There I stood in my closet, peering up at the two shelves filled with shoeboxes. I hadn’t touched many of them in months. Summer in Austin, Texas has a tendency to whittle down one’s footwear rotation to only those options that can stand up to high heat. Bulkier trainers fall by the wayside, as does anything that even begins to encroach on one’s ankle. I sighed to myself. It all just felt so stale.
This moment occurs biannually, like clockwork, specifically with regard to my shoe collection. The itch has hit me earlier than ever this year. My lengthy Spanish vacation really put a bow on the season, and when I arrived back in Austin, the honestly-not-that-hot-for-September temperatures that greeted me sent me into an autumnal state of mind that I feel obliged to indulge.
Yes, lightweight jackets and chunky knit sweaters are wonderful, and my legs long to be wrapped in denim, but I’m typically able to slowly and steadily curate my wishlist for cool weather clothing. When it comes to footwear, however, I become ravenous. Every email I open and website I browse is an absolute feast for the feet, and I am suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to buy 14 new pairs of shoes. Maybe it’s just especially bad this year after I enviously watched my wife go HAM in the Palma Massimo Dutti store, scooping up three brand new pairs in a single fell swoop. But enough with the prose, let’s just get to all of the beautiful babies living rent free in my head as well as in my online shopping carts:
*Author’s note: I wrote this column over the past week, and it would appear that some of these styles have begun to sell out. I apologize. If you need help tracking one of these down in your size, leave a comment or send me a message, and I will do my best to sniff it out.
1) Maison Margiela “Replica Sneaker” in Birdy
It makes me sick to my stomach that Margiela’s famous GATs are now retailing for almost $700. It’s absurd. I’m pretty sure the first time they ruled the sneaker kingdom nominally a decade ago, they were $450 and always available under retail with a coupon code or sale. Now, I feel lucky that I snagged a pair of the classic whites for only $400 a little over a year ago. The egregious price inflation unfortunately doesn’t make them any less beautiful, and I have always been quick to fall in love with a taupe-y grey sneaker. I still expect the seasonal colors to be available on discount eventually, so I will be tracking these come November and December.
2) Dr. Martens “Lowell” Leather Moc Toe in Black Aniline
Paraboot’s “Michael” derby was only the beginning. We are going to be seeing more and more low top leather shoes in a variety of iterations. This just-dropped version from ol’ Doc is sort of a grunge-hardo-stomper take on a boat shoe, and that’s just about the only type of boat shoe I have any interest in. These are begging to be paired with baggy jeans and a simple chore or work jacket.
3) New Balance “990v6” in Reflection/Marblehead
The 990v6 has slowly but surely grown on me, and this might be my favorite colorway of the silhouette yet. They remind me of the Sea Salt v2s but with a more modern robust look. I live in a variety of sneakers over the summer, but I mostly reserve my NBs for the colder weather. Something about a vintage runner with tall socks and shorts can end up looking so childish to me, but I love them with sweats and voluminous trousers, and these would pair well with any number of green pants, of which I know we all own many.
4) Acne Studios Leather Ankle Boot
In a sea of black boots, this pair from Acne stand out for their Goldilocks qualities. They’re not as chunky and lug-soled as pairs from Bottega or Rick, and they’re not as sleek as a pair of Camions. They don’t have a big heel like the ERD Frankie boots, and the toe box walks right up to the verge of being square and then says… “Nah, I’m good being round.” They represent a beautiful simplicity that allows them to be more than the sum of their parts. The only problem is that they’re priced in between those brands as well, and a grand is never not a shitload of money for a pair of designer boots.
5) Vans OTW “Old Skool 36” Pearlized
A couple of months ago, a pair of shoes kept popping up on my Explore page. They looked like a pair of custom Old Skools that had been heavily influenced by Golden Goose. The uppers were kind of a puke green paired with black, topped off with merlot colored laces and pearl studs throughout. Very grunge. Turns out they were a hyper-limited Vans collaboration with high-end streetwear label Satoshi Nakamoto. They resell for four figures. Not very grunge. I quickly moved on, but then last week, Vans OTW (formerly Vans Vault) quietly released two pairs of pearl-studded Old Skools in black and white. While they don’t have quite the same dissonant appeal as the Satoshis, they are absolutely working for me. Now the question is… which color?
6) Marni Brown Leather “Piercing 2.0” Chunky Loafers
Will I be acquiring these bulbous, square-toed, lug-soled loafer with a pierced strap? The answer is, “almost definitely not,” but that’s not stopping them from living in several of my online wishlists. I absolutely do not have the wardrobe to support these, but the thing is, I’m probably going to bail on getting my ear pierced later this fall, and these would be a nice consolation prize that might give me a small endorphin boost and help me convince myself that I’ve still got some swag left in the tank.
7) Nike “Field General ‘82 SP” in White/Black
If you missed on the Bode Astrograbbers earlier this year but are still in the market for a vintage Nike silhouette that evokes both football and running, here’s your answer. There are a bunch of cool color combinations out there, and while I dig some of the lighter pastels, the white and black with gum sole is the clear no-brainer. They’re kind of like if a Killshot, an Astrograbber, and an Air Force 1 had a baby, and that feels like a pretty sweet mix.
8) Nike “Killshot 2.0” in Dark Russet
Hey, speaking of Killshots, I think I need these for Longhorn football games, yeah? As mentioned on the pod, I got a buddy into a pair of the 2.0s, and they looked great on foot. It makes a ton of sense that these would be making a comeback at the same time people are feeling positive about J.Crew again, and I’m here for both of these rising phoenixes. P.S. Peep the all black version with white stitching. Very Travis Scott coded, and I kinda freak with it.
9) Our Legacy “Engine Boot” in Black
Once I entered that aforementioned “autumnal state” and started cruising my sites, these were the boots that sent me to the back of my closet to scrape around and see what I could sell. I’ll be honest — I love these because they are a newer, cooler Camion boot with a more aggressive sole and an even more squared-off toe. They will make me feel superior to all the normie Camion wearers out there. They have a sort-of steampunk aesthetic that suggests I should be doing mechanical work on that giant spider contraption from the 1999 Will Smith film Wild Wild West, and you know what, that’s kinda dope.
10) Adidas “Gazelle Indoor” in Maroon/Almost Yellow
If you’re a longtime listener, you know that I’ve been beating the drum for the Gazelle Indoor for quite a while. Don’t forget that the Gucci Gazelles use the shape and toe box of the Indoor. Adidas’ first year and a half of general release variations featured two or three standout colorways, but I feel like they’re just now hitting their stride with some subtle but stylish combinations currently hitting shelves. Purple and yellow, famously a pair of complimentary colors on the art class color wheel, get muted and dusted down here to create a neutral that still catches the eye. Catch me at the Oasis reunion tour in these where I’ll be carrying the torch for all of my absolute lads.
11) Vans “LX Era” Reissue 95 BMX in Douglas Fir
It’s the juxtaposition for me. I’m always a sucker for the classic Vans checkerboard, and I’m falling for it here in a vibrating red and blue combo that starts giving Christmas in the best way possible when placed next to the coniferous green upper. I’ve actually never owned a pair of Eras, but since it seems the Epoch LX has been discontinued, it might finally be time to pull trig. And for the record, all these Vans were on my list well before Noah Johnson over at GQ put out his silly “Vans are back” column which I will not be linking to.
12) Hoka x Satisfy “Mafate Speed 4” in Sulfur
It’s honestly shocking that this neon yellow-green color has been trending for as long as it has. Equally as shocking is that I don’t own a pair of shoes in this color yet. I was super bullish on Hoka’s Project Clifton in a slightly lighter shade called Butterfly, but I never copped. I’ve also been a huge fan of the older Mafate Speed 2 runners, but again, just haven’t ended up with a pair for some reason. Here we combine a hot color with a hot silhouette, and we bring in the final ingredient, an ultra hot brand in Satisfy. These flew off shelves, so you’ll have to plunk down about $350 to snag a pair, but man is it tempting.
13) Dries van Noten Leather Chelsea Boot
Can you tell I’m shopping for a black leather pull-on boot yet? Here’s another excellent option from Dries, and they’re currently about 60% off, making them even more attractive. There isn’t a lot to say about these. They’re straightforward, and they check a lot of boxes: Trustworthy brand? Check. Trending square toe? Check. Hefty lug sole? Check. *adds to cart*
14) Jacques Soloviére Leather “Alexis” Loafer in Ebano Brown
After a few years of resisting, I’ve gradually become more and more interested in loafers. I’m still not drawn to anything super traditional like a classic penny loafer or even a Gucci deal sled, but I’m in on labels like Jacques Soloviére that bring something unique to the table. Here, we have a very trad brown leather that gets brought to life with a dark crepe sole and Belgian loafer architecture. I would wear these far more casually than Huckberry has them styled though. I’m thinking raw hemmed jeans and oversized oxfords, leaning in to the old-money-refracted-through-Dimes-Square aesthetic.
Thank you for reading, and happy shopping. When I began writing this, days were topping out at about 85 degrees. Now we’re back up to triple digits, and I have to pull out my telescope to see fall weather. Le sigh. We’ll get there eventually.