Brawn Dress

I had been looking for some dark brown teacore leather “chonk” boots for some time. I had always admired White’s brown dress leather but never saw it offered on a style I needed - until Stitchdown offered a custom GMTO work boot in this amazing leather. Given I frequently visited construction sites the design was perfect for my needs.

Brannock sizing worked great along with the sizing advice provided on the purchase page.

The order process was simple via the Stitchdown website. It was a long wait for Whites to produce these but it was worth it and they fit perfectly when they arrived. Thankfully I did not have to return as it would have been for store credit only.

These boots have served me well this year. I wore these every other day whether going to the office, walking a large and active construction site, or vacationing in the US. They have seen mud, dirt, shrubbery, dust, asphalt, concrete, marble flooring… sometimes they were too rugged for the occasion, tracking mud into my cubicle, whereas other times they have saved my toes from tar or screws.

The leather is remarkable in having a dark formal shine, but also the rugged durability of a work boot. Sure, it’s no French calf, but I could see this used on a pair of chukkas and be inconspicuous too. I find the teacore effect and the excellent grain break to be my favorite features of this leather - these boots looked great when new but are now absolutely gorgeous with wear. My care routine was to brush weekly or when muddy; every 2 months I’d grab a toothbrush and clean the welt and patch, and then condition the whole boot. I’d judge when to use clear cream polish, usually monthly or when the boots looked like they needed some loving but not quite conditioning. The healing properties of the leather are also surprising, as with a small amount of polish I could make deep scuffs and high contrast scrapes blend into the dark brown, making them not quite vanish, but not as eye popping. The leather is quite tough as it is still holding up after some deep scrapes from rebars and screws.

The arch support definitely was surprising to experience at first. Felt like I had a tough pillow under my arch at first. With break in, the feeling completely vanished and now I can’t tell the difference between these boots and normal arched boots. As the toe collapsed I had some friction at the top of my toes where they meet my nails - this required a month or two of wearing toe protection. As the shoe shape finalized the top of the shoe stopped rubbing my toes and it went back to being a comfortable all-day boot.

It’s a cool design overall. The lineman patch may have been overkill for my needs, but I like how its corners have lightened with patina. I found the laces to be a bit of a process to tie, so I ran outside without them fastened a couple times and destroyed the egrets on them. I then switched to leather laces so it stopped being a problem. The finishing was top tier - no flaws whatsoever. The rolled welt was a nice touch. Some may find the welt stitching to be too low SPI, but it’s definitely no Dr Martens either. I think it works on this design. Clicking is absolutely flawless and surprising for a maker whose focus is workwear (not fashion). Definitely happy I was able to add a pair of Whites to my rotation and experience their work firsthand; though one could say Wesco and Nicks focus more on quality and finishing, this is better than what most people get to experience and I am thankful for that.

I have yet to slip or trip; and you wouldn’t know I extracted several screws from the bottom if you were to have a look.

I’m very happy I get to call these boots my own and wear a little piece of American craftsmanship on my feet. I will always think fondly of how these boots helped me build my first multifamily building and of all the little scuffs and creases that prove it.