Japanese Boot / Shoe Appreciation Thread (White Cloud, Rolling Dub Trio, John Lofgren, Clinch, etc.

[Kkibbey23]

10.5E same as all my other stuff. Viberg/wesco etc. I only had them on a second to make sure they would work for the dome.

Maybe a little more room than a wesco mr. Lou

they were super easy to deal with on Instagram. Can’t recommend them enough

 

[NautOfEarth]

10.5E same as all my other stuff. Viberg/wesco etc. I only had them on a second to make sure they would work for the dome.

Maybe a little more room than a wesco mr. Lou

they were super easy to deal with on Instagram. Can’t recommend them enough

I've ordered a couple boots from them in their square toe last and agree that they're great. Wasn't sure if you got those from East West Apparel or direct from them though.

 

[Kkibbey23]

Nah, I got mine direct. Ordered in late Jan. Went back and forth a little about what I was going to get. Really wanted the block heel and other little things so it was a little different than that EastWest makeup.

I’m shocked they don’t get more love. Ordering direct, fully customizable and pretty reasonable priced. I’m already talking with them about the next one

 

[Mulan]

It was way overblown. He used a hashtag saying "not made in China" and "not made in Indonesia" which some people took as racist implying that if something is not made by westerners or Japanese then it is sub-par. Initially he stood by it and later apologized but the damage had been done.

Did he ever apologize? From what I remember Standard and Strange apologized for him. I would hardly say it was overblown. The overgrown boy is pathetic and knew exactly what he was trying to imply. It also doesn't help that he follows a bunch of right-wing terrorists on Instagram.

 

[Patek]

Did he ever apologize? From what I remember Standard and Strange apologized for him. I would hardly say it was overblown. The overgrown boy is pathetic and knew exactly what he was trying to imply. It also doesn't help that he follows a bunch of right-wing terrorists on Instagram.

I'm not sure, I only heard of this whole scandal a couple weeks ago as I have been out of pocket. I guess I should stop buying his stuff.

I had no intention of buying any boots as I'm out of space but I did snap up these monkey boots on sale as it is rare to see JL on sale and I have nothing like these.

This is my 4th pair of JL and as always, the quality of the stitching and materials are second to none. I didn't know if I would like them but I absolutely love them. So comfortable out of the box due to the lace to toe design but a lot sleeker and easier to wear to the office than my Whites. These are going to get some great patina.

 

[Jpto]

Did he ever apologize? From what I remember Standard and Strange apologized for him. I would hardly say it was overblown. The overgrown boy is pathetic and knew exactly what he was trying to imply. It also doesn't help that he follows a bunch of right-wing terrorists on Instagram.

He gave a half assed "sorry I got caught" apology after initially trying to shift the blame to his "marketing staff" for posting the message. He has a history of posting this sort of stuff and harassing people online, sad dude overall

 

[Patek]

He gave a half assed "sorry I got caught" apology after initially trying to shift the blame to his "marketing staff" for posting the message. He has a history of posting this sort of stuff and harassing people online, sad dude overall

Well, looks like I will stop buying his stuff then which is too bad as I really like his boots but I don't want to support some alt-right weirdo. Oh well.

 

[peachfuzzmcgee]

Hey you can always buy direct from the company he outsources his manufacturing to. There are also so many rad work wear boots etc companies that Im rarely ever concerned anyway haha

 

[WeatheredHide]

I own several pairs of John Lofgren boots, have more on order, and will continue to buy them. I love the designs, and they're wonderfully constructed. I've chatted personally with John, and he seems like a good guy to me. Also, Standard & Strange carries the line, and they're definitely stand-up people -- I won't venture to speak for them, but I can't imagine that everyone (or anyone?) at S&S has views on all things that run lockstep with John's.

For what it's worth, I'm part Chinese, I do business in China, I have many Chinese friends and associates, and I'm a Lofgren customer, and proud to wear 'em.

I'm not trying to convince anyone who feels otherwise to see it my way, but since my views on this matter differ from some here who've posted, I thought I'd share them, too.

 

[Patek]

I own several pairs of John Lofgren boots, have more on order, and will continue to buy them. I love the designs, and they're wonderfully constructed. I've chatted personally with John, and he seems like a good guy to me. Also, Standard & Strange carries the line, and they're definitely stand-up people -- I won't venture to speak for them, but I can't imagine that everyone (or anyone?) at S&S has views on all things that run lockstep with John's.

For what it's worth, I'm part Chinese, I do business in China, I have many Chinese friends and associates, and I'm a Lofgren customer, and proud to wear 'em.

I'm not trying to convince anyone who feels otherwise to see it my way, but since my views on this matter differ from some here who've posted, I thought I'd share them, too.

View attachment 1838166​

Yeah, we are FB friends and I have chatted with him a few times which is how I got my pair of two-offs engineer boots made shown earlier in this thread. He had an interesting horse hide and he was making a pair of boots for himself and not for resale due to inconsistencies in the leather, he was concerned that people would take it as a defect and not the wabi-sabi he was going for. The hide was enough for two pairs so I took the other one.

 

[Jpto]

I own several pairs of John Lofgren boots, have more on order, and will continue to buy them. I love the designs, and they're wonderfully constructed. I've chatted personally with John, and he seems like a good guy to me. Also, Standard & Strange carries the line, and they're definitely stand-up people -- I won't venture to speak for them, but I can't imagine that everyone (or anyone?) at S&S has views on all things that run lockstep with John's.

For what it's worth, I'm part Chinese, I do business in China, I have many Chinese friends and associates, and I'm a Lofgren customer, and proud to wear 'em.

I'm not trying to convince anyone who feels otherwise to see it my way, but since my views on this matter differ from some here who've posted, I thought I'd share them, too.

View attachment 1838166​

Yeah, we are FB friends and I have chatted with him a few times which is how I got my pair of two-offs engineer boots made shown earlier in this thread. He had an interesting horse hide and he was making a pair of boots for himself and not for resale due to inconsistencies in the leather, he was concerned that people would take it as a defect and not the wabi-sabi he was going for. The hide was enough for two pairs so I took the other one.

I've never met the guy, but he used to follow some interesting people on his personal insta before the incident (not my links)

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

5CPWR8u.png (750×1334) (imgur.com)

The #notmade in incident wasn't the first time he's posted some questionable stuff. I'm sure he's a nice guy but I wouldn't be his friend

 

[WeatheredHide]

I've never met the guy, but he used to follow some interesting people on his personal insta before the incident (not my links)

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

5CPWR8u.png (750×1334) (imgur.com)

The #notmade in incident wasn't the first time he's posted some questionable stuff. I'm sure he's a nice guy but I wouldn't be his friend

I've got friends way to the right of me.

I've got friends way to the left of me.

In my life and line of work, I deal with hundreds of people regularly.

Again, I understand others hold different feelings from me on this discussion, but I don't require my friends to agree with me on much.

I find troubling some of what I know about the company that makes the mobile phone that I (and probably many of you) carry and use every single day (and for most hours of the day) -- a lot more troubling (and impactful) than any of this.

We're in a thread that those of us who like and own Lofgren boots should feel free to share here without this politicizing of it as some required accompaniment, in my opinion.

I know... Let's have a discussion on the ethics of the killing of animals for food (and then the hides we get from them) every time we bring up our leather boots. Or how about just every third time? How fun!

 

[peachfuzzmcgee]

I don't know how you do it though, I would never be able to have friends way to the right. I'm not even a super leftist, but I can only handle family members that are very right for bit. I would hate to hear about Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, and how my lifestyle is destroying america all damn day. I mean I also get annoyed by extreme left stuff but it at least rarely hateful and denigrating to certain classes of people. I commend ya though fair and balanced and I can respect that.

Also I think we can criticize a brand that makes a luxury item on it's ethos or founders. You need a phone, but unlikely you need some tanker boots also (no matter how much I try to convince my wife otherwise). I don't think we need to do whataboutisms for boots. John Lofgren said some dumb stuff, take or leave it. I hate Woody Allen and refuse to watch his movies. Are they probably good, yeah maybe, but I still don't want to watch em because of my own personal repulsion of Woody Allen.

 

[Mulan]

He sucks for talking about ethics while simultaneously trying to destroy the image of a handful of independent shoemakers who made a name for themselves online. #notmadeinindonesia or w.e he posted was a clear indicator his posts were targeting the handful of Instagram accounts that garnered a following.

This was never about integrity. If he had any, he would apologize on his own not have one of his retailers apologize on his behalf which is probably the most embarrassing part of all this lmao.

He should also take maker out of his brand logo since the brand doesn't actually make its own shoes. Like what peachfuzz said, people can always buy the boots for cheaper from the OEMs that he outsources production to.

 

[Drextech]

Guys slow down. This is all hypothetical.
He is against mass production in China and Southeastern Asia and against brands from there who cannot show where and from whom it is made. He has nothing against independent show makers like Peng or Rizzy.

Have you been to China? Have you been seeing this? The individual doesn’t count there.