Anyone own these shoes? Style? Comfort? Thanks!
ThoUghts on Clarks Touareg?
- Thread starter Maximum Closeness
- Start date
I have owned several pairs of Clarks shoes in the past, and they've never impressed me much. They do have an interesting niche - in that they're a little more comfortable than the average $100-$200 pair of shoes and they come in some "fashion forwardish" styles, but they're not nearly as comfortable as Mephisto's or nearly as stylish or well built as a pair of AE's, Alden's, etc. It really depends on what you're looking for. For the $, they're decent -but after a year or two, they'll show a lot of wear and are throw aways. It took me years of buying Clark's (and similar quality shoes) before I finally upgraded to the next level - Mephisto's (which you can find new on eBay and some sale sites for reasonable prices) and at that point, Clark's and similar brands fell off the map for me. Since the Mephisto era, i've upgraded to Alden's and Crockett & Jones shoe and Mephisto has largely fallen of the map for me now as well. Despite what anyone else says - you'll never really "save" money by buying higher end shoes and having them re-soled... that's akin to switching to a straight razor to "save money" it's nothing more than a pipe dream. What you CAN do however, is with an initial, more costly buy in - wear a much higher quality pair of handmade shoes, that's more comfortable and becomes "a dear friend" - and in the long run - not have to spend that much more $ (versus buying and throwing out cheaper, inferior shoes) to keep yourself shod in world class, luxury shoes.
Example:
Let's say Bob buys a pair of $115 Clarks and Steve buys a pair of $434 Alden Mocc Toe Bluchers (they have a vibram rubber sole, so they're not a radical departure, like a pair of leather soled shoes might be) which they both plan to wear daily. Day 1 - Bob has a relatively uninteresting pair of shoes that would blend into a crowd - while Steve is sporting a gorgeous pair of handmade in the USA shoes, which stands out - in a classy, sophisticated and elegant manner.
Three months later - Bob's clarks start to show wear - the surface stained leather is beginning to lose its color in certain areas of high wear and the shoes have lost their luster. Due to the corrected, open grain leather - there's not a whole lot that can be done - as most polishes don't look that great when deployed against this kind of leather. Steve on the other hand, merely applies some polish to his Alden's (hopefully he'd been doing so at least once or twice a month) and buffs them to a brilliant shine, and they look not too dissimilar to what they looked like when new, save for some natural creasing where the shoe bends as he walks. Should Steve so desire, or the occasion arise, he can bull or "spit shine" his shoes to make them near mirror shine and stand out like a sore thumb... or he can only lightly buff the shoe polish/wax and have the shoes sport a more matte, subdued appearance.
9 months later (a year since purchased) Bob's shoes are starting to look a little dumpy. The uppers have seen their better day the soles are worn and the shoes are no longer as supportive as the once were. Steve's shoes on the other hand, offer the same support as they did when new (due to the steel shank) and are molded to his foot as if they were made bespoke to his foot. With regular care and maintenance, his uppers look superb - little to no different then they had when three months old. The heels of his shoes show some wear - but all-in-all they still looks stunning and stand out as beautiful shoes - which folks he comes into contact with take notice, and often compliment. While Bob is in the market for another pair of shoes ($115+) - Steve is considering having heel savers installed ($15 or so).
12 months later (2 years since new) Bob is 9 months into his second pair of shoes which are nearing the point of looking dumpy/worn again - where Steve's shoes still look razor sharp but the soles could stand to be replaced (perhaps not, if a heel saver is used) but the comfort of his shoes is second to none. At this point Steve's shoes have become part of him and the shoe and his foot are near one in the same. Steve pops for new soles and to have his uppers re-finshed which runs him $90 from B Nelson - and has near-new looking shoes returned to him within 2 weeks. While these shoes have new soles and the uppers look like they had at three months, however the shoes are already broken in and feel just like his shoes had before... if anything perhaps a bit more comfortable. No break in (like Bob must do every year or so) - just immediate perfection for Steve.
This process continues over and over - and usually the "Bob's" of the world start spending a little more on their shoes - maybe $150-250, which makes Steve's case evermore compelling. A five year old pair of Aldens may have $614 invested in them but they'll still stand out, and look a heck of a lot nicer than Steve's 4th or 5th pair of shoes he spent say $225 on. Let's say Bob spends $115 on his first pair, then one year later $150 on his second, then $175 on his third, then $225 on his fourth pair of shoes in say 5 years - that's $665 total (again, assuming only 4 pairs and not 5 pairs of shoes he's gone through) and all the while, throughout those 5 years, Steve's had much nicer, more comfortable shoes he's only had to break in once - while his total investment is actually $50 less than Bob's. When you consider shoe care products and cedar shoe trees, let's call it a wash or a small push for Steve. In any event as this continues, you can see Steve ultimately isn't spending much, if at all anything more than Bob in the long run, but he's enjoyed much nicer shoes for years.
A friend and former colleague of mine bought a pair of leather soled Aldens more than a decade ago and after wearing out the leather soles had them resoled with rubber vibram soles. He wore this same pair of shoes for all occasions daily for over a decade, only applying polish and having them resoled when necessary. He is an avid walker and lives in the city - which is hard on shoes - yet he still owns and wears these shoes today, and even at a decade old - still look great. So thrilled with his Alden's, he just recently purchased a pair of Cordovan Alden boots to take the place of his decade + old calf skin alden bluchers, but this wasn't out of necessity - it was to add a bit of variety, as after more than a decade of wearing the same pair of shoes, he wanted to change things up a bit - and to try out Alden's cordovan offerings.
While long-winded and wildly off topic, I hope this helps with your upcoming shoe purchase.
Example:
Let's say Bob buys a pair of $115 Clarks and Steve buys a pair of $434 Alden Mocc Toe Bluchers (they have a vibram rubber sole, so they're not a radical departure, like a pair of leather soled shoes might be) which they both plan to wear daily. Day 1 - Bob has a relatively uninteresting pair of shoes that would blend into a crowd - while Steve is sporting a gorgeous pair of handmade in the USA shoes, which stands out - in a classy, sophisticated and elegant manner.
Three months later - Bob's clarks start to show wear - the surface stained leather is beginning to lose its color in certain areas of high wear and the shoes have lost their luster. Due to the corrected, open grain leather - there's not a whole lot that can be done - as most polishes don't look that great when deployed against this kind of leather. Steve on the other hand, merely applies some polish to his Alden's (hopefully he'd been doing so at least once or twice a month) and buffs them to a brilliant shine, and they look not too dissimilar to what they looked like when new, save for some natural creasing where the shoe bends as he walks. Should Steve so desire, or the occasion arise, he can bull or "spit shine" his shoes to make them near mirror shine and stand out like a sore thumb... or he can only lightly buff the shoe polish/wax and have the shoes sport a more matte, subdued appearance.
9 months later (a year since purchased) Bob's shoes are starting to look a little dumpy. The uppers have seen their better day the soles are worn and the shoes are no longer as supportive as the once were. Steve's shoes on the other hand, offer the same support as they did when new (due to the steel shank) and are molded to his foot as if they were made bespoke to his foot. With regular care and maintenance, his uppers look superb - little to no different then they had when three months old. The heels of his shoes show some wear - but all-in-all they still looks stunning and stand out as beautiful shoes - which folks he comes into contact with take notice, and often compliment. While Bob is in the market for another pair of shoes ($115+) - Steve is considering having heel savers installed ($15 or so).
12 months later (2 years since new) Bob is 9 months into his second pair of shoes which are nearing the point of looking dumpy/worn again - where Steve's shoes still look razor sharp but the soles could stand to be replaced (perhaps not, if a heel saver is used) but the comfort of his shoes is second to none. At this point Steve's shoes have become part of him and the shoe and his foot are near one in the same. Steve pops for new soles and to have his uppers re-finshed which runs him $90 from B Nelson - and has near-new looking shoes returned to him within 2 weeks. While these shoes have new soles and the uppers look like they had at three months, however the shoes are already broken in and feel just like his shoes had before... if anything perhaps a bit more comfortable. No break in (like Bob must do every year or so) - just immediate perfection for Steve.
This process continues over and over - and usually the "Bob's" of the world start spending a little more on their shoes - maybe $150-250, which makes Steve's case evermore compelling. A five year old pair of Aldens may have $614 invested in them but they'll still stand out, and look a heck of a lot nicer than Steve's 4th or 5th pair of shoes he spent say $225 on. Let's say Bob spends $115 on his first pair, then one year later $150 on his second, then $175 on his third, then $225 on his fourth pair of shoes in say 5 years - that's $665 total (again, assuming only 4 pairs and not 5 pairs of shoes he's gone through) and all the while, throughout those 5 years, Steve's had much nicer, more comfortable shoes he's only had to break in once - while his total investment is actually $50 less than Bob's. When you consider shoe care products and cedar shoe trees, let's call it a wash or a small push for Steve. In any event as this continues, you can see Steve ultimately isn't spending much, if at all anything more than Bob in the long run, but he's enjoyed much nicer shoes for years.
A friend and former colleague of mine bought a pair of leather soled Aldens more than a decade ago and after wearing out the leather soles had them resoled with rubber vibram soles. He wore this same pair of shoes for all occasions daily for over a decade, only applying polish and having them resoled when necessary. He is an avid walker and lives in the city - which is hard on shoes - yet he still owns and wears these shoes today, and even at a decade old - still look great. So thrilled with his Alden's, he just recently purchased a pair of Cordovan Alden boots to take the place of his decade + old calf skin alden bluchers, but this wasn't out of necessity - it was to add a bit of variety, as after more than a decade of wearing the same pair of shoes, he wanted to change things up a bit - and to try out Alden's cordovan offerings.
While long-winded and wildly off topic, I hope this helps with your upcoming shoe purchase.
Well put joel!
I'm having a hard time explaining this very concept to some of my more "throw away shoe" friendly co-workers.
I'm having a hard time explaining this very concept to some of my more "throw away shoe" friendly co-workers.
Ummm, Joel, I think you have Steve and I confused.
The rest of your post is spot on. The best investment you can make regarding a wardrobe is in the shoes you buy.
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