Buying Guides And Reviews Archives

Grant Stone—Traveler Penny Loafer—Chestnut Calflf

Penny Loafers: Possibly The Most Comprehensive Guide Ever Published

The penny loafer's early history is a little murky; people just aren’t great at recording this stuff. But the consensus seems to be that in the 1930s,... Read More...

Grant Stone’s New Loafer Will Have You Chomping at the Bit

The seemingly boundless and irrepressible spell of loafermania continues on its unbroken march towards the heavens and possibly beyond into realms mankind has y... Read More...

Introducing Brandle: The High-End, Dressier Line From the Minds and Hands Behind Nicks Boots

There’s an old story over at Nicks Boots that goes like this: A longtime customer named Robert walked into Nicks’ Spokane workshop one day, in need of some b... Read More...

Need A Last-Minute Pair For The Thunderdome? We’ve Got the Patina-Ready Suggestions.

It’s Thunderdome season, baby. Last year, we saw over 800 contestants enter into the Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome, and we’re expecting another big turnout for... Read More...

Dr. Sole OZ Trooper Review: A Minimalist Vintage Design With Maximum Comfort

Dr. Sole is a rare triple threat in the shoe world. The Taiwanese outfit designs and manufactures outsoles, offers an extremely high-end resole and rebuild serv... Read More...

Viberg 145 Oxford—Horween CXL Pack—Vibram 2021 Sole

Chonk is in the Air With Viberg’s CXL 145 Oxford Trio

Viberg just released some more 145 Oxfords, and they didn't skimp on the chonk. About a decade and a half ago, when Viberg's popularity began to bubble up in... Read More...

Grant Stone Brings Their Patina-Ready Leathers To A Dress Sneaker Near You

Sneakers? On my Stitchdown.com?!? It’s true, we predominantly cover welted, stitchdown, etc footwear in these parts, and with good reason: it tends to be built... Read More...

Caswell Bootmakers Delivers Classic Styles and Handsome Leathers at Pretty Nice Prices

Kevin Wilson is, one could say, a persistent man. After founding Caswell Bootmakers in 2019, Kevin endured 1) the outset and fallout of a global pandemic that... Read More...

Dr. Sole’s OZ Trooper Is a Minimalist-Yet-Overbuilt Homage To Vintage Australian Military Boots

In our double-feature conversation with Dr. Sole mastermind Chao-Yung Lin earlier this year, he hinted that the next release from their in-house Pioneer Brand w... Read More...

Grant Stone Brass Boot Review—and a Deep Dive into The Wonders of Kudu Leather

Grant Stone's Brass Boots in Dark Burgundy Kudu are mighty impressive. The build quality is absolutely solid, and while the profile is unmistakably a moc toe bo... Read More...