u/_SlowRain_

Before you say no, please read my post.

I'm looking for a boot for city walking on rainy days. Not in torrential downpours, just light to medium rains. And not for hours on end, just out and about running errands, commuting on public transportation, and such.

My ideal leather would be Black Oil Slick, but Red Wing, in their infinite wisdom, has not seen fit to produce the Classic Round in what is supposedly their most water-resistant leather.

However, they do make the 9111. Since I don't particularly care about the patina (I actually prefer black for this purpose), what's stopping me from using mink oil on Copper Rough & Tough? Does anyone have pictures of what this looks like?

Thanks!

I've tried on a few Barbour waxed jackets, but the sizing doesn't work. Even at a sleeve length that's too short for me, the chest is just waaaay too big (clearly I need to be eating more pie 😁). Has anyone ever had their Barbour altered to have a lot of material removed from the width? How did it look afterward? (I'm sort of latched onto the Bedale because of the cotton lining in the sleeves.)

Thanks!

I'm looking for some long-sleeve, button-up, casual shirts which are made in Japan. (I already know about Kamakura, but their sleeves are too short for me at my correct chest size, or else the chest is too big at my correct sleeve length.) I'd like the shirts to have a pattern rather than be a solid color, and I'm looking for a cotton fabric that'd be good for late spring or early fall (definitely not a summer or winter shirt). Budget would be less than ¥20,000.

But, I'd like to reiterate they must be made in Japan (I know someone living there who's going to bring them back for me).

Thanks!

I'm going to be talking to a boot manufacturer about something to wear on rainy days. Not torrential rain, and not for walking through puddles, just city walking on wet concrete, asphalt, and tiles and whatever splashes and showers that may entail. My problem is I'm not super well versed in boot construction, but I'm going to send my email to them next week. So what I'd like is to share my (very basic) ideas with you and have you (tactfully) critique them. But within some parameters.

First off, this is for a "service boot" style of boot (the reason for the quotes will be explained below), made in the USA, and with the goal of keeping synthetic materials to a minimum. Remember, I said minimum. I envision it as sort of an n+1, where n equals a decent entry-level boot with an average leather and a few synthetic materials. I have no idea of the cost of something like this, but it won't be entry-level cheap, nor will it be high-end expensive. I don't mind tradeoffs, but I don't want to cut corners on durability or longevity.

Leather - likely black Horween CXL. Chromexcel because of its strengths in the rain and its wide availability. Black because of less discoloration in the rain, less discoloration over time, and less discoloration due to conditioning.

Construction - basic round toe, 360° Goodyear storm welt, waxed stitching, and partially gusseted tongue (up to the start of 3 rows of speed hooks). Vegetable-tanned leather insole and cork filler.

Outsole - Here's the part where it deviates from standard service boots. I want a stacked wedge sole with rubber on the very bottom and something like EVA as a mid-layer.

Some easy questions first:

1. What are your thoughts on the heel counter and the toe stiffener? What materials and construction do you recommend?

2. What about a lining? Would a boot that might get wet benefit from a pig-skin lining?

3. Anything else in the upper or insole construction that I should ask for or be aware of?

4. Would this kind of boot benefit from a rubber/leather midsole?

Okay, lets talk about that wacky outsole:

5. Would it be better to just make it with a regular wedge sole, and I can get my own wacky stacked outsole put on by a local cobbler? If so, which Vibram and which Dr. Sole do you recommend for hard, wet surfaces? (I'd like recommendations from each manufacturer, please.)

6. Assuming a stacked sole, though, which rubber would you recommend for the bottom and which material for the mid-layer (remember, city-walking on hard, wet surfaces)?

7. What am I missing? What am I not considering that I should suggest, push for, or back off on?

Thanks! I appreciate your help.

Hi! I'm going to be talking to a boot manufacturer about something to wear on rainy days. Not torrential rain, and not for walking through puddles, just city walking on wet concrete, asphalt, and tiles and whatever splashes and showers that may entail. My problem is I'm not super well versed in boot construction, but I'm going to send my email to them next week. So what I'd like is to share my (very basic) ideas with you and have you (tactfully) critique them. But within some parameters.

First off, this is for a "service boot" style of boot (the reason for the quotes will be explained below), made in the USA, and with the goal of keeping synthetic materials to a minimum. Remember, I said minimum. I envision it as sort of an n+1, where n equals a decent entry-level boot with an average leather and a few synthetic materials. I have no idea of the cost of something like this, but it won't be entry-level cheap, nor will it be high-end expensive. I don't mind tradeoffs, but I don't want to cut corners on durability or longevity.

Leather - likely black Horween CXL. Chromexcel because of its strengths in the rain and its wide availability. Black because of less discoloration in the rain, less discoloration over time, and less discoloration due to conditioning.

Construction - basic round toe, 360° Goodyear storm welt, waxed stitching, and partially gusseted tongue (up to the start of 3 rows of speed hooks). Vegetable-tanned leather insole and cork filler.

Outsole - Here's the part where it deviates from standard service boots. I want a stacked wedge sole with rubber on the very bottom and something like EVA as a mid-layer.

Some easy questions first:

1. What are your thoughts on the heel counter and the toe stiffener? What materials and construction do you recommend?

2. What about a lining? Would a boot that might get wet benefit from a pig-skin lining?

3. Anything else in the upper or insole construction that I should ask for or be aware of?

4. Would this kind of boot benefit from a rubber/leather midsole?

Okay, lets talk about that wacky outsole:

5. Would it be better to just make it with a regular wedge sole, and I can get my own wacky stacked outsole put on by a local cobbler? If so, which Vibram and which Dr. Sole do you recommend for hard, wet surfaces? (I'd like recommendations from each manufacturer, please.)

6. Assuming a stacked sole, though, which rubber would you recommend for the bottom and which material for the mid-layer (remember, city-walking on hard, wet surfaces)?

7. What am I missing? What am I not considering that I should suggest, push for, or back off on?

Thanks! I appreciate your help.

I'm zeroing in on a pair of 3141 Work Chukkas as my first pair of Red Wings. One thing I heard recently was that the Briar Oil Slick leather can lose its reddish undertone over time. I'm not sure if that's true, if that's a consequence of a lack of conditioning, or if that's a by product of using an inappropriate conditioner. I'm curious to know what you use to condition your BOS boots, how often you do it, what you do, and, if possible, what they look like now after X number of years. I should note I'm looking for a widely available conditioner.

Thanks!

Hi! What are Dr. Sole #1220 SuperGrip like for walking on wet tiles? And, has anyone ever put the full sole on the bottom of a wedge sole? How well does that work without a heel?

Thanks!

Hi! I'm thinking of getting a pair of Red Wing's work chukkas (3150, 3141, 3140, 3137). My main goal is for city walking on rainy days. However, they have to be good on wet tiles in addition to regular concrete sidewalks. Once the factory Atlas Tred sole wears down, I'd probably get them resoled with a stacked/sandwich sole (EVA as a middle layer, and a rubber outsole). I've seen one take on this (cream-colored middle layer, black outsole --> https://www.instagram.com/reels/DVgxTmIjrZZ/), but I'd like to explore my options. It's difficult for me to imagine what other color combinations might work, so I'd really appreciate any pics you might have of this kind of a resole job.

Thanks!

We were originally planning a trip to Kyoto for this fall, but it looks like that'll be postponed. However, someone I know is coming back from Japan, and I can get some space in their luggage. Since I'm not limited to just the stores in Kyoto now, I can order pretty much anything in Japan, although, to be fair, I'd like to stick to Rakuten so that they don't have to set up umpteen different accounts on different webshops just because of me. So, with that in mind...

I'm looking for entry-level button-up shirts, Henleys, and T-shirts which are made in Japan, but with a few requirements. I like my button-ups to have longer sleeves than what's typical in Japan (sorry, no Kamakura shirts), and I like my T-shirts and Henleys longer than the typical cropped length (I don't want to show my belly when I reach above my head for something). Some entry-level brands I already know about are the Toyo group (Sun Surf, Sugar Cane, Buzz Rickson's, Tailor Toyo, et al), Heath Industrial/The Blue Port, Burgus Plus, Pherrow's, and Maromon. As for budget, I'd like to keep my button-up shirts below ¥20,000, T-shirts below ¥10,000, and long-sleeve Henleys somewhere around ¥10,000. (Yes, I know how much lower the price of Iron Heart and other brands are in Japan, but they're still out of my budget. Sorry, guys.)

I'd appreciate any suggestions or recommendations you may have.

Thanks!

I'm curious about this brand. They seem well-priced and well-made. For those of you who have had a pair for a while, what do you think of them? How have they stood up over the years? And, how good are they for city walking on slippery surfaces in the rain? Thanks!

First off, this is my first post here, and I'm not sure of the correct scientific/genealogical terminology to use. So please excuse the wording in the title if it's not correct or appropriate, and feel free to offer alternative wording in your answer.

I'm curious about how children would look if their four grandparents were each White, Black, South Asian, and East Asian. I realize there is a lot of variation inherent in a question like this, and I accept that criticism. However, are there any publicly available photos of people who possess this specific ancestry? I'm thinking primarily from genealogical studies or else even celebrities or notable people in history.

Thanks!

I'm looking for some made-in-Taiwan T-shirts which subtly reference Taiwan. I'm not looking for a blatant TAIWAN, the flag, I ❤️Taiwan, or anything like that. Ideally, they'd be touristy kinds of T-shirts: Sun Moon Lake, Alishan, Taipei 101, etc. Small mentions of the word Taiwan amidst a picture of something that's located here. But I'd like them to be 100% cotton and of a high quality--in terms of fabric, construction, and printing. The hard part, I think, is going to be the made-in-Taiwan part, but it's imperative. Has anyone actually seen any T-shirts like this?

(This is not a post about travel or tourism. I live here and am legitimately looking for a type of clothing I wish to buy for myself.)

Thanks!

I've seen a video on YouTube where someone sanded down a wedge sole on a boot, then glued a rubber sole on. This seems like a not bad idea, and even what running shoe companies sort of do. My question is why isn't this done very often? And why don't manufacturers do something like this right from the factory.