Oak Street Bootmakers - Official Affiliate Thread - Page 53

Why? 

Because it's dumb? You are wearing boots that are too small for you and stretching them to fit. That was kind of dumb with jeans, pretty fucking dumb with leather jackets, and breathtakingly stupid with boots.

Oh I didn't realize people were stretching the boots. Figured they might just run large. Seems like an easy way to mess up your feets.

Nah, by all credible accounts, these run true. I'm not even convinced the boots people say run large really do. Boots like Red Wings and 1000 Miles are larger than dress boots, but old style work boots are supposed to be worn with thick socks and insoles, and trying to get a dress boot fit out of that style of lasting is just going to fuck everything up. This is how you see so many pictures in the 1000 Mile thread of self satisfied guys with boots their feet are clearly too small for, talking about how they size down another half size to get rid of heel slip. It's all crazy. It's rare that you should buy anything but your brannock size. Insoles are an infinitely better way of dealing with sizing issues.

I've always ever gone TTS with a wide or half-a-size-up standard width, even for stuff like Alden's big boot lasts. George recommended I size up half-a-size actually, from my Barrie last size, but that advice was for me specifically, so I'm not sure if it follows for everyone else. I also wear dress socks with stuff like Aldens and Crockett and Jones boots--I wonder what most folks are doing with these boots.

 

I think for guys with heel-slip, just breaking in the steel shank should solve that issue. I usually size based on where the ball of my foot is relative to the widest part of the shoe. I've bought shoes with plenty of heel-slip, and that has always gone away after being broken-in.

Selling off the navy oxfords (size 10) and brown boat shoes (size 10)

I hate surfing this thread, now I want those trench boots.

Do you mean boots their feet are clearly too big for?

I'm gonna agree with this... Insoles are necessary when you do physical labour for hours on end (quality ones offer a lot of support)... I even buy most boots 1/2 size bigger to be able to fit in decent insoles... Sizing down in boots is something equally as preposterous as sizing down in jeans... Worse even, as it's bad for your feet, your back , your knees, and not just your balls...

who is sizing down in boots?  

I generally agree that the "size down" mantra is a bit overdone, especially for boots like the Beckman or Iron Ranger. Why people kill their feet just to break them in is beyond me. Could be they don't realize that boots are not meant to fit like shoes or they don't realize heel slip goes away once you break them in.

However, I think CXL boots in particular have wonky sizing characteristics because they stretch whether you want them to or not.

I dont think people are sizing down for shits and giggles.  They are sizing down because those boots run large.  I dont give a shit what the boots intended use is, if you have 2" of room up from, it doesnt fit.  I have boots and shoes ranging in marked size from 9 to 11 at home and each fits fine.  

 

This is false as explained by Oak Street Bootmakers on almost every product they sell through their homepage minus the trech boot and other GY welted footwear.  It's not a "sizing down trend" but a bunch of people following the manufacturers recommendation.  

 

"If you plan on wearing thin or no socks, sizing-down one full size from your usual dress shoe size will result in the best fit. For normal or thick socks, size-down one half size. We recommend a snug fit, as the shoes will stretch to conform to your feet".

http://oakstreetbootmakers.com/footwear/navy-camp-boot

I also don't get the hate, especially the part about the Wolverines. I bought a size 8D, and I can fit my full-sized custom orthotics in there with medium-thick socks.

It's pretty stupid to be so critical about your perceptions of how people's shoes fit.

I disagree with this. Some boots just run big, so big that you really do need to size down. I measure a 12 on a brannock. I wear 12 1/2 running shoes. 12 in Quoddy, Oak Street (mocs w/ socks or the trench boot with socks) and the like. I have to go to an 11.5 in Whites or Alden Barrie/Trubalance when wearing thick Smartwool socks. I went all the way down to an 11 in the Barrie last for my LWBs since I'll be wearing them with dress socks. No way I could comfortable wear an Alden, White's, Red Wing, or Chippewa boot in my measured size 12 without wearing two pair of socks or something silly like that. Sure, some people may take it too far but many boots do just run big. As far as insoles go, unless the shoe is designed around an insole I hate putting an insole in as it moves your heel up in the heel counter and it never seems to fit me right and I get heel slip then. I've tried doing that with boots that were too large for me and it was never a good solution.

I love that the Trench boot fits true to size, I don't know why all these makers run their boots so big, makes it hard to keep track of sometimes.

Red Wings do not "run large". They're sized to fit like boots Because, well, they are boots. They're meant to be worn with thicker socks and intentionally have extra toe room.

If you choose to wear them to fit like shoes and choose to wear them with thinner socks, that's your prerogative, but they certainly aren't being intentionally mislabeled by Red Wing to have to be worn "sized down". They're sized as they're meant to be worn by Red Wing according to one's Brannock size.