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Desert Boots

johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
Now there's got to be a reason you posted a pic of that artwork, so I'll play along, what's the story on the artwork? A Rorschach test for people who come into your office perhaps? Very colorful, sort of reminds me of a classic arcade game like Space Invaders or Missile Command.....

It does look like Space Invaders. :lol:

It’s a painting by a colleague of mine that hung in his office and I told him how much I enjoyed it. He entitled it “Swimming Medusas.”

He retired last year.

Shortly after he retired, I walked into my office one morning and found it there with a very nice note attached.

And there you have it... 😀
 

JWCowboy

Probably not Al Bundy
It does look like Space Invaders. :lol:

It’s a painting by a colleague of mine that hung in his office and I told him how much I enjoyed it. He entitled it “Swimming Medusas.”

He retired last year.

Shortly after he retired, I walked into my office one morning and found it there with a very nice note attached.

And there you have it... 😀

Very nice! I look forward to retiring one of these years ;)
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
I think I’m done ordering suede chukkas for now. Waiting for the right moment to order the Crown Northampton CXL chukka. When that “right moment” is? I have no idea. 😉😀


@blantyre

I don’t think you can go wrong at that price. That’s almost $40-50 less than CDB for a much higher-quality (IMO) boot.
*cough* Enabler *cough* !
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
If the shoe fits, and it's on sale, with free shipping, and it's still made the same as when it first came out in the 1950s (but better), and there are no cosmetic defects like crooked leather pieces or double stitching one one shoe and single on the other ... buy it. 😀

ftfy
 

Lefonque

Even more clueless than you
As a young man I had a pair of Clark’s Desert boots. I liked them but it was the only shoes that made my feet stink. The closest I have come to DBs is a pair of Blundstone suede boots.
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Lefonque

Even more clueless than you
Thought your were a Redback fan. 😀
I am totally a Redbacks fan. But before I knew about Redbacks I wore Blundstone. That’s when I had the suede Blunies. I haven’t ever bought suede Redbacks. Blundstone quality is nowhere what they use to be. Redbacks beat Blundstone for price, comfort and durability. I think I would wear Rossi before I would go back to Blundstone. I think that Blundstone are trading on the name rather than the quality.

In reality I wear Redback most of the time. I have 2 pair of Redwing Iron Rangers which are okay but Redbacks are my go to.

maybe next time I will go for these.
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FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
I took early retirement due to health issues. 2 years nearly up. Not my favourite thing.
And people think I'm nuts because I loved working. But honestly: I am SLOWLY accepting that I would have died on the job. And as much as I irritate my family, they are better off having me alive.




THAT'S why I never had TOO much life insurance! No use in making it so that Mr Potter can say to me "looks to me like you are worth more dead than alive, George...."
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
And people think I'm nuts because I loved working. But honestly: I am SLOWLY accepting that I would have died on the job.
There's a great song by Great Big Sea called something like "The Process Worker" about labouring in a chemical plant.

"... and every day you're in this place, you're two days nearer death" .

Strikes a chord.
 
Well, the journey continues. A few weeks ago, I bought a pair of Sanders HiTops from Country Attire. A nice looking playboy-style chukka. They were a bit snug but I was confident that being suede that they would form to my foot after a few wearings. After I’d worn them enough to rule out returning, I concluded that they were too narrow and possibly could even use a hair extra on the length.

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I researched the Luther model (as featured by Johnniegold). After talking directly with Sanders and Sandersand Richard deWinter at Bradshaw and Lloyd Famous shoe brands: Loake, Sanders, Tricker's, Barker and Sebago - https://www.bradshawandlloyd.com/ in the UK, I pulled the trigger. A big plug for Bradshaw and Lloyd – they take 10% off if you don’t take the shoe trees and had another -10 promotion. With VAT also off and the shipping added their price was as good as their service. I got the UK9.5 – ½ size up on my normal. The shoes fit like a glove. Very comfortable. While the styling is about even – the narrower toe on the HiTop looks a little sharper to my eye. However, the beaded welt on the Luther looks more elegant. I’d be happy with either one. The Luther fits much better.

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I put the HiTops on the bay and got a BIN very quickly. At the end of the day, this little excursion ended up costing about 15% over list for the Luthers. I also discovered a very good shoe shop that provides good service. They even have a house brand of Chelsea boots, not that I’m in the market but maybe some of you might be tempted to take a look?
 

johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
@blantyre

The trials and tribulations of buying shoes when you can’t try them on first. But for some slight inconvenience and a little added waiting time... in the end, it’s worth it.
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johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
@blantyre

Interesting. Like a Hi Top/Luther hybrid.

 
Interesting. Sanders certainly has an amazingly large range of styles! The mark up relative to the HiTop is nearly $100. The one feature of the HiTop that I prefer to the Luther is the sleeker toe - however this was also why they didn't fit me. Otherwise I think that the Luther has it with the notched sole and the beading. Even the barely noticeable stitching around the heel arc. In all cases, the polo snuff seems like the perfect color. It's just pure decadence. Somewhere I saw it described as midway between snuff and chocolate suede - not sure if that was deliberate or if someone messed up a dye batch and invented a new color.

I've been putting ~5 miles a day on the Luthers over the last couple of weeks and they have really bedded in to become as comfortable as a trainer but a bit heavier. They need regular brushing since they pick up dust, short bits of grass clippings, etc. that seem to build up on the vamp. I'm also not using trees so the upper is getting some added texture. I'll probably keep going with them almost every day until the temperature shoots up to 90 degrees - usually around early June. Then I want something lighter. The Luthers can go on trees for a few months. Hopefully by fall the novelty will have worn off enough that some of my other shoes get in the rotation - the shell chukkas are rapidly gathering dust so I'll probably have to do some maintenance polishing soon.
 

johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
the Luther has it with the notched sole and the beading. Even the barely noticeable stitching around the heel arc.

it was all of the aforementioned (mainly the notched heel) that did it for me.

the polo snuff seems like the perfect color. It's just pure decadence.

It really does give off a nice vibe. :thumbup1:

the shell chukkas are rapidly gathering dust

Between the Astorflex Greenflex and the Sanders Luther, my new Alden Snuff Suede chukkas and the All-Weather Walker (not to mention the Ravello shell chukkas) are getting very little play.

Gonna have to change that and get them into a steady rotation before the dog days of summer hit.
 
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