Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Underrated and Unappreciated

Despite the prominence of Clarks Originals amongst stylish guys, the Desert Trek gets little to no love.  Walk down any street in NYC and you can count the number of Desert Boots on two hands.  Walk down any street in Atlanta and you can do the same thing with Wallabees.  Why isn't anyone wearing Desert Treks?  My first pair of Clarks were Desert Treks and I still stand by them as one of, if not, the most underrated and unappreciated shoes for fall.  Around this time last year I postulated that the Desert Trek might finally get its due thanks to a cameo in Gilded Age's well received S/S 2010 presentation.  Well, I seemed to have overestimated any push GA could provide as the Desert Trek has yet to get its fair share of coverage.  Hopefully things can change for the better this coming season.  If you're looking for a new pair of Clarks Originals or your first pair consider grabbing a pair of Desert Treks in sand suede or beeswax leather.  You'll be killing it all season long without becoming a statistic.



[Pictures courtesy of Need Supply.]

-L.A.S

23 comments:

  1. I've tried on a pair and they are comfortable. I just hate that seam with a passion.

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  2. Tommy- I dig the center seam...it's not a detail you see everyday.

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  3. Japanese tourists in London are always rocking desert treks, the leathers treks look seriously dope beat to shit.

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  4. reminds me of a split toe. disturbing

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  5. My issue with them is that they make one's feet look massive (compared to Desert boots, say), which makes them look weird with slimmer jeans / chinos.

    I think the Natalie is the best of the Clarks Originals line-up.

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  6. Love mine.

    Can someone point me to information on care of gum rubber soles?

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  7. @ Anon 10:51: If you find split toes disturbing you are a fadster and do not know what a good shoe is.

    @ Matthew: http://www.valetmag.com/style/how-tos/2009/healing-soles-102709.php/

    The beeswax ages like fine wine while the sand suede ends up like skunked beer. #justsaying

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  8. My first pair of Clarks were the Desert Treks, and after several years of wallabees and desert boots they are still my favorites. Used to commute to work on my bike in 'em, toe clips and all, and never had a problem with the seam (aesthetic or otherwise).

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  9. Dope shoes. I've had the suede one's for a couple years now and it's true...they look terrible now haha. My dad still rocks a pair of the leather ones he got in the 60's and they are cool as it comes. If you are rough on your kicks, go for leather...

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  10. Good call.

    (Personally, I've seen more than enough of the Desert Boot.)

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  11. have had a pair for years. what i love about them is unlike the wallabee the sole is wider than the top. i always seen to rool my ankle in wallabess (im also clumsy). and the leather is beautiful

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  12. @The Enthusiast: So what's a good shoe?

    Personally, I'd go with the Desert Mali if I was tired of DBs.

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  13. I have to agree with Tommy V. This is also why I dislike Norwegian Split Toes.

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  14. The centre seam also bugs me.

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  15. @ Anon 1:43: Classic monk, classic dubmonk, classic captoe, classic split toe, classic wingtip, classic oxford, etc.

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  16. @ The Enthusiast: In other words, the shoes *you* like, right?

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  17. Yep, the desert treks were my first Clarks originals. I have pairs from US, Hong Kong, Japan, and Englahd. They seemed great when I was in college but now the slimmer desert boot feel a bit more mature. They're slimmer and cleaner.

    Also, a few years ago the desert treks became thicker and wider. I only have the beeswax and tan suede desert treks left from around early 2000s that have a slimmer and narrower profile, too bad they can't be resoled. Now the sole is thicker and the toe box is wider.

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  18. @ Anon 4:52: Those cover the classics. Sayin' classics are wack is wack, yo'.

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  19. Great shoes - although it you need support for your arches like me, you'll need a little heel insole.

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  20. And size up half a size, too!

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  21. @The Enthusiast: Actually, I agree with you on that; I still think the seam on the Desert Treks ruins them. If it didn't go all the way through the toe, maybe it would be right, be even then, split toe with such a round shoe seems weird. I'm not Anon 10:51, by the way

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  22. JSP said it - far too wide to be worn with a slimmer cut. nice summer shoe, hell in nyc winters.

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