Workboots, how should they be worn?

[Fifty150]

Right or wrong, here are my "work boots". Comfortable, solid traction, and in the rain. These boots do everything I need. It's what I turn to when I don't want to mess up my "nice" boots.



Issued uniform boots. I oil them. I add a coat of polish to help water bead off. We are issued boots every year. And these are the cheapest ones to win the the bid. They only need to last 1 year. But in fact, last several years.


I like nice boots. But I will always have uniform boots for bad weather.

 

[Jon Crow]

I was a Landscape Gardener for nearly 30 years although when I got degree abd qualifications in Landscape design I did less of the graft, still liked a decent pair of boots though, went through a few pairs, and a few before health and safety said you had to have steel toes, once broke my big toe railway sleeper on my shoulder slipped, hit the toes and hammered it haha, I like a good pair of roughed up boots though old style with a pair of jeans cuffed up

 

[Mister Rivets]

I kill Boots working in them. or they get stained from shifting a motorcycle. I have worn these lofgrens for three years straight for work.
I am on my feet for approx ten-12 hours a day.
I deserve the best boot I can find.

 

[Fifty150]

Not one pair of heritage boots. Are these guys even real workers?

 

[01flhr]

Since no one has posted any beat on boots yet, heres mine. 1 year as an oilfield supervisor so theyre not near as bad as they could be. I also have nicks falcons, redwings i cant remember the model for the bike, and danner super rain forests that i got in the cabelas bargain cave 11 years ago, but these ones are the "work" boots.

 

[Pandemic]

I’m not sure what triggers me more: the Instagram Influencers always posing in unworn boots (I get that they all start out new, but I suspect these guys only wear them for pics and then put their sneakers back on) and scuffed and abused boots in need of some oil and polish. Sometimes it even looks deliberately scuffed! True old-timey ‘rugged’ workmen used to take care of their stuff - only rich kids could destroy good boots and not care about them.

I’m with the majority here. I oil them when needed to take care of the leather and put a clear polish over them for protection - that still allows the teacore and earned scuffs to show through

 

[tuanhng614]

Not one pair of heritage boots. Are these guys even real workers?






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Just doing their job, cosplaying ;-)

 

[Fifty150]

Instagram Influencers always posing in unworn boots

No worse than Shill-Tube, where content creators are creating paid info-mercials. Reminds of me 80's late night television, where Tom Vu is trying to sell you his get rich quick scheme, and Eric Estrada is getting rich quick by selling you real estate.

 

[TLW '90]

Not one pair of heritage boots. Are these guys even real workers?






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I see a couple pairs of traditional moc toe work boots from Carolina and probably Georgia.

 

[TLW '90]

Since no one has posted any beat on boots yet, heres mine.

I have and so have a few others.

 

[01flhr]

Incorrect. You have posted work boots, but i havent seen any that are absolutely hammered on.

 

[Harris HTM]

Since no one has posted any beat on boots yet, heres mine. 1 year as an oilfield supervisor so theyre not near as bad as they could be. I also have nicks falcons, redwings i cant remember the model for the bike, and danner super rain forests that i got in the cabelas bargain cave 11 years ago, but these ones are the "work" boots.

In Europe we call these safety boots. I have no idea what happens at oilfields, but here, in big infrastructural projects where I work you are not allowed to wear nicks, redwings etc. Only safety boots (and clothing) that conform to EN standards.

 

[01flhr]

What makes a "safety" boot? Just curious.

 

[Carlos840]

What makes a "safety" boot? Just curious.

Toe caps, specific materials resistant to specific norms, like sole puncture resistance, shaft puncture resistancem etc.

 

[Harris HTM]

What makes a "safety" boot? Just curious.

According to the EN ISO 20345 you've got 3 types of safety boots, s1, s2 and s3. The main difference with a redwing is (depending on the type) steel toe cap, anti perforation sole (as steel plate on the sole), antistatic properties, waterproof etc. All these properties should conform to specific requirements (steel toe for exampe should be able to withstand a specific impact energy).

 

[Harris HTM]

Toe caps, specific materials resistant to specific norms, like sole puncture resistance, shaft puncture resistancem etc.

You were faster than me Charles!

 

[Carlos840]

If you had to step into the house real quick for something and didn't have time to take your boots off then put them back on.
I'm not sure when the wedge sole wellingtons or the speed hooks were introduced .

I don't think it's about the ability to go back into the house without tracking mud, i think it's about not ending up with a 10lb cake of mud attached to each sole.
Here in Belgium the earth gets really sticky when it gets wet ("Flanders mud" WWI) and if you wear lug soles in the wet in a freshly plowed field you end up barely able to walk after a few minutes because the mud sticks in between the lugs.
This becomes verry heavy and you have to stop regularly to scrape the soil in between the lugs to lighten your boots, or you end up with thick cakes on both feet.

In flat crepes soles you have arguably a lot less traction, but you don't end up collecting mud and carrying the weight on your feet.

It really makes a difference.

 

[01flhr]

Id say the only part of that not commonly found in north american boots is puncture resistance, ive heard canada is about the same way with their ratings.

 

[Edward]

On the other hand, boots that I will do everything else in, ones that I'll spend days in at times, are these two pairs...

I have worn these two pairs to just about every country I've been to in the last couple of years. Must've walked hundreds of miles in them but I also do enjoy maintaining them the best I can and I think it shows. The pair by Sendra, without the harness, I've really worn to hell and back but it keeps looking better and better, IMO.

The top pair always put me in mind of Bob Dylan. Boots like this were very popular in he mid 60s, and I know I've seen photos of Bob (among many, many others of his contemporaries) wearing them. More svelte than an engineer, which works with a lot of sixties slim tailoring too. Bob was in his drainpipes phase in the era I'm thinking of, round about when he went electric. I believe his boots were inspired by the 'Beatle Boot' of the era, an Americanised version of what the scousers wore. Whether those in turn had an Americanised or Germanic influence (bearing in mind the boots were, afaik, the one hangover from their all-leather look circa Hamburg) is another rabbithole for another day. Yours have arounder toe profile (that I prefer) than a lot of the sixties era boots. I will eventually picky myself up something similar. In warmer weather I tend to wear penny loafers when flying / travelling internationally as they're so much more convenient at security when I have to take them off (which seems to be increasingly rare, though I don't honestly know if that's scanners improving or just that they're low shoes with a thin sole, so not prone to providing hidey-holes for contraband). A pair of short boots with a side-zip that makes them easy on / off would be a draw for travelling in colder weather, though. Especially when I land in Belfast and have to traverse through a cold night to get to the sticks where my parents live.

What brand are the pair with the harness? Does it clip loose (I know it won't come off entirely) to make it easier to zip them all the way down?

The interesting thing is the wedge sole moc toes were originally made for hunting, which is sport rather than work. Now I see wedge sole moc toes on construction guys more than anything else (not usually red wing even).

As someone who wears and adores engineers, I can say that I would never wear them to do any actual work. In fact, the whole 'engineer' thing where they were supposedly invented for stokers on trains is probably a myth. You csn see examples of several different military boots that were nearly engineers years before engineers were supposedly invented.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the actual root was more riding boots. British motorcycle boots like Aviakit / Lewis in particular were very much influenced directly by horse-riding boots. Unlike American-style engineers, though, the Brit boots tended to fit much snugger, and be fastened by a zip, usually up the back. The contemporary versions by Lewis were popularised of course in the rocker era and were worn over the top of the trousers rather than up the jeans like Marlon Brando. Only an option because jeans were generally lighter back then and also slimmer early 60s cuts. I've tried to put some of my Forties-wide, 14ozers into an engineer boot before now, and it did not end well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer_boot

"Engineer boots, also known as engineer's boots or engineering boots, are an American type of traditional leather work-boots. Their lace-less, rugged construction made them popular among motorcycle riders. Originally developed in the 1930s for firemen working on steam locomotives, the boots gained substantial popularity in the post–World War II era during a growing motorcycling culture. They became popular symbols of teenage rebellion in the 1950s and a common component of greaser wear. They were later adopted by skinheads and punks in the 1970s. By the 2010s, engineer boots were being popularly worn for fashion purposes, especially by non-traditional customers such as women, young urban professionals, and hipsters."

Ah, wikipedia: use with extreme caution. It's generally reliable, except on those occasions when it's very, very wrong. Buried somewhere on TFL is the sorry tale of one of our members who tried to correct a bunch of misinformation on the entry on fedoras before giving up on the umpteenth occasion that someone who "knew better" changed it back to the mythology.

Firemen in the context of steam locomotives refers to the guys that shove the coal into the firebox.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireman_(steam_engine)

Always amused me that in English a fireman is a guy who puts out fires in any location..... except on a steamtrain, when he's the guy whose job it is to keep the fire going.

Fit. For walking, laced boots are more secure in general and you can semi customize the fit by adjusting how tight or loose the laces are. I much prefer the look of engineers, but hiking in engineers would likely lead to twisted ankles more than hiking in lace up boots for example.

Also, they're not thay much easier to clean and polish. Yes, you have to take the laces off with lace up boots, but my lace up boots are usually around 6" and my engineers are usually 11" so that extra leather that needs polishing negates any time saved.

Definitely fit is a different ballgame. An engineer has to fit right from the off, while a laced boot has a lot more tolerance. It's like the difference between an adjustable bow tie and one that is custom-made for an individual's neck.

Right or wrong, here are my "work boots". Comfortable, solid traction, and in the rain. These boots do everything I need. It's what I turn to when I don't want to mess up my "nice" boots.



Issued uniform boots. I oil them. I add a coat of polish to help water bead off. We are issued boots every year. And these are the cheapest ones to win the the bid. They only need to last 1 year. But in fact, last several years.


I like nice boots. But I will always have uniform boots for bad weather.













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I'm a big fan of the concept that it shouldn't cost anyone to actually do their own job... if work issue something, I'm certainly not gonig to pay for my own alternative to use in its place. Not that that happens often in academia, but that's a whole nother gripe.


Comments generally on the wedge sole are interesting. I've never been a fan of the look of that white / cream wedge sole with boots, especially engineers, but I can certainly see it's comfort appeal. I suspect aesthetically a lot of its selling power on a workboot comes from Steve Macqueen, the man who sold tens of thousands of A2s.

 

[DogFacePonySoldier]

I like to baby my boots when new, then after some wear less so. However I still give it a brush at the end of a wear.

My one shinki pair has over 100k steps easily. I haven’t painted it black or see a drastic patina forming yet it’s coming through and it’s forming to my feet.

I enjoy the harder work as oppose to it being made to patina