So, back in 2003, upon returning from my final deployment with the United States Marine Corps,
I decided to take a little road trip. Starting from my home base in San Diego,
I started riding north. I stopped in Thousand Oaks to see my sister,
in Camarillo to see my brother, saw my father in Ojai. Next thing you know,
I'm stopping in Monterey and then San Francisco to see good buddies from college.
I continued on to Seattle and eventually Vancouver, then went over to Ottawa,
Montreal, and then Quebec City. Now, at this point, Nova Scotia is calling me,
so I make it. All the way to Yarmouth. Then, I started making my way down the east coast of
the United States and eventually made my way all the way down to Key West.
Coming back up, I shot up the west side of Florida, stopped in at Navarre,
saw my grandfather, popped into New Orleans for a hurricane, shot across to Houston,
then to San Antonio, and then took lonely Interstate 10 all the way to El Paso. From there,
shot across to Denver, then down to Albuquerque, then to see my mom in Riosa, New Mexico.
Next up was Phoenix, Arizona. My sister was at ASU. And after two months on the road,
I finally made it back to San Diego. Now, straight up, gents, living on a motorcycle is fun,
but it can also be tough. Let's just say that you are exposed to the elements, wind, rain,
sleet, the cold, especially in the unpredictable fall.
I started the trip in September and did the north part first. But, by the time I got home
in November, it was getting cool at night. My point, gents, is the right equipment can make
all the difference. In particular, Let's talk boots. Straight up, gents, if you're
going to be taking a 5, 000 mile motorcycle journey, you want a proper pair of boots.
Now, in general, moto boots come in a variety of styles, but you want something that's practical
that's going to protect your feet from debris, from anything that could get kicked up from the
road. And if you were to go down, you want something with a bit of extra protection. At
the bare minimum, that's going to have the boots made from a material that can deal with abrasion.
Leather is one of the most common choices out there. In addition,
you want to make sure they are covering the ankles. You also
should have cushioning around the ankles. You want the boot shaft high enough,
it's going to protect the shins. You want to have toe protection. I also like it when
the back of the boot is built well because, yeah, you're going to be kicking that back quite a bit.
I also want to boot with a heel, that way it fits right there on the foot bar. And
that leads us right to the soles. Anyone that's ridden a motorcycle knows you've got
to have a good grip. Because if you put your feet down and you don't have grip,
you slip on oil or something, the whole bike is going to fall over.
The next boot style I want to talk about is the Chelsea boot. I think that this is one
of the most versatile boots a man can own, but they are so darn comfortable,
incredibly versatile. But, what's interesting is they started off as a woman's shoe. Yes,
Queen Victoria, she was the first person to have one made for her by her shoemakers.
That being said, it was the Beatles, it was the Mods, it was the rock stars, the 1960s,
1970s that started to make these really. Popular. Nowadays, I think that you can wear especially if
it's black and it's got a slick silhouette, meaning I would say a clean silhouette,
a smart silhouette. By that, I mean that the toe box isn't super high.
Again, you want to have a sole. This one right here has a mix of leather and rubber,
which I like because you get the best of both worlds. But, there are Chelsea's out there,
they're going to be made much more casual. This one right here,
when you look at the sole, notice you've got that grip. Again, great for getting traction.
This would be a great
I'm going to be talking about the difference between a black and a white boot. Now,
when it comes to color, black boots in general are going to be more formal.
That isn't always the case and I'll explain because there's differences in materials and
there are some darker colors which are actually can be dressed up.
Could you wear it with a suit? Yeah, but I think it's actually going to be at home
more with a pair of odd trousers maybe, you know, gray flannels with a sports
jacket. Another key characteristic of a Chelsea is going to be the elastic on the
side that allows the boot to slip on and off while still holding firm to the foot.
Now, gents, in case I didn't telegraph it enough, today's video is sponsored by Thursday
Boots. I've been partnering with Thursday Boots for years because I love what they do,
quality boots at an affordable price. Those moto boots I was showing you earlier,
You can grab them over at Thursday. As soon as I got my hands on these, I fell in love.
For me, it's the details. First up, the leather on the upper. This is Anejo hand
finished full grain leather. We go down to the bottom of the boot. They've got
these army track rubber lug outsoles. On the inside of the boot to make them
easy to take on and take off, they've got these long lasting ruby zippers.
You don't even have to worry about the laces, but Thursday did because they made
sure all the laces were Kevlar lined. And like all Thursday boots, they're Goodyear
welt constructed. Another boot style I'm absolutely loving that they just sent me,
the chocolate suede wingtips. So, I had a couple of wingtips already in my collection,
but what I love about Thursday's suede is that this is weather resistant suede.
You can pour water right on it, it's going to go right off. So,
for those of you guys scared to wear suede, this is going to be one that
you can bring into your wardrobe. And that's why I love how Thursday pays attention to the
inner construction. They used a glove leather right here, so it feel soft.
These boots also have a cork bed midsole,
which basically conforms to the foot. It's going to shape right to your unique foot and
it gets more comfortable over time. For grip, they've got their rubber outsole,
but it's going to be that beautiful brogue design that's going to get you all the compliments.
Gents, if you're looking for western boots, if you're looking for chukkas, if you're looking
for chelseas, if you're looking for a variety of lace up boots, Thursday, I've Has you covered.
Free shipping, free returns, and they've got tons of other products if you're interested
in Thursday in the branding, the jackets, their bags, everything else that they've got.
Use that link to get the best deal on the web. Go check out Thursday Boots,
awesome company, proud to support. Now, what about this boot style right here? A lot of
people mistake it as a riding boot, but it's actually known as an engineering boot. Now,
this particular style of boot was developed in the 1930s for firemen.
Working on Locomotives post World War ii, they gained popularity with motorcycle gangs
and with the Youth Rebellion culture, they were seen as boots that basically,
if you wore them, you're sticking it to the man. Now, originally they were all
black in color, but nowadays you can find these things on fashion runway.
So they're coming in a variety of colors and styles. Well,
what about Western boots? How do you style these? How do you wear these? Can you wear
these when riding a motorcycle? Western boots, also known as cowboy boots, were made popular in
North America about 170 years ago. Whenever we had the big cattle drives coming out of Texas,
before that you had the Wellington boot and a wide variety of other boots that were worn out west.
But, it was really the cattle drives and the amount of money the cowboys had to spend after
those drives that drove the sales and production and styling of this particular variant. Now,
because of that history and the fact that they're a bit more pronounced,
a lot of guys are hesitant to try to pull cowboy boots.
Into their wardrobe. In my opinion, that's too bad. They're incredibly comfortable
and I think if you've got the confidence, if you've got a casual wardrobe and by the way,
the shaft for the most part is covered by the right pair of jeans. Guys, try yourself
a pair of western boots. I think they're such an easy way to add style to a man's wardrobe.
Point being, if you are western at heart, if you're a country boy,
you can pull this off. I mean, guys, here in Wisconsin, they wear them. In any case,
an entry point into the western type of boot is to look at the roper. This
is going to have a shorter shaft. It's also not going to have as pronounced of a heel.
And in general, it's going to be a little bit more muted. And, again, the right pair of jeans,
most people aren't going to notice. You're going to notice because you're going to be standing
taller. You're going to feel better and, uh, yeah. Ropers are great. Now, to the question of should
you wear them with a motorcycle, I'm going to recommend in most cases, no, because of the sole.
Now, these right here, these have a rubber sole, but you want a sole with a lot of grip and there's
a lot of western, a lot of cowboy boots out there that have a leather sole. And that right there is
just going to have you slip and sliding all over the place, which if you're out two stepping,
dancing, slip it and sliding all over the place is great in a pair of western boots.
Now, this next style similar to the Chelsea boot in that it is an ankle
boot is going to be more casual. And we can tell that by The two to three eyelids
and the lacing and the history. Now, the boot we're talking about here is a much
more recent design coming out of World War II initially called the desert boot.
Nowadays, we call it the chukka, but it's going to have those small eyelids made
usually from a lighter weight material. Just give you a little bit of ankle support. But,
the idea here was during World War II, you had some British officers go to a
cobbler. In this video, I'm going to be showing you how to wear a pair of jeans
with a pair of chinos and a pair of jeans with a pair of chinos and a pair of chinos.
This is really nice summer wear. Tons of options out there. I really like this one,
the blue suede, I think really sets it apart. Again, this is going to be something I can pour
water on. It's relatively rough wearing suede, but you can go with a classic tan,
you can go with a variety of leathers. They come in a variety of different soles as well.
But, across the board in general, one of the key features is going to be that this
boot doesn't have a whole lot of structure. It is a very light wearing boot, that's why
it is considered a casual boot. Can't really dress this thing up. That being said, You want something
that's going to be comfortable you can throw on, this is an easy one to add to the wardrobe.
Now, speaking of casual boots, let's jump over to moccasin styles. So,
going to be one of the more distinctive styles that we talk about here. And you can tell it
by that U shaped on the toe, that moccasin clear look right here inspired by Native
Americans. This right here is going to have in my opinion one of the larger toe boxes.
Therefore, this is a men that are going to be up on their feet 16 hours a day working
blue collar jobs because this boot right here is just comfortable. Now,
they come in a wide variety of colors, material with contrasting soles,
with matching soles. The key again with this boot is to understand it is a casual.
It's a comfortable boot. It's a fun boot. It's going to be heavier than the Chukka,
but I think it's also going to give a lot more support. And oftentimes they're made even with
sturdier, heavier materials. That being said, uh, this isn't something you would
really be able to dress up. Now, what about lace up boots, also known as derby boots?
In this category, you're going to see a wide variety of different types of boots from dress
boots to more casual work boots. I will say that there are certain key characteristics
you can look at to be able to tell. If a boot is something that you could wear formally, you know,
with a sports jacket or if it's something that, nah, you always want to dress down.
First up, one of the things I look at is going to be the overall connection of the
upper to the lower. Is this uniform? Do we have contrasting stitching? Is the upper basically,
uh, Connect to a sole that is overbuilt. Nothing wrong with overbuilt soles,
but they are going to be more casual. And then, maybe look at the lacing right here.
You're going to see more of a dress shoe type of lacing, which makes sense because
this boot in general is going to be more of a dress boot. Dress boots in general are also
going to be thinner. And one of the reasons is they're not really made to insulate. Again,
these are made for Show, I mean, of course, they're functionally they're going to have
purpose, but they're more about looks and getting compliments and wearing them with your outfits.
They're not about, you know, going out and working a full day and being insulated from
the elements. No, that's going to be more of a boot like this. This one right here is going to
have a more rugged build. I can already tell when I touch the tongue, I notice that it's thicker,
it has more cushioning. This one is going to be lined on the inside.
It's also got a strap right here in the back, which allows me to pull it off,
take it on more. Formal dressier boots are not usually going to
have the strap in the back. We also notice right here, again, the soles,
they're going to have these lug heavier soles that are made to get grip. Now, where it gets
confusing for some is when they look at a boot and they're like, well, is that a dress boot?
Is that a boot that's going to be more casual? And I will say a lot of styles,
they fall in between. There isn't like a, you know, a regular out there saying that, hey,
you've got to look this way for a dress boot. Now, this one, I would maybe change out the laces and
give this an even dressier. Right now, she's got these flat laces right here, but if you want with
circular more of dress laces, I think it would give it a little bit more of a dressed up look.
That being said, the metal clasps right here, this gives them away.
If you see something with D rings or, you know, clasps like this at the top,
that in general is going to be a more casual look. But, the color. So, there you Black.
And I did talk about how black is the most formal of colors. We could go with a burgundy.
We could go with a really dark brown that would be dress. You'll see a
lot of dress boots made like that as well. But this one right here,
I would say you could wear it with jeans. You would be pushing it to try to wear this,
I think, with a suit or a sports. You could wear it with a sports jacket, not trousers.
But, uh, you just have to understand that if you're going to go We're going to be looking
at a pair of Chelsea's or make sure that you go with a laced boot that is going to
be dark in design and, again, meets all the criteria we talked about. Another
small detail that can make a boot a little bit less formal is when it has a cap toe.
Uh, right here as well, the material is matte. That means it doesn't have a shine to it. It's
got a little bit of a texture to it. This, again, is going to make the boot a bit more
casual than a solid black one with no cap toe. Which is exactly this boot right here. Again,
no cap toe. And you notice right here at the top, it doesn't have those clasps.
This is going to be a little bit dressier. Now, as I mentioned earlier,
there's a wide variety of laced boots. This one in particular,
the combat boot. They come in different looks, different styles. This one more is
a jump boot type of design, so it's going to have a higher shaft to provide more support.
Anyone that's ever jumped out of a C 130, yeah, you know what it's like to have to
do with the five point roll. Anyone ever done that? Let me know in the comments. But, uh,
you want Protection because those parachutes are not very big. And for some reason,
they have it shooting down super fast. You couldn't break your ankle.
You can break a few other things. So, these are designed for protection. And
that was the idea with this boot. Uh, initially, yeah, they had guys jumping
out with like just regular type of boots and they started providing more cushion,
more protection. And that's what we see in a lot of these being sold to civilians.
You're also going to see right here, you've got this speed lacing and that allows the
lacing to get tighter quicker so that you can take them off, you can put them on. Easier.
Another laced variant is gonna be the hiking boot. You're gonna see a wide variety of soles,
but in general, these are gonna be more rugged soles that give you grip, hence for hiking.
And we're also gonna see here at the top that the laces, they're not gonna have the type of laces
that are, you know, with eyelets. Instead, they're gonna have speed or D-rings. On the outside that,
again, make it very easy and in general make for a more comfortable boot. And, of course,
let's not forget specialty riding boots from harness boots to the Jodhpur boot.
This one designed for polo players. The idea is it's going to keep you in the saddle,
but if you get, you know, knocked off the horse, it's not going to drag you. Uh,
and all of them have a heel for, yeah. fitting right there in the stirrup. All right, gents,
so now the big reveal. What are the two styles that I recommend for every guy out there?
Well, the answer and some of you guys are going to say I'm playing both sides,
but it's the two pairs that you will wear the heck out of. Gentlemen, my philosophy is the most
expensive items you can buy are the ones that you never wear. So, buy something that you're
going to wear the heck out of. For me, this winter and fall, it's going to be right here.
These riding boots, I absolutely love the look of them. I love the fact they got
a zipper. That right there sold me. And, for me, a go to pair of Chelseas. I love
with the suede. I want to change up the style. This pair right here in sandstone,
absolutely loved. Guys, let me know in the comments below what would be
the two pairs that you would wear the heck out of this fall, this winter, this spring.
Let me know in the comments below your favorite pair of boots. So, what video to watch next? Well,
let's talk about why boots make a man so damn sexy. Seriously, guys,
check out this video right here if you want to understand the scientific reasons, the data of
why women love men that wear boots and why men actually respect other guys that wear boots.
It's a great video. I enjoyed making it and, uh, yeah, it's a good one.