess they just looked fleece lined but none are. They are all leather lined or unlined. Though, wish I had one that were fleece lined.
The second pair from the right, dark brown ones are Kochmann and one that I probably wore the most. They're surprisingly durable even tho they're the lightest pair I got and the only one with rubber sole.
Grinders are the topmost ones, Grinders Hi model, with leather sole and cuban heel. They're super high, though so I feel weird wearing them tho they're of a perfectly acceptable quality, regardless of what you hear about them. I plan on buying a pair in brown, too.
Best ones I got are Sendra and another pair that I bought from Germany, sadly unbranded. Custom made by order, dude sold them cause of how relentless they are and I can totally see it. Like wearing ski boots.

 

[Edward]

Haha, not sure which ones you mean and I guess they just looked fleece lined but none are. They are all leather lined or unlined. Though, wish I had one that were fleece lined.
The second pair from the right, dark brown ones are Kochmann and one that I probably wore the most. They're surprisingly durable even tho they're the lightest pair I got and the only one with rubber sole.
Grinders are the topmost ones, Grinders Hi model, with leather sole and cuban heel. They're super high, though so I feel weird wearing them tho they're of a perfectly acceptable quality, regardless of what you hear about them. I plan on buying a pair in brown, too.
Best ones I got are Sendra and another pair that I bought from Germany, sadly unbranded. Custom made by order, dude sold them cause of how relentless they are and I can totally see it. Like wearing ski boots.

Interesting: it was the pair second from left. Looking more closely, I see they are just a lighter leather, at first glance it really looked like shearling!

Funny you should mention Kochmann, I've been looking at them too. How does the sizing run? Grinders Hi are the ones I first looked at; I see they do them with both leather and rubber soles. Undecided which way to jump on that, might depend on what I find. Doubtless if leather I'll have a rubber overlay stuck on 'em like I do on all my leather soles. Sendra I've yet to handle in person, but they always seem to review well. I might well take a run up Camden in a few months when that becomes an option again and go looking in the stores there. Grinders are commonly carried, I think some places have Sendra too.

 

[Monitor]

Funny you should mention Kochmann, I've been looking at them too. How does the sizing run?

Good boots. The kind you can 100% count on. I mean, budget range but considering I've had mine for over two years and they're still completely devoid of even the most basic of footwear issues, ought to speak enough of the quality.
Got a good chunk of both heel worn out of course but I just had that replaced, too - apparently, heels are full rubber so it's an easy mend - so I shouldn't worry about 'em for a while now.

I feel they run a bit larger, maybe half a size. I wear a 46 and a pair that I got feels like 45 would've perhaps have been okay, too but it's definitely not a deal breaker. They're wide, roomy.

Grinders Hi are the ones I first looked at; I see they do them with both leather and rubber soles. Undecided which way to jump on that, might depend on what I find. Doubtless if leather I'll have a rubber overlay stuck on 'em like I do on all my leather soles. Sendra I've yet to handle in person, but they always seem to review well. I might well take a run up Camden in a few months when that becomes an option again and go looking in the stores there. Grinders are commonly carried, I think some places have Sendra too.

Grinders Hi look best, in my opinion, and are made in Mexico while the ones with rubber sole used to be made all over the place. I've seen examples from China, India, etc. Not that it matters but it's a well known fact Mexico makes a good boot.

Except Kochmann, all my boots have leather sole and I prefer it that way though yeah, first thing I do is bring them to the cobbler to have a rubber overlay installed. Asphalt rubs through leather sole in no time so no point in destroying the boots for no reason, if it can be avoided.

Anyway, Grinders are good, heavy boots, though I haven't worn them for as long as the others so I can't guarantee you they're high quality.

Sendra look and feel much better, though. Premium, really. I'd easily grade them Viberg level. But they cost a lot of money, too. I wore a pair of Sendra engineer boots for 5 years until the metal toe caps damaged them beyond repair but otherwise, they survived EVERYTHING.

 

[Jin431]

Sagara Cordmaster olive badalassi w/ black overdye

 

[Hobbes1]

m
@Jin431. What is that green jacket you are wearing? It looks great!

 

[Jin431]

m
@Jin431. What is that green jacket you are wearing? It looks great!

It's a tellason heavy cotton shirt, feels like an overshirt to me with how it wears

 

[Monitor]

Spotted these on Vinted a couple of weeks ago, had to have them. Again, special thanks to @Marc mndt for going extreme lengths to get 'em for me - Actually risked his life for this pair XD. One of those cases when you see something you actually like, even though it's not something you're supposed to like. Like, few years back, I'd never consider wearing anything other but engineer boots, even though deep down I always knew they're just wellies with straps.
Anyway, I was after a good pair of Chelsea's for a long while but never imagined Prada - or MiuMiu - would pull it off so perfectly. The shape, leather, that heel; Everything.

I only wish I had two pairs so I don't need to worry about wearing one out.

 

[Ayeteael]

Spotted these on Vinted a couple of weeks ago, had to have them. Again, special thanks to @Marc mndt for going extreme lengths to get 'em for me - Actually risked his life for this pair XD. One of those cases when you see something you actually like, even though it's not something you're supposed to like. Like, few years back, I'd never consider wearing anything other but engineer boots, even though deep down I always knew they're just wellies with straps.
Anyway, I was after a good pair of Chelsea's for a long while but never imagined Prada - or MiuMiu - would pull it off so perfectly. The shape, leather, that heel; Everything.

I only wish I had two pairs so I don't need to worry about wearing one out.

Never seen a Chelsea with that kind of heel. It’s like a hybrid Chelsea/cowboy boot. Very slp. Nice find.

 

[ABCD]

Never seen a Chelsea with that kind of heel. It’s like a hybrid Chelsea/cowboy boot. Very slp. Nice find.

These are called Cuban heels. Super cool. I imagine these are what Cowboys wear on fancy occasions

Don't let the Prada label fool you, these are very well made shoes.

 

[Edward]

Good boots. The kind you can 100% count on. I mean, budget range but considering I've had mine for over two years and they're still completely devoid of even the most basic of footwear issues, ought to speak enough of the quality.
Got a good chunk of both heel worn out of course but I just had that replaced, too - apparently, heels are full rubber so it's an easy mend - so I shouldn't worry about 'em for a while now.

I feel they run a bit larger, maybe half a size. I wear a 46 and a pair that I got feels like 45 would've perhaps have been okay, too but it's definitely not a deal breaker. They're wide, roomy.

Useful to know. I find a lot of engineer boots in the more affordable end of the market can be a bit on the loose side - like I'm wearing the correct size, but in a wide fitting when I need a medium, if that makes sense. Not enough of a difference to go down a size, but enough that my first pair were hell to wear until I bought a good foam insole with nice arch support that snugged them right up and made them perfect.

Grinders Hi look best, in my opinion, and are made in Mexico while the ones with rubber sole used to be made all over the place. I've seen examples from China, India, etc. Not that it matters but it's a well known fact Mexico makes a good boot.

Except Kochmann, all my boots have leather sole and I prefer it that way though yeah, first thing I do is bring them to the cobbler to have a rubber overlay installed. Asphalt rubs through leather sole in no time so no point in destroying the boots for no reason, if it can be avoided.

Anyway, Grinders are good, heavy boots, though I haven't worn them for as long as the others so I can't guarantee you they're high quality.

My first pair of engineer boots were Grinders. Still got them. Not the style of engineers I'd go for now - big, chunky, huge commando soles - but excellent in foul weather including snow. The quality of construction is impressive. The leather I would say not as good as the likes of my Red Wings or Chippewas, though those were of course significantly more expensive.

Sendra look and feel much better, though. Premium, really. I'd easily grade them Viberg level. But they cost a lot of money, too. I wore a pair of Sendra engineer boots for 5 years until the metal toe caps damaged them beyond repair but otherwise, they survived EVERYTHING.

I've looked at a lot of Sendra engineer boots online over the last few years, but never had a chance to handle any. They do look nice. Not badly priced - over here at least they seem to be coming in at in and around somewhere in the exact middle between Red Wings and Grinders.

 

[Monitor]

I've looked at a lot of Sendra engineer boots online over the last few years, but never had a chance to handle any. They do look nice. Not badly priced - over here at least they seem to be coming in at in and around somewhere in the exact middle between Red Wings and Grinders.

Honestly, Sendra eats Red Wings for lunch. Hard to even talk about leather in the same context. Sendra uses stuff that looks, feels and smells premium. You should definitely look into Sendra.

 

[Mich486]

Red Wing Huntsman 2015 LE

 

[Psant25]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNgq1M3jc7c/?igshid=772b9fd7d7i7

$200 for some factory first red wings i might grab a pair. They have some 875 and 877 i think too

 

[Harris HTM]

Never seen a Chelsea with that kind of heel. It’s like a hybrid Chelsea/cowboy boot. Very slp. Nice find.

If I am not mistaken Chelsea boots with cuban heels became popular when the Beatles started wearing them.

 

[Harris HTM]

Honestly, Sendra eats Red Wings for lunch. Hard to even talk about leather in the same context. Sendra uses stuff that looks, feels and smells premium. You should definitely look into Sendra.

I have never handled Red Wings but I do own a pair of Sendra's. I agree that they look and feel more expensive than what they actually are.

 

[Serghei Velescu]

John Lofgren monkey boots.
Went for a trip last Friday to Germany to visit the shop Stuf-f especially to try them and wow i fell in love seeing them in real life.
I have never spent before more than 200€ for some boots ot shoes. These cost me 850€ but as i got a new job i said i deserve a gift to myself to celebrate it haha

 

[dannyk]

If I am not mistaken Chelsea boots with cuban heels became popular when the Beatles started wearing them.
View attachment 325974

Not mistaken at all. So much so they were quite often just called “Beatle Boots.” All the cool kids were wearing them for a few years there. Years later in the punk rock scene The Clash made engineer boots popular and the punk kids called them “Clash Boots.”

 

[dudewuttheheck]

@Serghei Velescu those look absolutely gorgeous! Lofgren boots are some of the absolute best ready to wear boots on the market.

Top 3 now:

#3 - Flame Panda monkey boots in natural Maryam horserump

These boots surprised me more than any other boots that I have. Flame Panda was someone I had barely heard of before ordering these boots and when they arrived, they turned out to be one of the best pairs of boots in my entire collection. The more I wear these, the more I love them. In fact, my opinion on them has actually gone up since I wrote my review. The more I look at these boots and compare them to others, I think that in terms of quality, they are up there close to or possibly even at Clinch level which puts them above or equal to everything except White Kloud by my estimation.


In addition to their objective quality, I simply love them subjectively. I never thought that I would love a pair of monkey boots so much, but I am smitten by these. Peng has a lot of well designed boots, which is more than most newer makers can say and that is why I actually have another pair of his boots on order. This also puts Flame Panda in a pretty exclusive club of makers that I have ordered more than one pair of boots from. I had two Red Wings, but sold them both and I have bought two pairs of Vibergs, but sold one pair as well. The only others that I have bought two pairs from are Clinch and White Kloud. That puts Flame Panda in pretty exclusive company in my collection.

In fact, I actually just got my new Flame Pandas and they are incredible. I will post some photos of them in the near future as well. I think I like them even more than this pair. This pair has a lot of shell in the leather, but my new pair of moc toes from him is actual shell cordovan in color 4 from Horween and you can certainly tell the difference. As much as I like the Maryam, I like the shell more. This isn't to say that I prefer shell to all other horsehide, just that I think I like my Horween color 4 shell more than my natural Maryam horse.

 

[Jin431]

@Serghei Velescu congrats on having your new john lofgren monkey boots, they look fantastic. Happy break in


@dudewuttheheck love those FP monkey boots, can't wait to get my 102 last in black horse ****.


In keeping with the monkey boot theme of this specific page, I wore my Tobacco Badalassi Monkey Boots by Junkard Company today. These Badalassi boots are seriously thick md still needs plenty of wear time for a proper break in. The stitching on the upper is good but the stitchdown could have been done better.