I called the P500 a Moccasin but they're not. Willows and Wallabees are.
Stumbled across that site some weeks ago... I love them all! The original boot and the original sports shoe are the ones I'd love most... Hm. I don't want to buy new shoes. I don't want...
Had a couple of pairs of willows (weavers as were) - brilliant. Never had the plain toes, preferable to the Clarks for sure.
I have 2 pairs of Viet-Clarks wallabee one is a P204 in sand colour, nowt special and rarely worn, but I have a pair of loden green boots which I have never seen in the Clarks offering and they have the softest crepe sole, the day they are worn out will be incredibly sad, a really versatile colour and unbelievable comfort.
Got a pair of dark brown Weaver Moccasin Waterbird Shoe, which I also love - with the added benefit of them having waterproof characteristics.
Last edited by Tomiskinky (2013-01-28 07:53:52)
Very nice! I dig the brown suede P204 style a lot too, but can't see how a pair of wallabees would work in the sophisticated big city. I used to have original sand suede Clark's handed down from the '70s (young men's sized) that I'd regularly sport with denims and flannels in the springs and autumns up north with my family. I wore them out on a weekend portage once in the springtime Adirondacks which finally did 'em in. They'd been wearied and well worn with the suede dirtied and frayed from too many years of tough boyhood wear but after being clabbered in mud and soaked in lakewater, my mom forced me to put 'em to waste. Never considered another pair of wallabees since, but they bring back fond memories.
Those are great, what size do you take?
if it's a UK13 inbox me..........
they're not a UK13 are they?
Lush those 66, luckily a half size too small for me too. Oven will have those like new.
Sonofstan, your suspicion is valid I guess. I can't imagine them actually producing these shoes in Ireland and not mention it explicitly.
Perhaps I need to hold onto those Wallies above for a while...
Just had a little look, and the nearest I could find to a 100% location is a blog saying new production will be in Portugal rather than Ireland (a reputable maker of shoes - responsible for the japanese weaver mocs).
Frankly I don't really care where they are produced, as long as the construction and quality is on par with the old ones, and the manufacturing is done in a humane way. Like the Weejun once pointed out, all the old skills can be bought in Asia, it's just that most producers don't care for buying quality, it's all about efficiency and profit.
I just hope these aren't cleverly marketed, shitty quality shoes courtesy of Clark's strategists. That would be very ironic indeed.
The new Padmores are made in Portugal. Personally, I don't like the contrasting stitching on the 'Terra', or the stitching on the tongue. I've no idea why they've "tweaked" those elements. I've waxed poetic several times on here about my long association/love affair with Wallabees. The Padmore and Barnes 'Killa Shoe Co' models, which came out around 2000, were some of the last to be made in Ireland if I remember correctly. I was really looking forward to this project but have so far been underwhelmed from what I've seen online. Just my two cents.
I agree about the stitching.. they just don't look as good as the Irish made Wallabees 1966 put up.
Thanks for the info but I meant the ones 1966 posted. I might wait to just get some wallabees in the sale