Horween Marbled Black Shell Cordovan
The moment these arrived, I was struck with two unwavering convictions: (1) They were the most beautiful boots I'd ever seen, and (2) I would not deliberately beat up the most beautiful boots I'd ever seen. I'd wear them on most days of this Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome. That's it. No hiking (okay, one long trail walk), no gardening, no farm work, no logging... These might fairly be characterized as semi-dress boots, and that's how I'd wear them. That's how I wore them. I also decided I would condition them minimally, if at all. Having had experience with Horween shell cordovan, I knew how packed with oils and greases this hide is, and how it could be teased out from the leather with some effort -- brush, brush, brush. So for six months, all this pair saw was brushing (pig, horse, yak, and goat hair) after almost every day of wear, water spritzing and rags, and one very light application of Bick 4. You're seeing in my last set of photos a few pre-brushed shots, and the post-wiped-and-brushed official submission photos. These boots are made of Horween's black marble shell cordovan and pulled over Flame Panda's 181last. This pair was inspired by boots I'd seen from Flame Panda before (made for @1damn8nvision), but with significant customizations -- personalizations inspired by my love of the show "Peaky Blinders." These were a sort of salve to ease the pain of missing all the Peaky-inspired Division Road × Viberg Shelby Sharp makeups. In this, Peng (Flame Panda) crafted far more than I asked for, creating a masterpiece pair that Thomas Shelby himself might don today. As @ farmers_mums_ said on Instagram, they're "excessive in such a tasteful way," with intricate broguing and pinking everywhere. From the ankles down to the footbed, these boots gracefully molded to the unique contours of my feet, transforming into the best-fitting of all my boots within a few weeks. *And* the most beautiful? My cup runneth over.
Taken on April 5, 2023