Thursday Uptown Booties Review: Uptown Boots, Downtown Prices

I am not an Uptown Girl. I’m not even a Downtown Girl. I live in Brooklyn.

But sometimes, I like to throw on some cosplay, jump on the A-train, and head to Manhattan, where I can pretend to be the kind of fancy lady Billy Joel might sing about.

And in this case, likelier than not, I would complete my sleek Manhattan ensemble (all black, naturally) with a pair of Thursday’s Uptown booties. These heeled leather beauties are effortlessly chic but still comfy enough to hit the streets for extended periods of time.

🎵And when she’s walking, she’s looking so fine…🎵

Let’s get into my Thursday Uptown booties review.

Thursday Uptown Boots Review: Pros and Cons

Here’s the rundown of what I liked and didn’t like about these boots.

Pros

• A truly stylish silhouette
• Zipper helps slip on and off with ease
• Surprisingly comfy for such a high heel
• Ethically sourced leather
• Little to no break-in period
• Soles have great gip
• Poron helped absorb shock

Cons

• A little narrow for your reviewer
• Not a ton of ankle support, as you’d expect with 3-inch heel.

Thursday Boot Company

Nearly a decade ago, friends Connor Wilson and Nolan Walsh started Thursday Boot Company in order to provide — if I may apologetically continue my Billy Joel reference — uptown boots at downtown prices, thanks to a direct-to-consumer model that cuts brick and mortar stores out of the equation. Just the brand selling straight to you without any markup to pay a store’s rent and staff.

They started with men’s boots but soon branched out to a variety of women’s styles while continuing to honor a commitment to radical affordability. Most of the boots on their site today cost under $200, and the Uptown bootie, ringing in at $180, is no exception.

Thursday’s Uptown Bootie: The Style

• Elegant, V-shaped shaft
• A lovely, elegant silhouette
• Solid construction

The Uptown lives up to its name with a truly stylish silhouette. This bootie is an architectural marvel: all sleek lines and curves while also being quite subtle and solid in its construction. The slanted, leather-wrapped heel measures 3 inches tall, and the V-shaped, 4-inch shaft further flatters the leg, creating a seriously elongating profile.

The hardy metal zipper on the interior side looks quite cool, zipping down at the point in the V, and helps the boot slip on and off with ease. The glossy, full-grain leather is as smooth as butter and comes in three shades (black, which I have, and two shades of brown), or you can opt for an “Auburn: WeatherSafe™ suede version for extra puddle protection.

These booties will level up pretty much any outfit you throw at them, from a long fancy dress to classic jeans. It’s nice to highlight that V-shaped top with a peek of well-moisturized ankles, but you’ll have to find the perfect pair of no-show, no-slip socks to do so. Try Bombas’ gripper ankle socks for comfort and minimal showage.

Thursday’s Uptown Bootie Sizing & Fit

• Order your usual size
• Slightly narrow, but it loosens with wear
• Surprisingly comfy for such a high heel

My usual size 9 fits my feet just fine in these boots with tights or very thin dress socks, but they’re a bit on the narrow side. While the leather does loosen with wear, I found my usual 9 to be a bit tighter than I would have liked when wearing normal socks. That said, the toe box is designed for less squeeze than the usual pointy-toed heeled bootie, so overall, they were surprisingly comfortable given the height of the heel.

The Materials

• Soft but durable full-grain leather
• Ethically sourced cowhides

Thursday uses full grain leather to make these boots, which means it’s thicker and more durable than the leathers you usually find on women’s boots and dress boots. “Full grain” means it’s from the outermost layer of the cow’s skin and it’s only been minimally “corrected,” or sanded down to a uniform look. Look closely, and you’ll still see some very subtle wrinkles, pores, and grains that many brands sand away or “correct.”

As a result, these boots are smooth but still far more durable than thinner, overly-corrected leather, like I’ve found on my Dr Martens. In addition, Thursday’s leather is ethically sourced from Tier 1 USA cattle and produced only at tanneries with environmental practices deemed ethical by the Leather Working Group, so you can feel good about that. (When leather is cheap, there’s a very good chance it pollutes waterways and harms the tannery workers where it’s being produced. Look for a Leather Working Group certification to put your mind at ease.)

The Soles

• Flexible leather soles with an anti-slip base attached
• Comfortable, shock-absorbing Poron insole

Both the heels and the soles of these boots are made from leather to make for a softer, lighter step than the common vulcanized rubber you’ll sometimes find on boots.\

But they’re finished with a rubber, anti-slip base designed to prevent you from eating sh-t while you’re trying to pass yourself off as an Upper Manhattan elite. Inside, a Poron® Shock-Absorbing Insole means the footbed is comfy and requires little to no break-in period. Thick, heavy boots (the kind usually sold to laborers) have tough break ins because of their thicker leather uppers, yes, but also because of their thick leather insoles. Thursday headed off both of these concerns with the Poron footbed and flexible upper.

Like I said, I needed to break these in a bit more due to the size of the resistant heel and outsole and the fact that my wobbly ankles aren’t very used to a 3-inch heel, but I appreciated the way the Poron formed to my feet over time, providing a surprising level of comfort despite the height of the heel.

Construction

• Cemented construction, not resoleable
• Comfortable sneaker-like feel

Most men’s boots from Thursday are made with Goodyear welt construction (GYW construction), but most of their women’s boots are cemented, including the Uptown booties. That means means the top of the shoe is glued to the sole directly, without all the heavy layers of cork and leather that are needed for Goodyear welt construction .

The result is more of a sneaker-like feel. Goodyear welts make a boot easy to resole, but it also makes them heavier, less flexible, and more expensive. If you’re curious about a GYW you can check out their women’s Captain boot but the Uptown’s comfort, flexibility, lightness, and added affordability is worth it. Plus, cemented boots are often a little more water resistant.

Wrapping Up

These are a seriously beautiful pair of booties, and if you get the right size, they’re also surprisingly comfortable for the heel height and shape. You’d pay a lot more from most designers for this level of style and quality, but thanks to Thursday’s DTC business model, they can keep their prices low and provide customers with great value. In short, it looks like a $300+ shoe but clocks in at only $180 and is built to last. Like a true Downtown Girl, living in an Uptown World.