LL Bean

The one question I often get asked that I don’t answer in reviews is how I pick which shoes to wear. How I style them, when I pick one over the other, etc. With 100wears hitting the one-year mark, I thought it might be worth providing a mini update on the current collection from a personal viewpoint.

Every year, like clockwork, when the weather starts to get bad millions of LL Bean “Bean Boots” get pulled out of the closet. It’s easy to see why – it’s a classic design, made in America, and is pretty affordable. At least, affordable compared to other classic, made-in-America shoes. Nobody could fault you for wanting to pick up a pair. Like countless others, you logged onto www.llbean.com with credit card in hand only to find two options: the Bean Boot and the Maine Hunting Shoe.

LL Bean’s Bean Boots are as ubiquitous as falling leaves or pumpkin-spice everything during Fall in many parts of the United States. However, while they have been knocked off countless times, many people don't know that the Bean Boot itself is a copy. Leon Leonwood Bean first came out with these, the Maine Hunting Shoe.