Boots on a budget

As a poor college student I can't really afford to spend a few hundred for a nice pair of boots, but I do want to improve from the only pair of non-sneaker shoes I have now (horrible, horrible square toe monstrosities I got a couple years ago).

Does anyone know of a pair of boots that's decent quality-wise but won't reduce me to begging for the next few months? I'm hoping to find a pair for around a hundred or so but I can stretch my budget to 150 if it's worth it. I'm mainly interested in chelsea style boots I can wear out to clubs, parties, etc with dry jeans but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks for the help.

That's pretty much the holy grail around here - cheap, good looking, quality boots.

I'll let you know when I find them.

Those Bronx brand boots Saucemaster had were pretty good looking, and cheapish. They had good looking brogueing and some antique effects.

Zappos carries the brand.

Originally Posted by mack11211

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Those Bronx brand boots Saucemaster had were pretty good looking, and cheapish. They had good looking brogueing and some antique effects.

Zappos carries the brand.

I agree, leather probably does not age well though but I guess Sauce could chime in about that.

You could look for deals on ebay or elsewhere. I saw a pair of Ann Demeulemeester boots sell for $220 including shipping yesterday on superfuture.

How much are RM williams going for these days? Lots of people love them.

Allen Edmonds Taunton boot can be found for $150-200 NIB on ebay and other places (during sales).

Check out Yoox right now. They have quite a few ankle boots in their f/w section. Maybe someone could give you their opinion on the quality of the lesser known brands that are sold... These look nice... They would be $121 with pp@yoox with free shipping... http://www.yoox.com/item/YOOX/CIRO+L...s/searchResult

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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How much are RM williams going for these days? Lots of people love them.
A tad above $300, IIRC.

Gotta second MJK on the Yoox recommendation. I snagged a pair of Bikkembergs chelseas last night.

Some Blundstone chelseas might do the trick too...
http://aussiedirect.stores.yahoo.net/bl05drbo.html

They're also on amazon, ebay, etc. I don't own a pair so I'm not sure how durable they are. However, they seem like they're a pretty good deal.

As weird/bad as this sounds, these are actually decent for the money if you throw in a coupon for $15 or so. Seem to be welted, reasonable leather, made in India. I got a pair in brown as an experiment; have not managed to get them to a reddish brown but I have darkened them (I got the brown ones). The fit is actually very good, leather is very soft. Work well for, say, going out, I would be less upset for someone stepping on these than any of my better shoes. At around $80 they are actually reasonable. http://www.shoebuy.com/stacy-adams-m.../191650/427549 P.s. Keep an eye out on the B&S subforum, you can find RMWs occasionally.

Do you have outlets by you? DSW and Nordstrom Rack.

Originally Posted by jkennett

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Some Blundstone chelseas might do the trick too...
http://aussiedirect.stores.yahoo.net/bl05drbo.html

They're also on amazon, ebay, etc. I don't own a pair so I'm not sure how durable they are. However, they seem like they're a pretty good deal.

I wore a pair of blundstones nearly every day for about 18 months, whether it was at work, outside, whatever. They are remarkably durable. I've replaced the insoles a few times, and the leather has gotten a bit scuffed and worn, but there is barely any wear on the soles. They're great boots, I would recommend them to anyone. You can also get them in a non-lugged sole.

I bought mine at the Plow and Hearth outlet store locally, but you should be able to find them online all over the place.

Finally, some love for the "other" Australian boot.

Originally Posted by skalogre

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As weird/bad as this sounds, these are actually decent for the money if you throw in a coupon for $15 or so. Seem to be welted, reasonable leather, made in India. I got a pair in brown as an experiment; have not managed to get them to a reddish brown but I have darkened them (I got the brown ones). The fit is actually very good, leather is very soft. Work well for, say, going out, I would be less upset for someone stepping on these than any of my better shoes. At around $80 they are actually reasonable.

http://www.shoebuy.com/stacy-adams-m.../191650/427549

P.s. Keep an eye out on the B&S subforum, you can find RMWs occasionally.

I am a bit disturbed that these boots are made out of "kidskin." While I support child labor, I dont support them being turned into shoes.

Originally Posted by SantosLHalper

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I wore a pair of blundstones nearly every day for about 18 months, whether it was at work, outside, whatever. They are remarkably durable. I've replaced the insoles a few times, and the leather has gotten a bit scuffed and worn, but there is barely any wear on the soles. They're great boots, I would recommend them to anyone. You can also get them in a non-lugged sole.

I bought mine at the Plow and Hearth outlet store locally, but you should be able to find them online all over the place.

Finally, some love for the "other" Australian boot.

+1. I've got a pair of Blunnies (limited ed, black with blue elastic panels) I bought in 2001 that have seen heavy, heavy wear and no signs of quitting. Easily my favorite boots ever. I respect RMWs, but they're a different thing entirely.

I want to grab a pair of lug sole brown boots to kick around in jeans and it's really hard not to just pick up another pair of Blunnies, but as it stands I'm heading towards these Clarks just for variety:

^^^ Those look pretty ugly and clunky, in my opinion. I'd go for desert boots instead.

Originally Posted by apocalypse later

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^^^ Those look pretty ugly and clunky, in my opinion. I'd go for desert boots instead.

I actually started out on zappos looking for desert boots, but at least the Clarks desert boots were a bit too unclunky. I might try to find a happy medium, and I haven't seen those in person yet. But I think desert boots would feel out of place from about two weeks from now until about April, especially once the snow starts flying. The lugged sole on those ones I linked might be a bit too luggy for something that isn't actually winter boots, yeah.

I was hesitant to get another pair of chelseas because I already have the black Blunnies, but looking around on zappos a bit I don't mind these so much:



Or, hm, you might be onto something, maybe it's just Clarks desert boots I find too smooth, but these don't have whatever problem I had with the originals:



I wish Timberland didn't put the logo on the heel like that. I was originally considering these



but after seeing them in person I'm not sure I really dig the color anymore for fall and winter.

(Not a bunch of cash at present, quit work to go back to school and then quit school to go back to work or else I'd be looking at, well, more than those.)