Thoughts on Frye boots?

[rnrswitch]

They still have some of the PSXTriumph stuff at blue bee. I think www.bluebeeonline.com works. If not try a search for blue beatle, which is the mens stuff.

I bought the Brando lace boots on the frye website. It is the only place I could find the brandos online. I waited a few weeks after they were released to see if any would pop up on ebay, or zappos, etc, but to no avail. I have a feeling the brandos will take some time to get some distribution seeing as how they are a new style. $242 with shipping and tax on fryeboots.com.

 

[savage_here]

I picked up these similar boots on the 'bay. I can't wait to see how they hold up and age.

 

[timpoblete]

^^^^^^ Niiiiiiice. I might have to get a pair one of these days.

 

[gamelan]

yeah savage_here, very nice. i'm guessing they're Red Wings. any idea what model they are?

-Jeff

 

[savage_here]

Originally Posted by gamelan

yeah savage_here, very nice. i'm guessing they're Red Wings. any idea what model they are?

-Jeff

Yeah, they're 1909's. It's an anniversary model which, I think, were made w/ some kind of legacy leather (whatever that means). I'm not sure if they were initially sold in the US at all. The cust. svc. folks at Red Wing are a bit thick, so no help there.

Savage

 

[WatchGuy]

Originally Posted by Arethusa

Please do. A friend of mine bought a pair on eBay and had nothing good to say about the quality, so I'm a little dubious when it comes to Frye. Then again, maybe quality's different with Frye's women's stuff.

Still wish some of those boots came with slightly lower heels, though.

Here are my Frye boots after 10 years. I just polished them and put on new laces. The boots are not quite as dark as they look here.

I have not taken very good care of them over the years. This is probably my second or third polish and it wasn't until this year I actually used shoe trees. But, I wanted the broken in look which is what I got. I absolutely love these boots. The Vibram soles are amazing too.

 

[familyman]

I'm increasing drawn to frye boots. I've got a pair of Russells and have a pair of Alden's on the way. Frye's are creeping to the top of my list for what's next to buy. I think I'm going to end up with a collection of boots from the great American makers.

 

[knucks]

I have a giftcard to Nordstrom, but I am no where near the store. it has $49.14 (i think. I know it's $49 on it but not sure on the change.)Anyone want to buy it off me?

 

[Fubar]

Originally Posted by savage_here

Yeah, they're 1909's. It's an anniversary model which, I think, were made w/ some kind of legacy leather (whatever that means). I'm not sure if they were initially sold in the US at all. The cust. svc. folks at Red Wing are a bit thick, so no help there.

Savage

From what I can gather they are made from leather from the Horween Tannnery in Chicago. I think it's the same type of leather used on old footballs. The tannery has quite a long history and used to supply leather to Dubow who made A2 flight jackets for the AAF during WW2. Currently they also supply horsehide to Aero Leather in Scotland for leather jackets.

I have a pair of those boots that I bought last year, sadly they're half a size too big, I made the mistake of buying them at the end of a long day in London and my brain was frazzled. By way of compensation I picked a pair of the 1908's today, which are similar but with a mock toe. I love these boots, the leather is outstanding and they have a similar vintage look to the Alden 405s.

Red Wing Japan also do some nice styles unavailable elsewhere, I particularly like this one:

 

[knucks]

Those red wings look really good as well...how much do they run? Cheaper than the Frye's?


And once again, anyone want to buy the giftcard off me? Nordstrom doesn't carry the color Arkansas boot i want anyways

 

[savage_here]

Fubar- Where did you find the 1908's? And for how much if you don't mind my asking....?

Savage

 

[savage_here]

Oh yeah, one other thing. Apparently the Horween part is kinda strange, according to a guy at a Redwing store that I spoke with today. He found it hard to believe since Redwing apparently owns their own tannery (one of only 3 left in the US).

FWIW.

 

[Fubar]

I'm in the U.K so I ordered a pair in from a local dealer, £150. As regards the Horween Tannery, I asked the U.K distributor and he confirmed it. Boots made of this leather have been available on the Japanese market for some time. There is also a reference to it here, albeit in German: http://www.volls.de/shop/index.php?c...uct=RW-24-1908

 

[savage_here]

I read that translated description on Volls; interesting stuff. Also interesting to know what the actual retail is in the UK since these are not available at all in the US. Mine were factory seconds due to a very slight discoloration of the leather in one spot and were $119 on the bay. I guess there are some US dealers that can get ahold of the seconds. I really wanted the 1908's but they seem to be even tougher to find. I'll have to decide if I like them well enough to pay retail in the UK and deal with the shipping, etc.

Thanks for the additional info.

 

[gamelan]

wow...yeah...those Red Wings are really nice...

arrrghh...

-Jeff