Sperry Topsiders

I got my first pair of topsiders this spring and very quickly fell in love with them. The first week or so my feet received a fair share of blisters from bear foot wear but they quickly came to be the most comfortable shoes I owned. My affinity for them, at least aesthetically started is rooted in my fathers longterm commitment to the brand. The pair he currently owns was purchased at a Ontario Place boat shoe while I was in grade one, so about fifteen years. This is  a testament to the longevity of quality footwear when you are willing to do basic upkeep in addition to the occasional repair.

My pair quickly wore, as I wore them near daily, for three months throughout the summer. They started as what Sperry calls sahara, or what is a much lighter almost sand tone. They, like the desert boots, have darkened significantly with the application of Dubin oil.

I terms of style, they are considered to be an American classic, so they carry a baggage of heritage. I like that I can wear them with a variety of things from jeans and a t-shirt to chinos and a blazer. They, like most of my other shoes wear in with a desirable character and I find tend to look as good scuffed up as they do out fo the box.

Desert Boots

Some might claim that desert boots, specifically Clarks desert Boots, boots are a timeless look. So far as I understand they were worn by British officers during World War II, presumably in the desert. Their classic incarnation is either a suede or leather upper matched with a crepe sole. I'm not quite sure if they hold some inherent quality fashionability but I certainly like, as of present, the way they look, though I caution that I may be deluded by marketing. Nonetheless, I would like to attempt to describe what attracts me to them. Below are both the suede and beeswax models, both Clarks, neither of which are mine but my Sam's and our housemate's. I have had a pair of beeswax, which are rather worn in and have had many layers of dubin oil applied so they are much darker than the nearly new models displayed below. When we shot these two mine were rather covered in salt, thus I have yet to shoot them. 

What I find so appealing is the unstructured quality they have. The aesthetics is almost best describable as barren. This simplicity gives way to a shoes which forms to your foot and embraces the character it collects along the way. My own desert boots after six months of moderate use have come to possess a lot of depth and character in the leather. Will post pics later. The shoes see to take on a part of your own character. Though I quite like my beeswax leather the suede quite adds, i find to the unstructured look though are obviously less adaptable to anything but the driest of weather conditions.

Blundstones

The below pair of boots are Chocolate brown chisel toe Blundstones. What I find appealing about Blundstones, in particular is their approach to marketing. If you were to flip through their brochure, you would quickly notice the lack of "waspy" models or brand new merchandise, rather it would be filled with pictures of worn in, dirt chalked and beaten to hell boots. I appreciate a company who forwards a challenge to truly put their product to use. Good design should begin with building things which get better with age not deteriorate. I'm not saying this is universally possible, as naturally things degrade with time, even Blundstones but it says a lot when a company starts with the assumption that there product ought to get better with time.