[MOVSM]

Gentleman Style--Boots for your suits.




To continue the post on Suit Shoes, here is a guide to your Suit Boots.
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General rules of thumb:

All formality rules of shoes apply to boots as well.


Once upon a time, boots were the preferred footwear with formal attire. That changed as the popularity of the Oxford shoe rose, and status of the boot dropped.

However, the shoe will not protect you well against the elements, and boots are now the preferred wear in inclement weather.

Sure, you can use the galoshes, but they are designed to protect your shoes, not you. And they are utterly useless in snow and freezing wind.

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Balmoral Boot.

The lore has it that Prince Albert was looking for a walking boot that would protect his feet from the wet of the grouse moors of his Scottish estate Balmoral, and in which he could look suitably stylish indoors as well. The result was a boot that became known as the Balmoral, since it was first seen at the castle.
Queen Victoria took a liking to the new boot, and wore them as well.

Balmoral boot is simply an Oxford shoe with a taller shaft to make a boot. As such, this boot can be worn for all occasions to which one wears an oxford—from the formality of morning stroller at the Royal Ascot, to business casual of the office, to gathering of insane eccentrics.

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Button Boots.



As the hemline of the skirts decreased in the Victorian era, women wanted to show off their delicate, feminine feet. The solution that made for Queen Victoria was the modification of the balmoral boot, with buttons.
Men also wore these boots, up until the ’30, when Time magazine declared its death.
This boot style still enjoys a moderate popularity, but is very much a specialty item, and is never cheap.
I say spend your money elsewhere.

[MOVSM]

Chelsea Boot.

Like the balmoral and the button boot, Chelsea is yet another boot that was worn by both men and women, and was also favored by Queen Victoria. It lost its popularity after WWI, but was brought back by The Beatles, who in their turn picked it up from the “Chelsea Set”—a group of young artists, designers and socialites that hung about Chelsea and wore the boots. Before then they were known as “Paddock boots”.





The Chelsea boot is a close fitting boot and the flexibility is in the side panel and not in the instep. Because of this, I strongly suggest you buy these boots in person, rather than online. This shouldn’t be difficult, as the boot is quite popular and almost all retailers carry a large selection.

One thing to beware of—some boots are sold with zippers, and are called Chelsea. They are not, no matter what the salesman will tell you.

They come in all colors and levels of formality, but black is the color in which the Chelsea boot really shines.

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Derby and Utility Boot.

No, I am most certainly not advocating the wear of work and standard issue military boots with a suit.

Like the balmoral, the derby boot, is a derby shoe with taller shaft to make a boot. This style is a base for every work, hunting, sport, and combat boot. It is very popular. There is a myriad of very rough boots designed for utility and are unsuitable for formal and even semi-formal dress. As such, one must exercise caution when shopping for this style of boot.





With all the brogueing, finish, and thick soles that is often common with this style, a brown derby boot will complement a tweed suit quite well for a stroll in a country, or a hunt in terrain that does not necessitate the use of a knee-high boot.

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Derby and Utility Boot, continued.

Today, outside of these venues, the derby boot seems to be worn by a lot of hipsters, men with a very, VERY casual style, and amazingly, girls.
Combat boots in particular are popular as fashion clothing in the goth, punk, grunge, heavy metal, industrial, skinhead, and BDSM subcultures.
Do keep this in mind should you choose to purchase a pair.
None of the below is appropriate as a dress boot for your suit.







And for the love of all that is holy, do not blouse your pants.
You are not airborne, and in case you actually were, your worsted blue suit is not ASUs, and you will not be jumping in it any time soon.

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Jodhpur Boot.

Jodhpur boot was probably designed around city of Jodhpur for aristocrats to play polo, most likely in Jodhpur pants.

Today the boot lost its riding heel, and is very much a walking shoe.
It is characterized by two pieces of leather from which the boot is made, and the strap with the buckle that holds it together.
The vamp slightly larger and is sewn on top of the quarters.
If it has the elastic like the Chelsea, it is a Chelsea boot and the salesman is lying to you.

Unfortunately Jodhpur boot is not as popular as the Chelsea, and you have to go looking for it. That is a real shame, as I think this is a beautiful style. It is often mislabeled as the Chelsea and even George boot.

Like the Chelsea, it comes in a rainbow of colors. Unlike Chelsea, this style prefers color to black.

While suede Jodhpurs exist, keep in mind that the strap will eventually polish off the suede.

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Chukka and George Boot.

Once the polo players finished playing a chukka (period), they went for ‘chukkar’, a leisurely stroll, most likely with the ladies. Because their riding Jodhpurs were uncomfortable to walk in, they invented a walking shoe, aptly named “Chukka”.

Or so the story goes. Some say it is an American invention.
In any case, the British later used the boot in Africa in WWII, which went well with their khakis. Some retailers still refer to chukkas as a desert or a military boot.

Clarks, the original manufacturer of chukkas , still makes a desert boot, in a myriad of colors. The original however, is the unlined, sand colored boot with crepe sole.

These are fine for jeans and chinos, but are not really suitable for formal suits. You can wear them with a more casual suit, with which you would normally wear suede shoes.





If the story is to be believed, King George VI saw his soldiers at a parade wear chukkas, and decided it was the perfect shoe because it allowed him to hide the laces, which he supposedly didn’t like hanging below the trouser. His shoemaker was ordered to make the boot for the king, and the George boot was born.
This boot is quite appropriate for any suit.

The main difference between the chukkas and the George boot is the calf leather of the latter. George boots are generally made with three loops for the laces, instead of two of the chukkas.

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Knee-High Boots.

Knee-high boots have not been worn with formal dress since Beau Brummell (1778–1840) insisted on polishing his with champagne.

These boots are relegated to more practical tasks such as horse riding and “shooting”, which is what the English call hunting. In their vernacular, a hunt denotes activity with dogs and on horseback.

For this, the English traditionally wear their tweed suit, breeks and stockings, and then argue whether boots or Wellingtons are more appropriate, the fools.






They should simply choose good ‘ole American Chippewa and be done with it, if you ask me.

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Winter boots.

All of the above mentioned boots will get you through English weather, and maybe a winter in American South.

What do you do if you live in places like New York, Berlin or, G-d forbid, Toronto?

You will need boots lined with fur or other insulating material.

ShoePassion.com, a German company, conveniently offers several styles of winter shoes and boots.




If you live in places where temperature regularly drops below -40, I wish you good luck. At that point, self-preservation instinct kicks in, and you may need to dispense with fashion. Do the best you can.






Soles.
In sleet, snow, and salt covered roads leather will deteriorate very quickly. For these conditions you really want to consider rubber soles, which will also improve traction. There are now several manufacturers who make non-marking rubber soles for dress shoes, notably dainite.com. They are very popular in the wet English climate, and now have crossed the Atlantic since Allen Edmonds now makes shoes with them.





Care.
The salt and any other chemicals contained in the melt can sink into the leather, where it can damage the fibers and in some cases react with the dyes to make the color bleed and run. Before it has time to do so, give the boots a quick wipe once you’re at work. Your boots will thank you. When you get home at night, go one step further and give them a quick wipe with a warm, wet washcloth, and then towel them off on something clean and dry.
You may want to get your boots shined professionally. They can condition your boots for you, and polish them. This will extend the lifespan of your boots by years.

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Others.

Additionally, there are now several modern styles of ankle boots, with and without monk straps, with and without zippers, and any combination or laces, monk straps, and zippers that defy imagination and any of the categories described above. Some don’t even look half bad.
Exercise judicious sense of fashion. As usual, choose a quality made product.

Yes:





No:




Of course you will see boot versions of all shoe styles. At them to your collection as you see fit once you have the essentials.





There is even a relatively new style that doesn’t have a name. Manufacturers either have their own names for it, mislabel it as a Chelsea boot, or not bother to name it at all.

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Pitfalls and Recommendations.

Keep in mind that the salesmen are almost universally horrible with terminology—they cannot tell Chelsea from a Jodhpur, and George boot from a chukka. You will hopelessly confuse them if you mention a balmoral and not mean oxford shoe. You almost have to educate them yourself.

As with the shoes, choose boots that will afford you the widest range of situations.

A Chelsea boot in black is recommended for more formal events. Wear with black, dark navy or grey suits.





A derby boot in medium brown will serve you well. Do exercise caution—derby’s association with combat boot made it difficult to properly choose.






If you are hesitant to get a derby boot, a George boot is very versatile and looks good in any color with almost every suit.





For casual wear, chukkas are just about perfect. You can wear them year round, depending on your location.

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What to avoid.

Avoid buying the same shoe twice. If you like some shoe, and want to get it in a few different colors, don't.
Find out the last on which it was made, and then get a different model on that same last.
Better shoemakers advertise the lasts on their websites.


Avoid boots with more than one closing system.





Avoid wild and outrageous styles. It is one thing to wear loud shoes to draw attention. It is another to appear a clown.





Avoid cheaply made and ugly boots. As with shoes, they will make you look like a peasant, and they will fall apart after only several months of wear.
Quality shoes that cost more will also last for years, if not decades.

[HermeticAlly]

Great guide.

If you're willing to shell out the cash, Saint Laurent Paris makes the definitive version of the modern chelsea and especially the jodhpur. Very sleek and edgy looking, and guaranteed to attract attention. Both types of boots are very versatile and work with everything from (slim) jeans to dress pants and so on.

Personally I prefer to do a little deeper digging - brands like Carmina and Sid Mashburn offer very similar-looking slim chelseas for much less than SLP and other designer brands. A proper chelsea should have a tapered (but not actually sharp/pointy) toe. Avoid square toe boots like the plague (see the photo right above this post.)

I've got another boot with Dainite soles and while I love the look and feel, they're not the best on slick, wet surfaces - they slide like crazy, surprisingly enough. A Vibram Commando sole is the best option for bad weather conditions but it looks much less classy than a leather sole or Dainite.

[Kieran]

I'm surprised to see Saint Laurent mentioned on here. I have the 30 mm heel version of the Saint Laurent jodhpur boots. I also have the 30 mm heel Chelsea (two pairs actually as they're so versatile), and the side zip, as well as a load of other Saint Laurent boots such as the London cropped ankle height jodhpur, which is probably the most complimented shoe I've ever had, the new Devon pointed toe Chelsea, the French Chelsea, and several other styles, pretty much all in smooth black calf. I have the Chelsea in the 40 mm heel too, but I've never worn it as I just prefer the 30 mm version.

I'm a big fan of Saint Laurent and spend far more than I should on it. The really feminine and way out stuff doesn't interest me, but I still find the plainer items to be perfectly tailored and a far better fit than other similar labels (Dior Homme, Prorsum, etc.), even though I'm not rake thin like the models.

[MOVSM]

(09-24-2016 09:44 PM)HermeticAlly Wrote:  

Avoid square toe boots like the plague (see the photo right above this post.)

Those boots can double as a shovel.
However, I should have pointed out earlier that not all square-toed shoes are bad--the fine English chiseled toe (that Italians are so fond of) indeed looks very good.

[mhnd]

MOVSM, you are a visionary. Keep dropping knowledge and sharing concepts.

Kieran, I have also splashed a dollar on YSL, suede black jodhpur boots. With some skinny denim, white T, blazer/simple leather bomber - timeless.

HermeticAlly, dope suggestion on Carmina checked them out and they have some great stuff.

[Titan]

Another Saint Laurent dude here. If anyone's considering buying their boots consider buying them in Europe, especially Italy, since retail there is vastly lower. I'm talking about a 300 euro difference in some cases.

[rudebwoy]

What is the normal price of those YSL boots?

300 euro is a good price.

I am a huge fan of Chelsea boots....

[Kieran]

Rudebwoy Saint Laurent boots start at around £600 retail in the UK. Pricing for high end designers has really increased in the last ten years (more than doubled). When Hedi Slimane (the designer that designed all the boots at Saint Laurent before he left a year ago), was still at Dior Homme (10 years or so ago), a pair of basic Chelsea boots was £250 retail, and the more detailed pairs around £350 - £400 (quality was better too). It's ridiculous.

Mhnd, I ordered the black suede 30 mm Chelsea and returned them. They were okay, but I much prefer black smooth calf so I just returned them as I didn't see myself wearing them. For a suede option, I think I'm going to get the beige cropped jodhpur boots instead. I also recently picked up both the black and off-white SL 01 low top trainers. I don't really wear trainers much, but these are pretty sleek looking on the feet and are a nice option for casual wear.

[CaptainChardonnay]

You can find some really good prices on Grailed. I see YSL boots all the time. There tons on there. With grailed you can send an offer for .6th the price so if the boot is 500 you can offer the seller 300.

[mhnd]

Excellent knowledge and sources being dropped on this thread.

For the staples I have seen prices anywhere from 700 USD to 1000 USD via endclothing or mrporter (my primary sources).

Kieran, the smooth calf leather is definitely more versatile and durable. That was a good call to go with the smooth leather, and potentially pick up a beige/light grey suede later on. The black suede really vibed with me and I have a pair of smooth leather zip boots already in the line up. The sneakers are sick too... I have contemplated the high tops, but the low tops are strong especially for a day shoe.

[CaptainChardonnay]

Here are some brand new suede chelseas for 810. You can offer the guy 487 so pretty much half pice off the usual 900 retail

https://www.grailed.com/listings/1335803...lsea-boots

[RexImperator]

Don't forget the Alden 405 boots worn by Indiana Jones.

[911]

One note about St Laurent: they are owned by the late Yves St Laurent's lover, Pierre Bergé, who is a very powerful figure in the French political scene, perhaps the leading social engineer in the country, aggressively pushing his homosexual agenda (commercialization of assisted procreation, gender confusion, child indoctrination etc) and pulling the strings in the Hollande administration. He owns Le Monde, the French NYT. He's actually a satanist, we know this because he published a satanist adult comic book back in the 1970s ("Vilaine Lulu"), and there is the ugly cloud of pedophilia hanging there as well...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zhzF8MNFbk

https://ripostelaique.com/vilaine-lulu-d...hilie.html

I used to buy my suits there back in the 90s, I don't any more...