I’m writing this review as a bit of an Oak Street novice. I owned a pair of their flagship Trench Boots years ago, but I bought them online without being properly fitted so the sizing was a bit of a shot in the dark. I was never entirely happy with them, so I sold them … Read more
When it comes to leather, few tanneries can match the quality and craftsmanship of Horween Leather Company. Based in Chicago and founded in 1905, Horween has been producing some of the finest leather on Earth for over a century, making not only the most popular Shell Cordovan and boot leather (Chromexcel), but also dominating football … Read more
This was my very first pair of Truman boots acquired in June of 2015. I wanted a standard rugged pair of black Chromexcel cap toe boots and these fit the bill perfectly with that beautiful 270-degree double stitchdown construction and lug commando sole. This was one of the original Truman models built when they were … Read more
More and more American brands are outsourcing their production overseas, and look, that doesn’t necessarily mean their products are becoming lower quality. Good and bad products are made in every country, and the producers’ nationality has a lot less to do with it than their business practices. But that doesn’t mean there’s no reason to … Read more
I was fortunate enough, in my own adventure, to find Ashland Leather. Recently I was also fortunate enough to literally find Ashland Leather, the business itself, as it is located on an obscured offshoot of Elston Avenue in Chicago about a half mile north of the Horween Leather tannery. I was fortunate, too, to be … Read more
Pull up leather gives Harrison Ford his roguishness. It protects Tom Cruise while piloting fighter jets. It’s used in the highest quality boots, attached to Rolexes, and a mainstay of vintage clothes shops. It has an almost alchemical ability to shift in time. So what is it? Santalum‘s chrome tanned pull up leather from Indonesia … Read more
Parkhurst is a newer boot company that was established 2018 but has already made a sizable impact on the industry. Based in Buffalo, New York, the company makes everything in the United States with materials from the United States — except for the rubber outsoles, but even those are imported through a third generation mom and … Read more
For those coming from YouTube, the discount code is just beneath the video↓ Joshua Bingaman had a storied history in footwear before launching Helm. His career had included managing (then selling) a chain of footwear stores and by the time he started this Austin-based outfit, he had racked up twenty years in the footwear industry. … Read more
Oak Street is a much talked about footwear company that was founded in 2009 by George Vlagos in Chicago. This company has the Windy City in its DNA: most of its boots are made with leather from Horween, one of America’s most beloved tanneries that we’ve visited in Chicago, and the company’s even named after … Read more
Viberg is a Canadian company that was founded in 1931 by Edwin Viberg, and it remains family owned to this day. Like many older boot companies, they started out primarily making footwear for grimy labor and swashbuckling, primarily serving firefighters, lumberjacks, and farmers. In the 21st century they’ve expanded into some more fashion focused designs … Read more