Are Astorflex now being worn? I'm interested. Certainly, had they had them in my size the other day, I might well have bitten.
I started with Roamers - do I detect an improvement in their shape? Like 'a donkey's hoof' was how I saw them once described. I then went onto Italian-made Florsheim - quite elegant but didn't stay the distance - before buying the cola-coloured Garrett in Italy and the rather uninteresting Clarks' Made In Vietnam here.
That's it. Went onto chukka boots - Clarks' (nice), Grenson (not so nice).
The Garrett I loved and was heartbroken when they eventually began falling apart.
Oh, I also stomped around Catalonia in genuine army desert boots. Ouch.
So - Astorflex?
Reading your post, I realised I haven't worn Desert Boots since the 80s - I associate them overly with my Mod days I think. I don't really have a view on them, the ones I wore were cheap rubbish I'm sure.
Last edited by An Unseen Scene (2021-09-30 02:32:17)
I do think, aside from their 'Ivy'/'mod' connections, a bit of support around the ankle is not a bad thing for someone who, like me, is about to start dribbling and exposing himself to juveniles. Well, perhaps not the former. And the Astorflex are bloody nice. That wonderful old Weejun, who used to post here, is the genius who first drew them to our attention (yes?).
I have about 10 pairs of Clarks desert boots and I wear them most of the time. I normally buy them in sales for about 50-60 quid.
Chukka boots include a pair of Walkover made in USA red soled which are nice and comfortable.
If I were to wear that broad style, Sanders Playboys would be my go to (a completely different shoe I know, but I'd wear that instead). I really like Sanders, the quality is great.
Heavens, I'd forgotten Sanders completely. Yes, quite a different look, in a fairly subtle way. Chris_H launched a mighty thread on 'Quality Of Crepes' some years ago. I thought at first it was a programme on French cooking. Worth revisiting.
Like the look of the Huttons.
I've a couple of pairs of Astorflex db's , excellent quality, hard wearing and sturdy enough for the winter months, (assuming it's not too wet underfoot), when the heels on my 1st pair wore down the uppers had very little sign of wear, (unlike my experiences with Clarke's where the uppers are usually pretty worn out at the same time and just need binning), struggled to find anywhere to repair crepe soles, I've a really good independent shoes repairer not too far away but he wouldn't touch them, said he couldn't get crepe to stick, a local guy does repair them but the crepe is not the best and they wear out quickly, if anyone has any suggestions regarding repairs I'd be grateful,
Stan, I was told it couldn't be done. Then, about a year later, I was told it could. The boots had been binned by then. The cobbler who told me he could repair crepe is in Chesterfield, so not much use to you in any practical sense. But it might be as well to make extensive enquiries before letting go. Clarks' I would not now bother with. I'll be looking for more Astorflex.
Stan=Stax-fan - or 'Whoops, pardon me for mistyping'.
I saw, the other day, in Clarks', not only a rather unattractive elastic-sided boot but also a black desert boot. This seems wrong to me. Sand, tan, cola, snuff, tobacco, khaki - but not black. Black is a touch formal, is it not? Loafers and wingtips. But should a desert boot not be an accompaniment to jeans, chinos, cords, perhaps cavalry twills? I no longer own any footwear in black.
As I have written before, I usually have about 10 Clarks desert boots on the go at any one time and I do have a pair in black. Totally wrong, I know, and I can't even remember buying them, or why but they must have been cheap. I also have a pair of black Dickies trousers. Another no-no. In the 90s I went through a period of only wearing black, white and grey. It took a cousin to point it out to me that I needed to shape up and I did.
Maybe an age-related thing. It is for me. I'm usually in navy or dark green, olive, stone, you know the kind of thing. White or blue shirts generally speaking. But now, in autumn, a touch of colour in the scarf. Often unseen.
AFS - No problem, I'll answer to either, maybe if I'm passing through Chesterfield sometime I'll check out the cobblers, had many holidays/breaks in the D.Dales, I may ask my local guy if he can get some better crepe and pay him upfront for it and just the 'cobblering' when he fixes them, the Astorflex are too good to throw out once the heels wear down imho,
RobbieB - when you get to our advanced years there has inevitably been a time when we stray into non Ivy, don't beat yourself up ! but we always come back ,
Not quite desert boots, but I like the look of the Hutton 'playboys' a more rounded toe shape than Sanders, which I find to be a bit narrow aad uncomfortable for my plates.
Robbie - I also went through a phase of dressing from head to toe in black. It was in the mid 90s when minimalism was all the rage, so your house and all the few items of furniture inside were completely white. You sat there in your white house, wearing all black and listening to the Pet Shop Boys. My girlfriend at the time was well into that look, black jeans, T-shirts, shoes, jackets - everything. Thinking back the only good about it was that you didn't have to worry about whether anything matched when you got dressed, not that we had any clothes on most of the time.
Staxfan, yes we may stray but we always come back.
I wonder if some of the early , keen posters strayed so far that they didn't come back.
Woofboxer, I'd forgotten but even the interior of my house was black bookshelves, grey painted wooden floor, black and white geometric design curtains, white furniture. My bathroom was all white etc.
Last edited by RobbieB (2021-10-06 12:29:35)