"It takes 133 steps to build a Helm boot"
For those of you who keep up with our world on instagram will know that i've just come back from a work trip away in Texas. I did the same trip last September but it was for a shorter period and so i didn't get to explore the city as much as i did this time. Last time i was out there i was mainly out there to work and i think i only stayed around 5 days but i did get to do a small amount of shopping and one of the stores / brands i came across was Helm boots.
Boots are a massive section of my wardrobe and a big passion of mine, i think in recent years i've invested more in boots and my collection is probably at around 50 pairs. To me footwear is where you should spend your money, a good quality pair of boots not only enhances the look of an outfit but will also last you a long time. When i look for a pair of boots i prefer to choose a leather sole rather than a rubber sole (although i of course do own some rubber soled shoes) because not only do i feel that they look nicer to wear, i find that with these you can easily have these shoes re-soled. Sometimes you may even find that the brand you're buying your shoes from offers a resoling service! Be sure to check when you buy your boots. It is worth noting though that i tend to rotate the shoes i wear quiet regularly and therefore this prolongs the life of each shoe, leather soles are of course much softer than a rubber sole so can wear down quicker, if you still prefer the look of a leather sole like me, i would recommend getting rubber protecters added to the shoe sole.
“...good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap [ten dollar] boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.”
While i wish it was true that you could buy a pair of boots that would last 10 years for $50 what Terry mentions in this book is very true. Buying cheap shoes for convenience can be a false economy and if you invest correctly in a pair of boots you'll get more than your moneys worth. That being said there are a few things to look out for when buying boots which will help you get the most out of them.
Leather - Of course there are many leathers that you can find, rather than me go into the details of all of them you can check out this article HERE. Typically boots will be either full grain or corrected leather and the difference is very simple. Corrected leather is exactly what you would expect, its been corrected to look nice and have that shop floor appeal. All imperfections will have been taken out of it and it will of been treated with a protective coating, now while this may sound like the better option but it actually wears quicker, creases and this is the type of leather that you will sometimes see pealing. Full grain leather has had minimal treatment to keep the grain as true to its original source as possible, including imperfections on the leather, and with proper care through the life of the shoe the leather will age beautifully and can actually develop its only natural protective coating.
Construction - Again with this you will generally find two kinds of shoe constructions. Goodyear welted and cemented. Cemented is when the shoes have had an adhesive used to hold them together, as you can imagine this isn't a very good and will probably last you up to a year depending on the amount of wear you use for them (its also worth mentioning you cant resole this type of shoe!). Goodyear welted shoes are the most durable type of construction, the type of stitching allows the shoe to remain breathable and also means that you can resole them at any time you wish. If you want to learn more about the stitch and construction of a boot i found this awesome article HERE.
After Care - Looking after your boots is a major factor of the years you get out of them. Yes buying higher priced boots that are made of full grain leather and Goodyear welted gives you a great starting point but the way you maintain them after this point will determine exactly how long they will last. The main factors to be sure to do after you have purchased your boots are
- Polish them - Cleaning them regularly will keep the leather supple and soft and will actually feed the leather to prevent it from cracking
- Shoe tress - While these help keep the shape of the shoe when you aren't wearing them they are actually absorbent too and can help soak up and moisture and sweat
- Alternating wear - If you only have one good pair of boots at the moment (or just one favourite pair amongst many) its a good idea to not jump in and wear the same boots everyday.
Helm boots embodies all of the above factories i talk about when looking for a quality boot, which is why when i stumbled upon them last September i knew it wouldn't be long before i was adding them to my collection.
The brand was born in 2009 on a pure love and obsession for boots while growing up, a similar story to myself, and a want to create company dedicated to makign classic boots.
“Proudly designed in Austin, Texas and beautifully handcrafted in the U.S. of American materials, we hope to make boots that your kid, someday, will want to steal from your closet”
Visiting the Helm boots store was like a man cave heaven for me and actually deciding which two boots to get (i had already strategically planned how many i could add to my suitcase home) was a very tough call to make. In the end i settled on Marion in Olive and the Pablo in Brown.
If you are ever in Austin be sure to check out the Helm boots store, but for those of you unable to make it to the area, do not fear! You can buy all the boots online including the ones i've mentioned in this post. You can find all the links below!
WEBSITE | MARION BOOT | PABLO BOOT