Stitched Footwear

Viberg Service Boots almost need no introduction. After breaking onto the scene during the Americana/workwear craze around 10 years ago, they have been the yardstick that many others are graded on. Since that time, countless others from the pacific northwest have followed suit – White’s, Nick’s, and others owe much of their recent success to Viberg.

When Brooks Brothers ended their contracts with Alden, Crockett & Jones, and Alfred Sargent, there was a bit of an uproar. Including from your author. For many men in the United States who prefer to not shop for shoes online, Brooks was the only place to get these brands. Their Golden Fleece Captoes, and others in the line, had the unenviable task of trying to replace these giants of the shoe industry on the Mahogany shelves of Brooks Brothers stores.

If you’re not familiar with the brand, TB Phelps has been around since 1938. Originally starting off making leather bags, they expanded into other leather products over time. You can really tell that the leather choices are at the heart of what they do. Offering a variety of products in sheepskin, deerskin, elk and more, they offer a way to take traditional designs and give them a slightly different style. It’s a look that I feel works best with shoes that lean into that rustic design – and may be best exemplified in the T.B. Phelps Weekender.

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.

The J Crew Kenton Boots line is designed much like their Ludlow line. In other words, offer a more affordable alternative to higher end footwear, while keeping some of the key features such as goodyear welting, higher end leather and more.

Out of the box, these are far better presented than any other J Crew Shoe I’ve received. Each shoe was individually wrapped in plastic, held in place with a plastic strap, and covered with an individual shoe tree. On a suede shoe, this goes a long way in keeping the suede from rubbing in shipping. I guess these shoes are regularly bought and returned after people have taken these items, but it’s certainly a better unboxing experience if you’re the first one in there.

Just about every shoe that costs more than a few dollars looks great when it comes out of the box. However, no shoe stays pristine forever. We like to take a look at how a shoe looks once it’s actually been used. These Jay Butler Cromwell loafers have really seen it all. Despite their suede upper and leather soles, they’ve been worn in rain, snow, salt and more. How did they hold up? Let's find out.

Historically, White’s Boots doesn’t really like to change the way they do things. While some others in the Pacific Northwest, most notably Viberg, have very distinct lifestyle and work lines, White’s makes all of their boots to the same standards on the same lines. The difference this makes can probably be seen most clearly on this: The White’s MP Service Boot.

If you had asked me a few months what I thought of the J Crew Ludlow line of shoes, I would have responded with the same way I think about the Ludlow line of clothes. That is, a mall brand that sells affordable options. Great for most people, but not the enthusiast’s choice. However, then rumors began to fly that same factory that makes Grant Stone makes these. With the nearly ubiquitous sales, the possibility of getting Grant Stone quality for mall brand money was too tempting to pass up, and I placed an order for these J Crew Ludlow Tassel Loafers.

Sperry as a company has a collaboration catalog that puts everyone apart from Nike to shame. Sperry has partnered with everyone from movie studios, both Quoddy and Rancourt, Patta (before New Balance), Rains, Barneys, J. Crew, and more. However, one of the most sought-after collections was the Sperry x Band of Outsiders Topsider collabs.