A Guide to the Best
Men’s Boots
A handy matrix to guide you to the perfect
pair of men’s boots for you this fall—whether you want a safe, casual option or
something riskier and more formal
SINCE SHIFTS IN
MENSWEAR tend to be
incremental, unlike the yard-long leaps in women’s fashion, it can be tricky to
detect a men’s style moment. And yet this season, something is afoot with
boots. They seem to be multiplying. Menswear e-tailer Mr Porter currently
stocks around 8 different types, from sleek and lithe Chelseas to stouthearted
but sartorially-minded brogues, plus designer combats, chukkas and hikers.
What’s more, no single boot style stands out as the pair to have. “I
don’t think it’s a singular boot trend,” confirmed Mr Porter senior buyer Sam
Lobban. “It’s quite general.”
With this veritable
panoply of polished but protective styles, there is an argument to be made that
even non-fashion-plate guys should own a few different pairs, the way one does
with shoes.
If your boot wardrobe
is currently limited to a single salt-caked, lug-sole pair you use to shovel
the driveway, it’s probably time to expand your options. The ideal starter boot
may be a Chelsea or a chukka. Both ride comfortably low on the ankle and lend
themselves to suits and ties just as well as they do to jeans and tees. “The
chukka is incredibly elegant when you want it to be but it’s also a workhorse,”
said Brian Trunzo, co-owner of Manhattan menswear store Carson Street
Clothiers. With Chelsea boots, Mr. Lobban favors pairs with rubber or Dainite
soles that can brave wintry conditions, increasing your opportunities to wear
them.
After stocking up on
one of those styles, a man’s next boot, Mr. Lobban suggested, would be
something sturdier with laces, perhaps a combat style, but “not pure combat,
more a clean military-inspired dress boot.” That might be something like Allen
Edmonds’s handsome Dalton boot, a lace-up with brogue perforations and Goodyear
welted soles that’s one of the company’s top sellers, according to president
and CEO Paul Grangaard.
To help you make a
truly informed decision, we’ve plotted the various boot styles on a handy matrix, ranking them from most casual to most formal and
safest to riskiest. And don’t drag your proverbial heels. “There just comes
that point in the season when loafers no longer cut it,” said Mr. Lobban.
And hey, these things
can feel quite good. “When you’re wearing a boot,” he added, “you have the
ability to take on the world.”
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