# Rainy day shoes...



## Nathan Detroit (Oct 12, 2005)

Just wondering whether any of the other expensive-shoe mavens on the forum wear 'beater' shoes on rainy days - leave the cordovan or Alden calfs at home and wear an old pair of corrected-grain or rubber-soled dress shoes instead... In short, any particular reason I ought not wear my cordovan wingtips on a rainy day?


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## jkiley (Jul 2, 2011)

I've heard a few approaches here: some wear beaters, some go with Bean boots (both with and without changing at the office), and some wear nice shoes with some sort of overshoe.


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## Nathan Detroit (Oct 12, 2005)

jkiley said:


> I've heard a few approaches here: some wear beaters, some go with Bean boots (both with and without changing at the office), and some wear nice shoes with some sort of overshoe.


... which would indicate a consensus around not wearing the good shoes on Rainy Days and Mondays...


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## EastVillageTrad (May 12, 2006)

Yes, I won't wear nice shoes or cordovans on days when it is going to rain/downpour. I will either wear some camp mocs or bean boots and if torrential Le Chameau boots.

If on those days I need to have the nice dress shoes along for a work/social event I will bring them along in a zipper tote. I'm not much for galloshes, even though I have a set...


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

Good topic for today--it's pouring.

I don't envision going out much, so I'm wearing BB bluchers by Peal with Danite soles. Took a chance and left the Tingleys at home--it's not more than 20 feet from the car to the office door. Generally, I keep Tingleys at the office, but I switched jobs not long ago and haven't gotten around to it.

As for beaters, yes. I have a pair of Florsheim two-tone saddle shoes with godawful corrected grain and rubber outsole inserts. If there's a serious chance of disaster, I'll wear those and don't really give a rip what becomes of them--I think I paid $2 at SA. I also have "spare" (i.e., duplicate) gunboats in black, butterscotch and dark brown. They aren't beaters, I suppose, given that they are old-school, high quality Imperials or equivalent (I think one is Hanover and another Nettleton), but they're tough, certainly able to withstand quick walks across wet parking lots. If it's buckets-full raining or if I'm unprepared and wearing Park Avenues or Waldens or other shoes that aren't quite as rugged as gunboats and I don't have backup pairs, I'll pull on the Tingleys. Rubber overshoes are godsends, but I find them hot (unless it's fairly cold outside) and difficult to stretch over larger shoes like, well, gunboats.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Today I am wearing Bean Gumshoes.

Yesterday I wore Florsheim Loafers with Swims.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Bean boots with a change in the office.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

The last time it rained, I wore an older pair of wingtips with leather soles. It turned out that we had to inspect a 25 acre woodland property that day. They got wet. They dried. I brushed them off. they're fine.


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## 127.72 MHz (Feb 16, 2007)

In the pacific northwest our rainy season lasts for four to five months per year. Although I do wear leather soled shoes because I have so many pairs to rotate through my "Go to" rain shoes have become my Allen Edmonds Wilberts.

I have a brown and a black pair and they work very well in the rain. 

I have a pair of custom make up Aldens with the crepe sole with a leather toe piece that I just can't stand. (The crepe has turned hard as a rock and they're just too heavy.) I just spoke with Nick at B. Nelson shoe repair and I am about to send them to him for conversation to Dainite. I'm already looking forward to getting them back!


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

WouldaShoulda said:


> Today I am wearing Bean Gumshoes.


I basically stick to these. The only decision is which color to wear.


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

Excellent point. High quality shoes are more resilient that some may realize, and proper care after exposure to rain goes a long way. My PA look-alikes by Peal for BB are fine despite being drenched in an unexpected downpour a few years back. Not that you'd want to do it on a regular basis, but AE's et al are not, after all, made from sugar.



The Rambler said:


> The last time it rained, I wore an older pair of wingtips with leather soles. It turned out that we had to inspect a 25 acre woodland property that day. They got wet. They dried. I brushed them off. they're fine.


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## WillBr (Dec 15, 2009)

I usually go with swims...they're terrific and really get the job done. 

As much as I dislike AE shoes, I keep a rubber soled pair of Van Ness from the "Executive Collection" they were pushing a couple years back to use when carrying the swims might be awkward...like through a client's office, or going straight from the office to an event. 

The concept of "beater dress shoes" never made sense to me.


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## eyedoc2180 (Nov 19, 2006)

WillBr said:


> The concept of "beater dress shoes" never made sense to me.


Agreed entirely, but it doesn't start as a concept. It more or less evolves, like my now-discontinued AE Halstead monks. They looked so sleek in the catalog, but they are heavy, absolutely huge, and could double as snowshoes. I wear them, with a good coat of polish, on the crummy NJ days. They recover well and refuse to give up.


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## geologic (Oct 6, 2010)

It's raining today in Philadelphia, and I'm wearing a pair of Allen Edmonds . I certainly don't love what rain does to the shine, but my biggest concern is what rough sidewalks do to wet leather soles -- when I wear my MacNeils or Leeds on rainy days, I can practically see the inches being grated off the bottom.

If I'm going to wear a leather soled shoe, I try hard to wear Tingleys.

I've just ordered one possible alternative solution: a pair of scotch-grain(ish) Florsheim longwing bluchers with dainite knockoff soles (the Florsheim Haviland). The leather doesn't look great in the pictures (and I am unimpressed by the supposedly good leather in my made-in-India Kenmoor ptb's), but I'll report back on my impression of the shoes once I receive them. Hopefully I'll like them and won't have to start saving up for the upcharge to put Allen Edmonds' dainite-style sole on a pair of Leeds.


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## WillBr (Dec 15, 2009)

eyedoc2180 said:


> Agreed entirely, but it doesn't start as a concept. It more or less evolves, like my now-discontinued AE Halstead monks. They looked so sleek in the catalog, but they are heavy, absolutely huge, and could double as snowshoes. I wear them, with a good coat of polish, on the crummy NJ days. They recover well and refuse to give up.


Makes sense...and smells like "repurposing", which is one of my favorite concepts.
.


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## eyedoc2180 (Nov 19, 2006)

WillBr said:


> Makes sense...and smells like "repurposing", which is one of my favorite concepts.
> .


Repurposing....yeah, THAT"S the ticket! You've let me off the hook for a weak purchase, though in fairness it's the only time I have ever had less than an A+ experience with AE. Welcome to the forum!


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

Workdays, I'm stuck with the usual dress cap or plain toe blucher oxfords, but on my own rainy or snowy time, I wear Frye Dealer boots or a pair of leftover 'The Pacific' Marine boondocker repros I got from 'What Price Glory?'
Summers, just black Chuck Taylor low cuts or boat shoes.

Oh, wait, I reread the first post and I am not qualified: I am not an expensive shoe maven, only a nebbish.


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

I usually wear my Bean Rubber Mocs when it's raining.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

The Alden Addict Pursuit Shoe - Discovered on Sierra Trading Post some years back, and quickly became the go-to footwear for those evenings I had to chase the clients. Also have them in Band-Aid Tan.


















The Walkover Mega-Tromper - Wear these without fear when using your unstable hot oil turkey fryer


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

Brooks/Peal with Dainite. Last time I wore these all day, in Boston, I got a terrible back ache, which means something. I don't know what.


















Inexpensive Lands End boots, with faux Dainite.


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## geologic (Oct 6, 2010)

geologic said:


> I've just ordered one possible alternative solution: a pair of scotch-grain(ish) Florsheim longwing bluchers with dainite knockoff soles (the Florsheim Haviland).
> ...
> I'll report back on my impression of the shoes once I receive them.
> ...


I'm still formulating my assessment, but these are my preliminary thoughts on the Florsheim Haviland:
I think they're worth about what I paid for them. The leather's not great, but it's comparable to shoes that are similarly priced or a little less expensive (and actually nicer than it looks in the pictures). Most similarly-priced shoes aren't likely to be goodyear-welted, either. Made in India. I'd rather buy made in the USA, but I don't begrudge Indian shoemakers a living any more than I begrudge Allen Edmonds' Dominican employees who make some of their bottom-end shoes (I do also like to support the admirable corporate culture and responsive customer service at Allen Edmonds).

No self-respecting longwing blucher gunboat is particularly elegant, and these are certainly no exception. The sole actually looks thicker than my Florsheim Kenmoors.









They won't make me stop buying Allen Edmonds, but I like them, and I think they're a decent option for a well-made trad shoe that's respectable enough for business or court, but I won't cringe when I wear them in rain, mud, snow, or salt.


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## Jazzsol (Oct 30, 2011)

I typically wear calf shoes with dainite soles on rainy days.


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## roman totale XVII (Sep 18, 2009)

Jazzsol said:


> I typically wear calf shoes with dainite soles on rainy days.


Same here. In fact and maybe perversely, my go-to rain shoes are two of the most expensive I own. Pebble grain country bluchers with Dainite soles, one black (BB/ Peal by C&J) and one brown (Trickers Woodstock)


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

That's not perverse at all, it's practical. Well done.



roman totale XVII said:


> Same here. In fact and maybe perversely, my go-to rain shoes are two of the most expensive I own. Pebble grain country bluchers with Dainite soles, one black (BB/ Peal by C&J) and one brown (Trickers Woodstock)


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## Hayek (Jun 20, 2006)

I just use overshoes.


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## Ματθαῖος (Jun 17, 2011)

Why can't traditional style add a little European flair?

I love the several pairs of Allen Edmonds I have, and also a whole cut oxford from England, all with natural soles.

But I also have some wonderful rubber sole shoes from Bruno Magli and Ferragamo that look traditional, and will beat all sorts of reasonably street-sized puddles. Why wear beaters when you can still look great?


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