The desert boots are the second pair of boots for men right after Chelsea boots. Under today’s wave of casualization, the more relaxed desert boots are more suitable for overall outfits, and the shoes themselves will not give people the delicate and sharp feeling of Chelsea when viewed separately.
The originator of desert boots, Desert Boots from Clarks are a very good choice for fundamentalists, and the price is reasonable. This pair of Sahara 3 from Church’s can be regarded as a very complete reproduction.
Let us have a close look.
Last
Last 81. Church’s has very few lasts among shoe brands in the UK. The earliest and most popular lasts were 73 and 100, and the currently most popular last 173 is a combination of 73 and 100. Then it is last 81, the boot last. These lasts are very British, or more specifically, English country style expressed by large round toe. Later, in response to the Italian style dominating the world, including the brand itself under the Italian Prada Group, the last 136, the pointed one was launched.
The roundness of the 81 last even exceeds last 73, the super big chubby toe, which makes me understand why Americans love Church’s so much. Further, I wondered why British choose Church’s.
Pattern
Desert boots with two eyes, including the corners of the two ears, are basically copied from the original version designed by Clarks. Crust leather welt and sand-colored upper are a good combination.
I guess you don’t know how many models Church’s is offering, and many shoe models are almost the same, at least by the first sight. For example, Church’s bestselling desert boots are Ryder 3.
What is the difference from this pair of Sahara 3? If I don’t point it out, I am afraid very few would have the answer.
The answer is the decorative stitches alongside invisible stiffener at heel.
This is external, but this appearance is not entirely deliberate and independent. The most essential difference between Ryder 3 and Sahara 3, it is that Ryder 3 is normally lined and Sahara 3 is unlined.
The whole pair of shoes is connected by three pieces of leather, one at the toe and two joining at the back. Each one is unlined and the outer side is the suede side, and the inside is smooth leather.
The stitching seen on the outside is actually the thread used inside to sew the inner leather and the upper leather together. This thread is not where the two pieces of leather on the upper are stitched, but where it is sewn together with the lining leather. And this leads to another problem.
Most of the unlined shoes, such as the Loafers that we see more, are only unlined in the ankle area, and the forefoot is still there.
But lining of this pair is completely gone, so if the heel stiffener is added in this form, how the toe stiffener is added? We don’t see any stitches on the toe.
The answer is, just stick it on the upper of the shoe. I wonder why not stick another piece of leather on top of it. Stiffener is plastic and feet feel uncomfortable. The only thing that can only be said is that there should not be many people who wear desert boots without socks, so the experience is not very obvious.
Outsole
Crepe sole which is also a classic tribute to Clarks. The good thing about Crepe is the feeling of stepping on, and then when the new shoes are new, the colour is white and yellow which looks good.
But the bad thing is that it can’t be so beautiful all the time, dirty may be not a big deal, but Crepe melt, blacken, and then slimy. This is very disturbing.
It is clear that this sole is attached, so what is the construction of this pair of shoes?
Construction
Pronounced welt, so Goodyear construction. Stitch density is almost the signature of Church’s, I especially want to know how much it can bid for a brand of this workmanship that comes out today.
But it seems that the bottom of Crepe is a whole piece, and didn’t we just say that it was glued? If you look closely, you can see that the Crepe bottom is two layers, so there is a middle layer of leather sole between Crepe sole and welt.
Leather
Church’s is scolded for using bookbinder leather proudly, but in fact, Church’s leather selection is high-grade. For example, the quality of smooth leather is top notch and suede is basically Janus of the British tannery Charles F. Stead, the world’s highest grade suede. Delicate and shiny with short fibres.
Outfit
I was originally used to wear it outdoors for its hard wearing sole, but I occasionally matched it with suit once and found that the effect of dress down was very good.
Summary
A very practical pair of boots.