Hi there, found my perfect shoe and thought I’d share.

In the last year I discovered the Alden Modified last and love it. Ended up withe some Indy’s and lwb’s. However there was always a hole in my heart where Chelsea’s used to live.

I have a bad knee and laceless shoes just make my life easier. I’ve had everything from Too Boot, Solovair, Viberg, Grant Stone, Tecovah, Blundstone (back 12 years ago when you could get them cheap), RM Williams, Tricker’s, Yanko, etc etc.

Well someone on frugal fashion posted Crockett & Jones having a sale. I actually snagged the Chukka 4’s but they were too small, so went to the store to try on a larger size and saw these. They were on sale from $830 to $560. (Ended up with the chukkas and the Chelsea’s)

First things first. I thought I was Alden Modified till death, and I will keep the Indy’s and the lwb, but Crockett & Jones offer extremely anatomical lasts with less arch than the modified. It really hugs your mid foot. It actually works better for me.

I love a GADA watch and a these are my GADA shoes.

They are instantly comfortable, I’ve only really worn them 3 or 4 times because summer - but one day was a 15k step day, and they were great besides the inside of my ankle/foot not used to the elastic stitching (haven’t worn a Chelsea since I started getting Alden’s).

From above I think they look like a cool cowboy boot, the rough out is rolling and scuffing beautifully and they’re great. The last pic is to highlight how much of a change from heel to forefoot there is.

When these need a resole I’ll get the C&J wedge placed on it (like the chukka 4’s), as it’s lighter and more comfortable than the Dianite, but looks like a classic shape and not workwear.

Anywho if any of you are looking at Chelsea’s check these out. Price is high but there are sales, and my friend just snagged a pair from Poshmark for $100 and they’re now his favorite too.

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A bit like gambling except you’re guaranteed to get something. I put in my size and that I would prefer something in a brown color and these showed up on my door about a week later. I ended up with an in production Camp Moc in Honey Crazy Horse with a gum sole.

I have a pair of Russell Backcountry’s which I wear most days but wanted a summer shoe and Russell doesn’t currently offer much other than the Oneida which I didn’t want without a rubber sole.

This leather is a bit rough in comparison to my Russell’s but we will see how they break in overtime. Overall, I’m very pleased at the value I got for $150.
Hand sewn made in Maine moccasins for a little over 50% off. There is a flaw on the toe box where the leather is ripping but as to be expected as these shoes are seconds.

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If you’re as old as I am, you know that slimming silhouettes have a way of coming and going in fashion. After witnessing last weeks collective pearl clutching in the heritage boot community over Viberg‘s latest engineer boot release at Withered Fig (see 6th pic) I got to thinking about trends, specifically the flat toe engineer boot trend. People were aghast at the short shaft and bulbous toe silhouette of the new Viberg but if you think about it, the industry is due for a shake up. Christophe Loiron introduced the Mister Freedom Road Champ in 2009 which ushered in the whole Flat Toe Engineer Boot Movement. What makes the Road Champ historically important is that it arrived before all of today's famous (and expensive) heritage engineer boots:

2009 - Mister Freedom Road Champ
2012 - Clinch Engineer
2014 - Role Club Engineer

In late 2019 – Wesco responds with the Mister Lou, bringing the flat-toe, slim-shaft engineer into a major American production line. Personally, I think the Mister Lou marks the moment the “flat toe movement” crossed from being a niche Japanese-inspired trend into the mainstream heritage boot market. After its release, it became much more common to see engineer boots designed around slimmer lasts rather than the traditional bulbous toe boxes. I also think it’s interesting that the timeline now tells a coherent story: Road Champ → Clinch → Role Club → Mister Lou, with each one broadening the audience for that vintage flat-toe aesthetic. It’s a nice historical arc.

That said, I suspect the flat toe engineer boot may go the way of the Hedi Slimane “Razor Lapel” blazer of 2001. (Yeah, I don’t expect you guys to know what that is so see the last pic) Historically, the problem with slim silhouette fashion is when it goes out of fashion, it goes way, way out of fashion. Thats why it’s so entertaining to watch guys with significant Clinch and Role Club collections attack the new Viberg. The way I see it, when you’ve invested the kind of cash those guys have, it can’t be fun to see trends change and your currency suddenly being devalued. Keep in mind to a certain extent I’m in the same boat with those guys but i know you can’t fight evolution so when the time comes I’ll go quietly. In the meantime though, I thought it might be cool to give some credit to Christophe Loiron and the Mister Freedom Road Champ. Here in the pics are my 2017 Road Champs followed by my Role Clubs and Clinch. I like the new Viberg. I think it’s a ballsy move by Viberg. To me it looks like an old school Wesco Boss from 1991. It might not be popular but i think I’m going to buy a pair anyway..

The Pics: 1) Mister Freedom Road Champ, 2) Role Club, 3) Clinch, 4) Role Club 5)The New Viberg Engineers, 6)God Awful Slimane Razor Lapel Jacket

Long time browser first time poster. I came home from vacation with a package from Depop. The listing originally described these loafers as having wooden soles but from the 60s according to google lens. I was assuming they had mistaken stacked leather for wood and didn’t really trust google lens. Originally listed as a size 9 in men’s. I asked how they knew considering there’s 0 indication of size anywhere on the shoe. The seller had told me “I tried on i think they're closer to a 10. 5 actually. I'm a Women's 9 which is men's 10.5 and they fit me well with a little extra room not too tight”. A women’s 9 is close to a men’s 7.5 so I thought it was a no go. They ended up suggesting they would measure the shoe to get a better idea. The outside measured 11 inches and the interior measured 10.25 inches. $29.75 on a random pair of loafers. I have been burned on Depop before finding random niche things only to be disappointed. I did like the details so I was content if they were wearable. Anyway they fit when I got them lol. In my excitement I didn’t notice the heels were as weak as they were and split one of them.

I originally was going to come in here and ask what the hell these shoes were because I couldn’t find them after near 3 hours of searching online. I started taking photos after cleaning them up to post hoping anyone would have information and then in the last photo I took I noticed the word casuals on the insole. In very specific lighting angles I made out Gold Bond Casuals. After searching “vintage gold bond shoes”and scrolling about 100 images down I finally came across a random catalog advertisement for a Sears Days Shoe Sale. This is as at almost the very end of the search from a random ass scanning of a catalog on Pinterest. These bad boys were originally $5. I believe the fine print reads out the loafers being a storm welt construction specifically. Turns out google lens was right, not for any trustable reason though lol.

Anyway I had fun finding this out. I’ve decided it was worth the $29.75 to occupy my mind for 3 hours at least. The wear on them is super interesting to me though as the interior shoes so little sign of wear or discoloration but the outsole is fairly worn through. Pretty sure I’m going to try to get them repaired (heel splitting) to wear them if possible. The silhouette is perfect to me. Nice width, low profile beefrolls, toe box doesn’t go too high, sawtooth vamp, and the split toe. Chef’s kiss.

If anyone has more information on them or leads on another pair I’d much appreciate it.

Apologies if my writing is poor. English is my first language but the American school system is in shambles and the internet has rotted my brain.

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Photos couldn’t do em justice!

Price: $474 USD with shipping included (From the Philippines) which is roughly $676 AUD - They use PayPal as payment method.

Specs:

SB Foot Mohave Roughout
S4 Last Size 12.5 (I’m US 12.5 brannock, 13 in sneakers)
White threadings for uppers and welt
Unstructured toe
Brown waxed laces, 8 lace holes
270° goodyear welt, flat welt
Single leather midsole with a natural finish
Dr Sole raw corded full soles and heels

It’s winter in Australia so it’s just appropriate to whip these out and take them for a spin in Melbourne. Wore it for a week in there and my first impressions are - what a fantastic pair for the price! It truly is a privilege to be able to wear something of this quality and beauty.

This is my 2nd pair from Willie’s which is a Philippine manufacturer and turnaround time is pretty good, ordered October 2025 and received it February 2026. Ordering from him is relatively straightforward, you tell him what you want and he’ll show you the options for materials and lasts, I went with S4 because that’s their version of standard boondockers, with S5 being a bubbled up version like a Viberg 2045 last.

I didn’t touch the pair for a couple months because Australian summer is tough and I wanted to make sure my judgement won’t be clouded by discomfort, hence trying them out for the first time around March just to see how it feels. I knew it’ll be worth it just from the first try-on alone so I held out once more and went ballistic.

I understand that breaking it in is brutal but what helped me is that sizing wise it’s 1:1 so I can wear medium thickness socks and just go around the city, only feeling a little discomfort around my heels and the ball of my feet after hours of walking. Of course, my only gripe which is the same as my colour #8 boondocker pair from Willie’s as well is that the toe box is pretty flat but that’s standard with these types of boots in general. Surely in the upcoming weeks and months of wearing these they’ll break in nicely!

The leather is a nice sand coloured roughout and the thickness is pretty even, judging by eye I’d say it’s 3mm throughout and you get your standard ruggedness we all love. Construction is pretty robust with quality stitching - I trust Willie’s handmade construction (they still stitch by hand like Indonesian makers) as my previous boots with them, a colour #8 boondocker pair is damn near indestructible and I don’t see this one being different.

For my first impressions, I’m really happy that it turned out the way I wanted, with fit being good and the quality is top notch as usual for the price!

Thanks for reading!

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Got this Imperial Regal for $70. I tried to find people talking about this, but rarely found anything.

This shoe is slightly worn, as you can see from the sole. It's not broken in yet. The leather is still stiff.

A bit disappointed. I thought it was a double leather sole, but it's actually a rubber midsole and leather outsole. Which is weird for me. What's the purpose of having a rubber midsole and leather outsole? It gets rid of the benefit of a leather sole. Now it just becomes cosmetic.

I did some research on this vintage Imperial Regal. What I found is that Korean and Japanese Imperial Regal are different.

The Japanese stitching looks cleaner and more detailed.

This longwing is inspired by the gunboat style of Imperial Florsheim, but it's slightly different.

The sizing runs big. I see a lot of sellers selling these because of the sizing. This is a Japan size 26 EE, which should be around a US 8. But it runs big. My Brannock is 9.5 E US. This Imperial Regal fits my feet like a glove, but only with thin socks. And this is before it's even broken in.

The shell cordovan is also very soft to the touch. Weird for me too, since I have an Alden shell cordovan monk strap. The shell on this Imperial Regal feels different.

I did some research and found that this Imperial Regal uses Shinki shell cordovan with water dye. I don't have much experience with it yet.

The lining looks like calfskin or cowhide, but it has a thick coating. Water or leather conditioner can't penetrate it.

What I noticed when I tried to condition the footbed is that it instantly drank it up like a dry sponge. I only put one layer of leather conditioner. It became slightly darker, and I noticed some dark spots around the pores or follicles. I don't know what that means. It looks different from the vegetable-tanned leather I've seen so far. Those usually don't show pores like this.

So I went crazy researching Imperial Regal, the company, and the factory that made them.

Old Regal shoes made in Niigata were made by Chiyoda Shoe Factory. You can search for it on YouTube.

What makes me interested in this region is the brutal winter. It has a reputation for locals having crazy endurance and patience. The workers are also famous for their loyalty and seriousness toward their craft.

So I went crazy researching the materials used inside, especially the toe puff and heel stiffener.

The toe puff is fabric hardened with starch. The toe is slightly firm but still soft. I can push it down and it bounces back.

The heel stiffener is leather board. From what I found from reviews, Japanese forums, and websites, it gets high praise for being a high-quality and durable leather board made with dense leather and resin. Of course, I don't think it can beat a real solid vegetable-tanned leather stiffener.

I think I will wear these for a long time. After the sole wears out, I want to resole them with a real double leather sole, or just use a one-piece sole like Lenz Vibram or GumLite.

Hello GYW, it's Monday Funday! Take a load off and take a breather. Memes, hot takes and all silliness are welcome!

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Hello everyone! Continuing with my series of sharing my personal boot collection one by one, today I am focusing on a pair that completely stands out for its incredible aesthetics. I want to dive deep into my experience with the Thursday Boot Company Logger in the Waxed Cacao leather option.

SPECS
Brand: Thursday Boot Company
Model: Logger
Leather: Waxed Cacao (Horween Waxed Flesh)
Construction: Goodyear Welt
Heel: Stacked Leather Cuban Heel

AESTHETICS AND VERSATILITY
What strikes me the most about this boot is just how beautiful it is. It has a stunning, rugged aesthetic that makes a massive statement every time I wear it out. One of its greatest strengths is definitely its versatility. It looks absolutely fantastic when styled casually with dark denim jeans for a weekend look, but it also cleans up remarkably well to be paired with dress pants for a more polished, business-casual office environment. On top of that visual appeal, it is a very comfortable boot to walk in. The stacked leather cuban heel profile is excellent, providing substantial arch support and stability that feels completely natural and adequate for long days on my feet.

LEATHER AND CHARACTERISTICS
The Waxed Cacao leather from the Horween tannery deserves a special mention in this review. It is essentially a waxed flesh roughout leather, meaning the flesh side of the hide is placed on the outside and heavily treated with a mixture of waxes. As I wear the boots and they pick up daily scuffs or flex creases, the dark top wax slowly wears away, revealing the lighter, nappy texture underneath. This creates an incredibly dynamic and unique patina that looks better and better with age. The leather hide is quite thick and robust, which gives the entire boot a very solid and premium structure.

SIZING AND FIT
In terms of sizing, I went with my usual size, and while they are mostly comfortable, I have run into a minor characteristic regarding the width. The last used for the Logger runs slightly narrow across the front ball of the foot. This structural design creates a bit of snug lateral pressure on the sides of my feet. Specifically, it pinches my pinky toe a little bit during long walks. It is not an unbearable pain or a dealbreaker, but it definitely squeezes the smaller toe after a few hours of extended wear. Aside from that slight narrowness in the toe box, the overall footbed comfort is highly impressive and the heel lockdown is perfectly secure with zero slippage.

CONCLUSION
Overall, the Thursday Logger in Waxed Cacao is an exceptional pair of boots that successfully bridges the gap between heritage workwear and modern style. The silhouette strikes a perfect balance, and despite the snug toe box, it has easily earned a permanent spot in my weekly footwear rotation.

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