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Red Wing Gentleman's Traveler

Fidgeteer

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It seems that Red Wing's time has come and the brand's about to get depressingly popular.

Tonight, I visited a generic shoe store on West Broadway.

The store sold RL boots, Uggs, Timberlands, Converse, New Balance, etc. Which brand do you think absolutely everyone in that crowded store was buying? Red Wings, of course. Men and women of all ages gravitated to the work boots display at the center of the store; when I left with my paltry firkin of Sno Seal, every box at the register -- no exaggeration -- was Red Wing's.

"Dose boots, dey look nice and everyt'ing, but dey not gonna last you," I heard a saleman tell a female customer who was trying on Uggs. "If you t'ink inna long-term, Red Wing's a betta in-vess-ment."

"100% made in the U.S.," a grizzled old man recited as he ogled the display. Then I stepped outside to think about what I'd seen.
 

Fidgeteer

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No, not at all -- I'd seen them in similar places before SF. But I didn't think people would mob generic shoe stores in search of Red Wings to the exclusion of everything else. Frye is a non-niche brand, too, but I have yet to visit a shoe store like that and see people rush to Frye's corner and ignore whatever's inexpensive, familiar and on sale. Pudgy student nurses from the Bronx were lining up to spend $270-290 on single pairs of work boots just after the month when unemployment reached its highest level in decades.

Red Wings were $150 more than nearly everything else in the store. It isn't typical for people off the street to want to buy the thing that costs the most. And I didn't expect to hear retired people talking about the craftsmanship.
 

CharlieAngel

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Originally Posted by Fidgeteer
Red Wings were $150 more than nearly everything else in the store. It isn't typical for people off the street to want to buy the thing that costs the most. And I didn't expect to hear retired people talking about the craftsmanship.
Actually.. due to tight economic circumstances, that's exactly why I started looking at higher quality, durable, repairable goods vs. cheap **** at Payless (walmart, etc etc). If I might not be able to be in a financial position to buy new shoes for another 12-18 months, do I want the ones that fall apart in 6 months when i might be laid off and not have the cash, or do I spend the cash I have now and get something I know will be with me when all this blows over? At least, that was my reasoning. On the flipside, it's something I've integrated in my lifestyle and I wish I'd done it 10 or 15 years ago. This goes for shaving (well, I quit shaving, but if I ever start back, it will be with a DE safety razor or one of my straight razors), repairable leather shoes, heavier denim/better constructred jeans (non-pre-distressed), having more items tailored to fit, even cooking (less toys, more utilitarian pots & pans)... Yes, I have less money to spend than I did before, but now I try to actually put some real though into my purchases to make sure it's what I really want before I just shell out the cash. I also got a library card. I can now shuffle that $30/month habit into clothes.
wink.gif
 

Fidgeteer

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All of that sounds good -- I'm happy for you. That's exactly the right effect for SF to have: To make people understand and embrace the quality of well-made clothes in everyday life without compelling them to obsess or buy too much. As for cooking, I know how you feel. I actually do more of that than my girlfriend, since I'm more inclined to geek out about the ingredients.

Thing is, the people buying Redwings in that store were mostly wearing typical discount designer clothes -- the kind you find in heaps at Daffy's, Filenes and Century 21. So for them to be fixating on Red Wings didn't look like the search for hypeless quality you're describing in your own life.

On the one hand, I'm glad those people were buying and supporting better crafted boots -- for themselves as well as the market. On the other, I'm not looking forward to wearing the exact same boots as everyone else. I'm also afraid that Red Wings might begin farming out manufacturing to keep up with demand, if what I saw is indicative of what's happening in the country.
 

Tarmac

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there's been a ****** little Redwing store in a strip mall near my house for over a decade. Greasy poor construction workers, cooks and gardeners have been buying Red Wings there before you even knew how to finger your anus. give up trying to be on the cutting edge.
 

shasta

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Red Wings Shoes To Lay Off About 200 In Ky., Minn. http://wcco.com/local/red.wing.shoes.2.1312172.html Minnesota-based boot maker Red Wing Shoes says it will lay off about 200 workers in Kentucky and Minnesota due to soaring unemployment among blue collar workers -- the company's core market.
 

Ge Fuzz

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Originally Posted by shasta
Red Wings Shoes To Lay Off About 200 In Ky., Minn.


http://wcco.com/local/red.wing.shoes.2.1312172.html


Minnesota-based boot maker Red Wing Shoes says it will lay off about 200 workers in Kentucky and Minnesota due to soaring unemployment among blue collar workers -- the company's core market.


sweet, once they go out of business they will be really cool again!

Its no wonder since they try to keep the US models secret. Last time I went to my Redwing store I showed him my GTs and the guy said, "we don't carry those, we only carry Redwings" I had to explain they were Redwings just not the crappy ones they sell. Then as I was leaving a customer explained he just got a job as a lineman so the guy starts showing him the cheapo Redwings, I felt like telling the guy to buy a US model but waddya gonna do.
 

Fidgeteer

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Nothing "cutting edge" about my post or the feeling behind it. A person who's obsessed with being current wouldn't be interested in boots that everyone here owns already. The funny is, you advocate humility but seem to have none of your own. You haven't shown the faintest clue that you know about anything about language beyond short declarative sentences and common vernacular, yet you presume to preach to others about theirs, as you've done in so many other posts. Simple language is an art -- I agree with you about that. But I've never seen anyone act so proud of being ignorant. Give up trying to be the master of peer pressure in order to feel better about yourself. The only thing you'll ever accomplish that way is to reveal your own insecurity.
Originally Posted by Tarmac
there's been a ****** little Redwing store in a strip mall near my house for over a decade. Greasy poor construction workers, cooks and gardeners have been buying Red Wings there before you even knew how to finger your anus. give up trying to be on the cutting edge.
 

Tarmac

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I don't mind that I wear what "nurses from the bronx" wear. I do mind that I might wear the same thing as someone like you
Originally Posted by Fidgeteer
"Dose boots, dey look nice and everyt'ing, but dey not gonna last you," I heard a saleman tell a female customer who was trying on Uggs. "If you t'ink inna long-term, Red Wing's a betta in-vess-ment."
ffffuuuu.gif
Have you thought about your post looking down at ppl from the bronx for buying something you didn't even know about a month ago? Talk about bandwagon
 

tetsuo

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c'mon Fidgeteer stop trying so hard.

You talk as if Redwing's current popularity is a trend. Becoming "depressingly popular"? Sorry but Redwings have been popular to many different types of customers for ages, that's nothing new at all. If you knew anything about Redwings and the work boot market, then you should have known that already.
 

EnzyteBob

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Originally Posted by Tarmac
there's been a ****** little Redwing store in a strip mall near my house for over a decade. Greasy poor construction workers, cooks and gardeners have been buying Red Wings there before you even knew how to finger your anus. give up trying to be on the cutting edge.


Not bad. lol
 

obiter dictum

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Strange stuff with these boots. Mine feel like a perfect fit when walking, but when I sit down they're uncomfortably tight in the sides. Anyone else have this problem? I suppose this might go away with more breaking in though.

As a side note, Red Wing GTs smell remarkably good. Even after wearing them for a full day, they still smell fresh on the inside.
 

Ge Fuzz

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check this out. I think I have a miss-matched pair. They are the same size but one has more rubber on the sole and also the serial numbers are different. They read 2467586 08/07 and 2467588 08/07
eh.gif
The one with less rubber is wearing significantly faster than the other one, as you can see in the pic....this could be because Im right handed, coincidence, or what I dunno; weird.

redwings.jpg
 

LawrenceMD

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if you're right handed and walk using your hands.... sure it can make sense.

Originally Posted by Ge Fuzz
check this out. I think I have a miss-matched pair. The one with less rubber is wearing significantly faster than the other one, as you can see in the pic....this could be because Im right handed, coincidence, or what I dunno; weird.

redwings.jpg
 

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