Custom White's Boots ... Thoughts?

[linafelt]

^^Who’s that male model they hired to stand in for @sambam ?

 

[discomute]

So here is what I am thinking:

Baker's Custom Bounty Hunter by White's Boots

• Last: Semi Dress (Bounty Hunter)
• Counter Leather: Brown Smooth
• Toe Vamp Leather: Black Smooth
• Upper (Shaft) Leather: Brown Smooth
• Leather Liner: No Thanks
• Lace Design: Plain Toe
• Pull Loops: Leather Pull Loops
• Celastic Toe Box: No Thanks
• Toe Cap: Leather Toe Cap (only available on plain toe style)
• Toe Cap Leather Color: Black Smooth
• Steel Toe: No Thanks
• Hardware: Brass Eyes & Hooks
• Height: 6"
• Top: Cut Top (standard)
• Midsole: Single
• Edge: Brown
• Heel Base: 90 Degree Blocked off Heel (Traveler) (uhh which was the normal one again?)
• Heel Lifts: Standard
• Sole: Vibram 430 Mini Vib
• Size - Length: 10
• Size - Width: C
• Logos / Embossing: No logos or embossing
• Pay Bakers for Brown or Black sole thread

I have a single pair of Black Main Streets
I am possibly moving to the tropics in the next 2-3 years but how warm is unknown
So I am thinking of this boot right which I can wear as a "casual, neat" shoe around the place
Between the plain brown and black I will be able to cover any set of pants

If I end up somewhere "very warm" like Darwin where shoes are rarely worn, these will become camping boots. (Good footwear very handy when them legless lizards are around) and probably not worn a great deal. Anywhere else they will become a "dry season boot" probably only getting use for 3-4 months a year.

And if I end up somewhere where they get regular use I will probably set a semi-dress in brown dress, with the cuban heel, white thread, natural edging etc. But that would be years down the track.

Anyone with thoughts or comments - I am basically thinking this stuff out aloud.

 

[geremy]

I also really enjoyed the interview. I also found it pretty informative. White's have definitely ruined other shoes for me. The hard part is deciding which White's to wear?!?

 

[Phalanx]

So here is what I am thinking:

Baker's Custom Bounty Hunter by White's Boots

• Last: Semi Dress (Bounty Hunter)
• Counter Leather: Brown Smooth
• Toe Vamp Leather: Black Smooth
• Upper (Shaft) Leather: Brown Smooth
• Leather Liner: No Thanks
• Lace Design: Plain Toe
• Pull Loops: Leather Pull Loops
• Celastic Toe Box: No Thanks
• Toe Cap: Leather Toe Cap (only available on plain toe style)
• Toe Cap Leather Color: Black Smooth
• Steel Toe: No Thanks
• Hardware: Brass Eyes & Hooks
• Height: 6"
• Top: Cut Top (standard)
• Midsole: Single
• Edge: Brown
• Heel Base: 90 Degree Blocked off Heel (Traveler) (uhh which was the normal one again?)
• Heel Lifts: Standard
• Sole: Vibram 430 Mini Vib
• Size - Length: 10
• Size - Width: C
• Logos / Embossing: No logos or embossing
• Pay Bakers for Brown or Black sole thread

I have a single pair of Black Main Streets
I am possibly moving to the tropics in the next 2-3 years but how warm is unknown
So I am thinking of this boot right which I can wear as a "casual, neat" shoe around the place
Between the plain brown and black I will be able to cover any set of pants

If I end up somewhere "very warm" like Darwin where shoes are rarely worn, these will become camping boots. (Good footwear very handy when them legless lizards are around) and probably not worn a great deal. Anywhere else they will become a "dry season boot" probably only getting use for 3-4 months a year.

And if I end up somewhere where they get regular use I will probably set a semi-dress in brown dress, with the cuban heel, white thread, natural edging etc. But that would be years down the track.

Anyone with thoughts or comments - I am basically thinking this stuff out aloud.

I'm of the opinion that 6" boots with a pull loop is unnecessary; it's just something for your pants to get caught in.

People are free to disagree of course

 

[discomute]

Now I think about it you're right

I only ticked that box because I was thinking it might be handy with all eyelets but then I changed my mind on that one for these boots so there is definitely no reason to get it

 

[linafelt]

Now I think about it you're right

I only ticked that box because I was thinking it might be handy with all eyelets but then I changed my mind on that one for these boots so there is definitely no reason to get it

Except that they look cool..

 

[iamntbatman]

That was a great interview. I think the most surprising/interesting bit was how the Japanese market has died down a lot, and the western market has picked up the slack in the lifestyle department, but with the sleeker shoes instead of the chunky workboots as fashion items. I really wish ABC Mart would start stocking White's in their regular stores instead of only Stumptown. ABC Mart is all over the place, and they do carry some Danner models, but it'd sure be sweet to see some stock White's on a shelf in a regular shoe store in Asia.

 

[Phalanx]

Is Baker ever going to offer customisation for the Main Street boot?

 

[Turns31]

Is Baker ever going to offer customisation for the Main Street boot?

Kyle told me no about a month ago.

 

[chicken1616]

The Heritage and Evolution of White’s Boots: The Stitchdown Conversation with Eric Kinney - Stitchdown

Something I didn’t know before I interviewed White’s Boots president Eric Kinney: except for a few years here and there, a bootmaker has run the company for almost 170 years. Eric did it for 26 years himself, hand-sewing over 50,000 pairs. Eric made a whole lot of Semi-Dress boots, White's...

www.stitchdown.com

Nice interview on stitchdown with our very own @sambam. Worth the read.

What a fantastic interview. Probably answers 95% of the questions we have. Really makes me feel that White's is in good hands.

 

[Turns31]

What a fantastic interview. Probably answers 95% of the questions we have. Really makes me feel that White's is in good hands.

I like that the man in charge is someone who actually has 1st hand knowledge of the construction process. So many companies are just run by suits that have no idea how anything works.

 

[chicken1616]

I like that the man in charge is someone who actually has 1st hand knowledge of the construction process. So many companies are just run by suits that have no idea how anything works.

Yes. Totally agree. This has been a huge shift in corporate America in the last 20-ish years. I know this is oversimplification, but I could make the argument that Boeing's current woes can be traced to that they have finance guys running the show now, whereas it used to be engineers.Don't want to make that on this forum, but an example. I think it is great that White's has all that experience running the show.

 

[Turns31]

Yes. Totally agree. This has been a huge shift in corporate America in the last 20-ish years. I know this is oversimplification, but I could make the argument that Boeing's current woes can be traced to that they have finance guys running the show now, whereas it used to be engineers.Don't want to make that on this forum, but an example. I think it is great that White's has all that experience running the show.

Yep, agreed. I know finance personnel are very important (I majored in Economics) but maximizing profits should never be a company's main objective. The main GYW shoe companies I've bought from (Red Wing, Grant Stone and now Whites) have a very hands-on approach that leads to great customer service and repeat customers & referrals. All 3 of these companies have 1st hand experience of their product and excellent communication. The main reason I switched to buying more expensive things in life isn't necessarily for the improved quality but the improved service. I could ask 100 different CS reps at Clarks or Rockport a question about the instep on a pair of shoes and not a single one of them would have any idea what I'm talking about.

 

[Rymanocerous]

So many companies are just run by suits that have no idea how anything works.

Yeah cause those suits have no idea what they are doing which is why companies bring them in...

 

[Legal Eagles]

[M]aximizing profits should never be a company's main objective.

We may need to agree to disagree on this one...

There can be other objectives of course, and there are many ways to maximize profit... but if your main objective is not to maximize profit, your competitor will... the share price will suffer, and the board will toss you out...