Sanders Boots For Fall

Sanders recently opened up their first online shop in an effort to provide customers directly with their renowned footwear.  Odds are that you've seen Sanders' work before as they make shoes for many of your favorite designers and footwear brands.  I've always been a huge fan of English shoe factories such as Sanders because they more or less have been making the exact sames shoes since day one - in Sanders' case, 1873.  My favorite collection (if you can even call it that) from Sanders is their Regent Country line, which also happens to be flush with great boots for the upcoming season.  These boots are timeless, as I just mentioned, and have incredible construction.  Each boot is storm welted (Goodyear welted), leather lined and equipped with quality soles that can take a serious beating.  In fact, all these boots can take whatever shit you plan on getting into this F/W - the prices are incredibly reasonable for what you're getting.  They're also more "traditional" in their designs than a Trickers and I prefer their looks to other competitors such as Grenson.  If you're looking for that one pair of boots that will last you winters to come (with a resoling or two of course) you probably want to check them out.  And don't bother whining about the shipping because, in the end, it's worth it.

-L.A.S

Bullit Boots

When breaking down Steve McQueen's style one of the main talking points is his fondness for brown suede desert boots.  He wore a bunch of different styles and brands both on screen and off, but I'd like to chat briefly about the desert boots seen in the classic 1968 film Bullitt.

[Pictures courtesy of Steve McQueen Style.]

Apparently, the boots seen above are Hutton Original Playboys.  Hutton went out of business in the 1970's, but licensed the style and name to a Swedish brand.  Over the years the license changed hands a few times with the shoes being sold in the USA under the name "Players" due to legal issues surrounding the use of the term "Playboy" - seems Hugh Hefner wasn't a big fan of desert boots.  Today you can buy an almost exact copy of the original style from Sanders who have been producing their own model for a few years.  While the construction of the Original Playboy and Sanders' suede chukka boot does differ, stylistically the two shoes are nearly identical.  I swear by my Clarks (I am actually wearing a pair as I type this), but for anyone trying to stay ahead of the ubiquitous McQueen style curve Sanders looks like the way to go.

-L.A.S

Green With Envy

White bucks, dirty bucks and even blue bucks will play no doubt...but green bucks, I don't even know where to begin.  Oi Polloi just got a new pair of Sanders in and despite everything I once held true and self-evident, I am actually really feeling these.  Not everyone feels comfortable giving a middle finger to the rules (you should though) and wearing their white bucks year round so this is a great option for those living within the confines of society's sartorial boundaries (though this could be debated as green shoes aren't really within any boundaries I've ever heard of).  The best thing about these Sanders bucks (there is a dirty buck as well) is that there is finally a legitimate competitor to current reigning buck champion Mark McNairy.  His Red Brick Soul collection are my favorite "shoes" on the planet, but that doesn't mean I don't want options. A new pair of Sanders will run you around $220, which is about 75 bucks cheaper than the McNairy x ACL dirty bucks for comparison.

-L.A.S