# Desert Boots?



## Brideshead (Jan 11, 2006)

Where do they fit? Are these practical and IMO rather stylish items condidered trad or fogey? Perhaps the Modernist association prevents them from being either? Do you feel they are too casual to be worn with a suit?


I currently have a pair of Clarks brown ones. Always struggle to find a really suitable time/occasion to wear them.


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## Daniele (Dec 28, 2004)

The Modernist association is VERY strong..[8D]
The company itself used it for their ads:

But I don't think this prevents Clarks 'Dessies' to have a place in a Trad wardrobe. Dunno about fogey's, maybe some ex-colonial gentlemen travelling to 'tropical' countries (definition that for many of them includes Italy also...)
I like Desert Boots also, stylish and versatile. I've been wearing them also with suits every now and then (with less formal suits, often paired with rollnecks, merino polo shirts, etc.).
Suit-wise, I think that brown ones would look great with kinda 'tweedy' materials, button down/ tab collar shirts and knitted ties.
Yep.


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## Mr. Knightly (Sep 1, 2005)

You can use them as a substitute for dirty bucks.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man.


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## Martinis at 8 (Apr 14, 2006)

IMO, desert boots, Wallabees, etc. are out. They were kinda fun back in the days when _Billy Jack_ was popular, but I would say they are a relic to the horrible Hippie days.

M8

_I've seen so much in so many places
So many heartaches, so many faces
So many dirty things
You couldn't even believe_


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## Trimmer (Nov 2, 2005)

The problem is those crepe soles. OK for sand but on earth you want leather or rubber, and you don't really want rubber so get some leather soled chukkas like these instead.



Trimmer


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

I have a pair in the beeswax finish. They are ok for casual wear...very comfortable, good for a lot of walking but, ugly as hell. I would not consider wearing them with a suit or even a sport coat.


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## Doctor Damage (Feb 18, 2005)

Nearly every year about this time I start thinking I need a pair of Clark's desert boots. I troop out to a store which has them and never buy them because the price seems too high for the quality. Sort of like the recent Weejuns, they've dropped a notch or two in quality since the 1990s.


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## martinchristopher (Jun 3, 2005)

I have a pair by JP TOD that I wear with flat front moleskin trousers, and tattersal BD shirts and my Barbour. Look great, incredibly comfortable.


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## Keith Adams (Feb 19, 2005)

I used to love Clark's desert boots but since they quit making them in the UK the shape of the last / shoe has changed and they now look too club footed and/or clumsy.

Suede Chukka's are great but there's something appealing about the casualness of the crepe soled shoe...... it also keeps the footwear maintenance budget under control.



K.A. Adams


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## rogue (May 21, 2005)

https://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCa...ction_Id=523&Product_Id=1039070&Parent_Id=522

Brooks Brothers current offering with crepe sole. I do agree that it is more shapely than the Clarks offering, but I must say I have an old pair that is still doing admirable duty with jeans and khakis. I would not wear the clarks with a suit.


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## Topsider (Jul 9, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Doctor Damage_
> 
> Nearly every year about this time I start thinking I need a pair of Clark's desert boots. I troop out to a store which has them and never buy them because the price seems too high for the quality. Sort of like the recent Weejuns, they've dropped a notch or two in quality since the 1990s.


I'm glad I'm not the only one who's noticed that Bass Weejuns aren't what they used to be. 

As for the Clarks desert boots, I have a pair that gets occasional wear with jeans or khakis. I don't think you can really dress them up at all, unlike bucks.


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## Brideshead (Jan 11, 2006)

Mine are about 5 years old and still look good despite a bit of abuse. They are the perfect 'dress-down' shoe but, as others have said it's somehow hard to justify a new pair. I don't have any chukka boots so might investigate them.


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## HSC87 (Mar 28, 2006)

The Walabees have become very popular with the preppy/fratty looking college students in the south.


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## Super Fly (Nov 25, 2004)

I'm wearing Clark's Desert Boots right now (made in England). They are comfortable and classic and reasonably priced. Very similar to the Peal & Co. model but about $300.00 less. I also have a new pair in the box that are made in Slovenia (or close by) that look identical to the English pair. I wish Clark's hadn't moved manufacturing to Eastern Europe, it's hard to get reasionably priced goods that are still produced in G.B. As long as you avoid rain Desert Boots will look great for years. Good for casual pants like jeans.


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## Brideshead (Jan 11, 2006)

> quote:_Originally posted by Super Fly_
> 
> I'm wearing Clark's Desert Boots right now (made in England). They are comfortable and classic and reasonably priced. Very similar to the Peal & Co. model but about $300.00 less. I also have a new pair in the box that are made in Slovenia (or close by) that look identical to the English pair. I wish Clark's hadn't moved manufacturing to Eastern Europe, it's hard to get reasionably priced goods that are still produced in G.B. As long as you avoid rain Desert Boots will look great for years. Good for casual pants like jeans.


They can look great for years, I agree. I've just thought of another question (I think I know the answer) and should be glad of your views please. What laces do you use with Desert boots - flat or round? I think it was GQ some years back that described this a major 'Style Trial'!


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## Super Fly (Nov 25, 2004)

The original style was tan and flat.


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## xcubbies (Jul 31, 2005)

I've got a pair that are about 20 years old now. Used to love them, but find that they offer no support. And I feel it. So, where I use to wear desert boots I now wear approach shoes, which are more versatile and rugged, though not quite as elegant or storied.


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## JLibourel (Jun 13, 2004)

Desert boots certainly antedate the "horrible Hippie days" by a good many years. They were extremely popular at my outdoorsy prep school in the 1950s. These were all the English-made Clarks, which were quite reasonable in price, if I remember aright.

Nice casual shoes, but I couldn't imagine what sort suit I would even dream of wearing the true, traditional light tan desert boots. A darker suede chukka boot of good make might be okay with some sort of "country suit"...although I don't think too many of us Americans have "country suits" in our wardrobes.

I have no experience with the current, Slovenian-made Clark's Desert Boots beyond the most cursory examination. My impression was the quality/price ratio was not such as to make me wish to acquire them. I have the Allen-Edmonds Stanford, a medium brown suede chukka boot, that will probably fill that niche in my voluminous shoe wardrobe closely enough.


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## tom22 (Feb 19, 2004)

in the mid 70s Wallabies had a real collegiate vogue. I was amused to read about 5 years ago that classic Wallabies had become the favored shoe of hip hop artists. it would be no surprise to find that they had come full circle and become a bit of a preppie item once again. i mean it has been thirty years.


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## Keith Adams (Feb 19, 2005)

Super Fly commented that his Slovenian pair look identical to his English made Clark's but unfortunately I have not had the same experience. 

I have compared both Slovenian and Vietnamese made Clark's desert boots side by side to the English made boots and they were of a very different shape - so much so that I decided to re sole the English made pair. 

In the end they finally gave up the ghost and thus I have decided to avoid them until they improve in shape and quality.

K.A. Adams


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## Super Fly (Nov 25, 2004)

Could be the Slovenian model I have was an early production batch. As time goes by it's hard to maintain standards close to the original model. Material that match and workmanship can slide downhill. Note the Chinese made Wallabies are inferior to the original British made version (I remember the original since I wore them way back when).


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