Last week whilst buying some of these   http://www.finsbury-shoes.com/index_fr.php?page=3&pid=120&gid=1 ,

and these   http://www.paraboot.com/main.asp?groupID=2&topicID=1&subtopicID=1&prodID=4 ,

and spending as much time here as possible  http://www.vagenende.fr/p5.html ,

one of my party took us all off into the badlands in search of 'entertainment' and there amongst the whores and drug dealers in a backstreet behind Port Saint Denise I found Sibago Docksiders. Beautiful counterfeit rip-offs of Sebago's well known boat shoes.

And they kinda got me thinking...

I buy new stock Sebago just for the name & style these days. The quality is not what it was as we all know...

I must be mad.

The Finsbury & Sibago copies of Sebagos are better quality & better priced for what they are than the 'originals' these days - originals which Sebago no longer really make themselves when you actually think about it.

Finsbury also do fantastic US style Gunboat Longwings which I can't find on their website (139 Euros & their loafers are 109 Euros in shops). And then there's another company just behind Le Bon Marche which I can't find on the Net either as I've forgotten their name (Bressy?) who do Sebago lookalikes too again at a fantastic price & quality level & are not made in El Salvador (although there's nothing wrong with El Salv.).

... My Momma told me - You better shop around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQGXa3FiXKM

J.