What's the appeal of the wings/horns x dayton service boots

-cool lifted, rounded toebox shape/last that lower priced boots just don't have; the Butteros from Barney's just don't cut it in this department -distressed finish -quality build -nice lower height shaft that most people can wear that is about it, but in this day and age, that's enough to sell them for $700.

Not really a ton of options for similar boots. Even shape wise i don't see much similar out there. The people who claim there are a ton of boots that are the same thing without distressing makes me really question people's attention to detail.

I think you might want to do some research on the boots themselves and then ask yourself this question.

They're made by dayton which is known for making good boots but that's besides the point. SW&D isn't like the MC forum where there are hard rules and "xxx is higher quality than xxx" kinda thing. While high quality is important, there are so many design quirks and small shape and detailing that what is admired and desired isn't as simple as "which company uses the most expensive materials and construction methods". It makes it more difficult to tell for sure and there are brands that are fast fashion with good styling but relatively poor products (Opening Ceremony footwear). I think most people agree that OC footwear generally looks pretty good but the materials, construction and overall look is rather cheap. Which is a shame. There is definitely a market for well designed shoes and boots with good but not "world beater" kinda materials/construction. Hell, even impolyt one has pointed out in terms of leather "quality" MMM is one of the more sought after leathers but the quality is in fact lower than what people think. Still, MMM is more than enough quality for most people. Even if the boots were made by w&h themselves and i heard the same good things about how they looked, felt, and seemed in person they'd probably be lusted after by many people not because of the (often pointless) perceived notion of "quality" but because of the things impolyt_one described in his post. While seemingly small and many would just say it's a black combat boot, it's really not that simple. I also wanted to try and set the record for misusing quotes in this post

they're badass

I didn't see the appeal of the black nubuck variation for the longest time. I always loved the brown version, but thought the black ones looked kind of crappy for the price. Only when I set out to find a black boot I could wear every day did the nubuck Service boots start to appeal to me.

I'm still something of a novice when it comes to identifying what makes a quality boot. But for me, the appeal started with the profile of the boot. Most boots I came across either looked too slim from the side or like something the Frankenstein monster would wear. The W+H boots struck the perfect balance in this respect.

Then there's the distressing of the boot. The process strips any dressy connotations from the boot, but leaves a boot that is of pretty obvious quality. I wanted something I could wear every day. With all due respect, a lot of the boots beloved around here are just too flashy for what I wear most of the time. I needed something that could fit the somewhat dressed down look, but still catch your eye. The W+H boot fit that need.

i myself don't like the look of the nubuck leather, its quite boring compared to the 1st generation leather and the upcoming thick suede version. one thing you cannot argue is the quality of the boot, the construction is top notch and the leather used on the insole is amazing.
i've come to realize that a lot of fashion brands charge just as much for a boot but don't deliver on the quality, maybe they do on the style, but the boots would fall apart rather quickly.

I'm interested in one but my feet are so small I generally wear a size EU39...T_T Especially with the weird US sizing convention (is a 39 a 6 or a 7 FFS?! I see both numbers flying around all the fucking time), not sure if I should go for that 6 or that 5.5 in B&S, or if even those would be too big... sigh....

Have you seen the black nubuck irl?

I lusted after the brown ones since the first time I saw pics of them but didnt really like the black nubuck, the nubuck just takes really bad pics vs the brown ones imo, the nubuck just shines too much in pics whereas irl they actually look fantastic, I first saw them irl when I bought the brown ones and just couldnt get them out of my head, then after I realized how well made the brown ones were and how comfortable they felt and how bad ass they looked scuffed up, I just folded and bought the black nubuck ones about a month later, love them both...

And to add my .02 to the general apeal question, I would say that they have the best shape, especially in the toebox, I have seen in this type of boots, then theres the quality both in leather, sooo thick and chewy, and the craftmanship, which are built like a tank.

I've owned other expensive designer boots like LV, Ferragamo, Dior etc and yeah they look really nice when new but I really put some wear on my shoes and after a bit of wear they all looked "used" or "old" or "worn out", I couldnt replace the sole on most of them, etc,, so I started to look for a boot that would look good worn out but at the same time still provide undeniable quality that was obvious just by looking at them, and these boots were the best I found, CD's have too bumpy a toebox imho and look too homeless/gothninja for me whereas with these you can dress them a bit up or down, clean them up or scratch them down and they always look great and just scream quality, I can wear them with jeans, cords, chinos, etc and also you cant deny that these will just look better and better with age and wear.

Kathadins, RW's, Butteros, cd's, _7's and others like them just dont have this unique mixture of positives for me and therefore well worth the $600/ea that I paid for them.

yeah, i've seen all the versions in real life. maybe the nubuck version will look nicer broken in, but i still prefer the leather of the first edition and am surprised about how thick the suede version is. seriously, its just one layer, and its super thick, almost all other suede boots i seen have 2 layers, a thin suede outer layer and a leather layer inside stitched together.
i've seen the black suede at roden gray, and if i could be wrong but i think they may be getting a brown version too.

I wonder why so many of them have ended up in the B&S section.. I think they look pretty dope.

^ I can see why people with limited clothing expenses would re-sell theirs come winter time once they figure they wont wear them that much to get new winter items but I think most will regret it or it was simply not in their style to begin with.

And yeah, the leather is way thick on these boots, Im highly impressed with both that I have and have never seen any others with a single layer os leather being this thick, also the nubuck once broken in/worn a bit do look much better than new, I think they actually didnt sand down the top layer that much so most new ones dont really look like all nubuck but also dont look like regular top layer leather, they're kinda in between, but once you wear them in or brush them down a bit with a nubuck brush the other layer becomes soo much better looking than when new, then just add some leather oil in the toe and back areas to handle the scratches and whatnot better and they look fantastic, I get compliments on them all the time, same thing with the brown ones too.

Also once I saw all 3 of them irl, I think last years leather black ones are the least attractive to me, dont know exactly why though?