RM Williams Boots - Everything You Wanted to Know

[Jykaes]

The mid grey is nice but I don't understand the brown accents, it would be so much better with black. The BF color combinations are just off.

Agreed the bone suede is really nice and would round out my collection a bit but the contrast dark brown sole and dark brown elastics throw the balance off. The MTO program has taupe (Not sure if that is the right name) elastics which are a much lighter off brown, and of course the natural edge sole as seen on the Havana. In my opinion these would balance that suede out a lot better.

I called RM today but as expected they were unhelpful, the boots are made to order (6-8 weeks) but they are not willing to put a natural sole on instead of painted dark brown, even if I paid an MTO fee. They also will not allow the bone suede to be used for an MTO boot. HOWEVER I did manage to get her to say that if I were to buy the boots, wait for them to be made with painted soles, and then immediately bring them back in for a resole, they would redo it natural. Complete waste of my time and theirs, but it would be allowed.

The boots are a bit over $400 if you factor the value of the belt, new sole/heel is $165, elastics are $70, so total cost under $650 for a unique MTO boot they'd normally want a pretty absurd $850 for with a bit of a fuckaround. Not the worst value in the world. I'm considering doing it.

Mocked it up in Photoshop, thoughts?

 

[haithamshaddad]

Kind of sounds like a trouser problem rather than a boot problem?
If you're happy/confident you can get them on and off without the front tag there shouldn't be any problem cutting off as long as it's neat. And if you don't like it you can always get new ones put on.


I'm not sure if I'm crazy, but I vaguely remember reading about the Tambo being developed for islanders who generally went barefoot, had wide flat feet, and needed some dress shoes, something along those lines. Consequently, they're not wide, they're really f****in wide.
I'm told I have wide feet, I wear a 13EE is asics runners (sorry, not the greatest reference for a style forum). I'm currently wearing kangaroo classic craftsmen in 11.5G with an aftermarket half insole. I went to a couple of shops, several times, and tried on pretty much everything from 10.5-12.5, G,H,XX, in classic, comfort and DFC, before I made a choice. This was not my first pair, first pair I bought new myself though. I think the staff at the flagship stores are a bit more knowledgeable/trained/enthusiastic than the outlet store staff, they're also not limited by what the outlet has in stock, they should have everything.
Having tried the Tambo, they are just comedically wide. H is genuinely wide, and the G took a bit wearing in/stretching in my experience.
Your experience with the heel being tight I believe is common, especially with new boots, it does wear in and be a bit more comfortable.
I don't believe the heel is any higher than the other boots, but the boots do have more of a heel than shoes, and I probably walk a bit differently in boots to flat shoes. (Okay, I tried it, I do, I hadn't thought about it for a while because I wear them all the time I guess).

To the crux of your post "lost $400 for pair of boots that makes me sad every time I put it on".
I feel for you. I have had this feeling. And it sucks, hard. Two options I can see for you are.
a) Try some other socks, insoles, wear them around some more, etc, small things to make them better, and convince yourself that you like them.
b) Ebay. Write off the loss to experience. Have a rest and a cup of tea (for however many months are necessary), and try again.

Good luck man, I hope you find a solution that makes you happy! Unfortunately sometimes things just don't go right.

Thanks a lot mate. I will go tomorrow to the outlook and check with them if they can change it. Otherwise, I will call it a lesson learned and get used to it. I may get the Baxter or Ian Harlod. At least now I know that I don't have a wide foot as they told me

 

[Crafty Cumbrian]

Agreed the bone suede is really nice and would round out my collection a bit but the contrast dark brown sole and dark brown elastics throw the balance off. The MTO program has taupe (Not sure if that is the right name) elastics which are a much lighter off brown, and of course the natural edge sole as seen on the Havana. In my opinion these would balance that suede out a lot better.

I called RM today but as expected they were unhelpful, the boots are made to order (6-8 weeks) but they are not willing to put a natural sole on instead of painted dark brown, even if I paid an MTO fee. They also will not allow the bone suede to be used for an MTO boot. HOWEVER I did manage to get her to say that if I were to buy the boots, wait for them to be made with painted soles, and then immediately bring them back in for a resole, they would redo it natural. Complete waste of my time and theirs, but it would be allowed.

The boots are a bit over $400 if you factor the value of the belt, new sole/heel is $165, elastics are $70, so total cost under $650 for a unique MTO boot they'd normally want a pretty absurd $850 for with a bit of a fuckaround. Not the worst value in the world. I'm considering doing it.

Mocked it up in Photoshop, thoughts?

View attachment 1289455

I admire your commitment!

I did something similar recently..

Trickers Ethan monkey boot on horrible white sole, bought on sake for £280, sent to Shoe Healer in the U.K. and for £80 I got a leather mid, stained antique, ridgeway sole added. Trickers want £690 for MTO!

 

[ShouldHaveStayedHome]

Thanks a lot mate. I will go tomorrow to the outlook and check with them if they can change it. Otherwise, I will call it a lesson learned and get used to it. I may get the Baxter or Ian Harlod. At least now I know that I don't have a wide foot as they told me

I think you'll be pushing your luck to return them after you've worn them, which is why I mentioned selling them.
I didn't like my Baxter's nearly as much as my RMs, but! I didn't go through the same process when I bought them. Quality was fine and I wore them a lot, they were never as comfortable but I probably bought the wrong pair.
Good luck mate. I hope not find your happy shoes

 

[haithamshaddad]

I think you'll be pushing your luck to return them after you've worn them, which is why I mentioned selling them.
I didn't like my Baxter's nearly as much as my RMs, but! I didn't go through the same process when I bought them. Quality was fine and I wore them a lot, they were never as comfortable but I probably bought the wrong pair.
Good luck mate. I hope not find your happy shoes

Thanks a lot. I went yesterday to DFO, talked to the guy who sold it to me and he happily gave me full refund and mentioned that it will be considered as a wrong fit. I was so happy that I got myself a Polo Chukka and Converse sneaker that I returned again today

 

[midazoslam]

Agreed the bone suede is really nice and would round out my collection a bit but the contrast dark brown sole and dark brown elastics throw the balance off. The MTO program has taupe (Not sure if that is the right name) elastics which are a much lighter off brown, and of course the natural edge sole as seen on the Havana. In my opinion these would balance that suede out a lot better.

I called RM today but as expected they were unhelpful, the boots are made to order (6-8 weeks) but they are not willing to put a natural sole on instead of painted dark brown, even if I paid an MTO fee. They also will not allow the bone suede to be used for an MTO boot. HOWEVER I did manage to get her to say that if I were to buy the boots, wait for them to be made with painted soles, and then immediately bring them back in for a resole, they would redo it natural. Complete waste of my time and theirs, but it would be allowed.

The boots are a bit over $400 if you factor the value of the belt, new sole/heel is $165, elastics are $70, so total cost under $650 for a unique MTO boot they'd normally want a pretty absurd $850 for with a bit of a fuckaround. Not the worst value in the world. I'm considering doing it.

Mocked it up in Photoshop, thoughts?

I really like the color balance, it's almost like a suede nutmeg? Their inflexibility is just ridiculous. How far up did you run your request? Maybe a store would be a able to put it through? I've only dealt with them briefly, is there a CS manager?

As an aside, anyone know of a master list of suedes available for MTO?

 

[Jykaes]

I really like the color balance, it's almost like a suede nutmeg? Their inflexibility is just ridiculous. How far up did you run your request? Maybe a store would be a able to put it through? I've only dealt with them briefly, is there a CS manager?

As an aside, anyone know of a master list of suedes available for MTO?

I tried phone and email, I live in Adelaide so I have tried the request in Frost Road where the boots are made before, they are friendly but cannot help beyond basic questions. RM are just... like that, heh. I've been trying to get something close to the boot I mocked up there made for years.

Regarding suedes available for MTO yes they have swatches of leathers at their Percy St store (Original location on the pull tabs) and to be honest the range is crap. The closest to beige suede they have is "rock" which in person is more of an off white/greeny colour.

Percy St. MTO Suede Swatches:

All suede options are in frame, you can see there is a white below wine that I missed but there was nothing to the right of the black suede, it moved into leather options.

Frost Rd. Factory Seconds, Rock in front w/ taupe elastics I think, definitely Driftwood in back:

I did ask if they would MTO Driftwood... they said no. My opinion is their MTO program is a bit of a joke, unless you want crocodile or ostrich and are prepared to pay thousands for it ($4k croc $3k ostrich last I checked) - the rest of the boots cost a minimum of $850 when ordered MTO but they are so inflexible with the program that the price is just a joke. You can pick from a limited range of unpopular swatches/styles, and get to pick the colour of the elastics/stitching/sole, but that's about it.

I did end up buying the Bone Cyber Weekend boots because if I pay for new elastics and resole it costs less than MTO, and has a matching belt. Note that belts cannot be made MTO. (They will swap buckles for you for $50 though.)

 

[midazoslam]

Those are all rather awful but I guess if I need baby blue suede boots I know where to go.

Such a shame, the greenish khaki, havana, and mid/dark greys aren't on year-round MTO.

Is the natural edge comfort sole a typical MTO option? I'd like to get some on a pair of black suedes.

Any idea of the difference between Nero and Black suede?

 

[Jykaes]

Is the natural edge comfort sole a typical MTO option? I'd like to get some on a pair of black suedes.

Yes. Black, brown, or natural. And obviously natural looks a bit different depending on whether you choose a comfort/rubber or classic/leather sole. (See Havana for comfort and any Chinchilla for leather on the site.)

Any idea of the difference between Nero and Black suede?

Kinda. I don't know anything about Nero since it's new for the Cyber Weekend sale but from the pictures it looks like it has a waxy finish, whereas I do own black suede and it is just straight up... black suede, exactly like you'd imagine. Nero is probably just black with some kind of finish applied over it.

 

[midazoslam]

Just FYI for anyone interested and in a G fitting the east dane cyber Monday deal puts a pair of RMs out to around $350 if you can find a $5 or so item to make the cart tip over $500. I would cop except I'm an H ?.

 

[j-fashionfan]

Hi! i just bought my first pair of RM Williams. The ones i chose was Wentworth yearling rum and my question is how i would best take care of them before i use them. Would be extramly happy for an answer

 

[midazoslam]

You don't do much to the Rum aniline leather other than polish with neutral wax. RM makes neutral polish or you can use neutral saphir pate de luxe.

 

[CMT1]

Back in the dark olive Chinchillas today and loved every minute - I cannot get over how ridiculously comfortable they are.

 

[Jykaes]

Your photos are excellent, that leather definitely looks a step up from yearling, as it should for the price bump.

 

[MarkinNYC]

Back in the dark olive Chinchillas today and loved every minute - I cannot get over how ridiculously comfortable they are.

great pictures and great boots! enjoy!