Shoes With Character - Page 8

Those look like early 20th century doc martens.

Doc Martens and the Haferlschuh were meant to be working shoes(blue collar).

So they are related in one way or another

Just curious. Where is the problem? A good cobbler should be able to do it.

I really like Haferlschuhe, but they seem to be wearable in only a very small geographic area without looking like a total dong.

Not if there is enough Griesvelt at home.

Not unlike a pair of Paraboot i have:

Good joke, though I like them.

What is the approximate translation into English of "Haferlschuh" and what are the shoe's defining characteristics?

Go here. Go to the bottom and click shoepedia.

My German isn't too fantastic, how does Griesvelt translate into English?

Put it into the search function(here)... It is not too serious

The pop-up glossary was not at all useful in answering my question.

Haferlschuh is a proper noun, there is no real existing translation.

Schuh = shoe, ok

It derives somewhat from half. In former times people mainly wore boots and this was half of a boot.

The name "halfs" ([ha:vz]) is a homage to the only classic costume shoe - "Haferlschuh". It is not quite certain where the term "Haferlschuh" originates from. According to one assumption, the English term "half" is the origin; others say that the regional term for a coffee mug used in the Bavaria and Austria - "Kaffeehaferl" - served as a patron for the name. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary contains an interesting entry: the English term "half" originates from the Old High German term "halb." Got it?