Giving Shoes the Boot

I love shoes.  There, I said it.  Not that it’s probably much of a surprise to anyone.  But in the hierarchy of shoes, loafers, wholecuts, brogues, slippers, oxfords, &c., there is triumphant king in my book – Boots.

Once the only real shoe of a gentleman, boots fell out of fashion sometime between The Wars, and never really made a recovery.  The oxford, so called because boys at Oxford wanted to have a sportier, easier to exercise in alternative to their boots, took over as the most common footwear-of-choice.  Now the shoe of choice for most seems to be the high-tech, neon-adorned, space-age rubber polymer sneaker – but don’t even get me started on that.

Back to the boot.  I think there is something wonderfully elegant and refined about the way a boot removes any smidgen of sock from view.  I have a drawer of multi-colored socks in prints, spots, stripes, and anything else you can imagine, but while I do find them a fun twist, there is just something slightly inelegant about the juncture between shoe, sock, and trouser in most cases.  Sort of like that nasty meeting of trouser and shirt, but again I digress.  There are a few main styles of boots, the chukka, the jodhpur, the desert, the country, the chelsea and the dress, but I’m going to stick to my two favorites here, the country boot and the dress boot.

In the fall and winter time, or whenever trouncing through a field, nothing seems as comfortable and as at-home as a chunky brown brogue boot with a commando or vibram sole.  They’ve got heritage for days and are very purpose-built.  Some may disagree, but I think there is a streamlined elegance to something like this that takes its function and creates a form that matches it; the colors are countryside, the materials are durable and high-quality, and the styling merges perfectly with tweeds, Barbours, and other such gear.  The boot above is from Lodger Footwear, and while the brown and walnut colors are classic country kit, the black seems a great option for rainy, dismal city days.

 

But, the pièce de résistance for me in any wardrobe is a beautiful dress boot like those pictured above.  There are many fine examples out there, but Carréducker, Gaziano & Girling, and Rider Boot Co. (pictured above) are the top of the lot.  If you want to see more examples of some seriously exquisite footwear, check out Leffot’s blog.  Peeking out from under the turnups of a beautifully crafted suit trousers (or odd trousers for that matter), a great boot just seems so much more clean, refined, and for lack of a better expression, laced-up than any other option.  They do come with a hefty price-tag, but for my money, a balmoral boot (such as the two-tone or suede and leather ones above) are the best investment a true gentleman can make.  Although equal parts slightly-old-fashioned and slightly-quirky, if worn with confidence and quiet restraint I just don’t think clothing gets much better than this.