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pop quiz gents how long have men been wearing boots two three four 500 years maybe a thousand years right that's your guest gents you are way off try 15 000 years yeah guys ancient history if you go back to these cave drawings over in spain they clearly depict men wearing boots now it's safe to say those first boots were all about function and when you're buying boots that is the first thing you should look for but fashion is a fast follower so don't be afraid to go get something that looks good roman emperors they knew that that's why they had boots that were styled and looked good and this was something that only those in charge only those with money could wear in today's video gents we're talking about boot styles what to wear them with and how to find the perfect pair for you so the first style i'm going to share with you is the dress boot now the history of this boot goes way back before work boots were even common let's go back to the napoleonic wars there's this guy glebhard von blucher and he fought napoleon he came up with this great idea you know what my troops are moving really slow they need better shoes they need boots and so he created what's known as the open lacing system and it seems pretty simple but the back part of the shoe the vamp was thrown on top of the front part of the shoe the quarter what that did is it made shoes a lot easier to make so why does that matter because i wanted to be clear that this boot right here didn't evolve from work boots necessarily they both evolved from a common ancestor of the military boot now don't get confused the dress boot even though it has dress in its name isn't really something you would ever wear with a suit but it is something you can wear with odd trousers it is something that you can wear definitely with jeans it's something that's going to be rugged tough this is just a great looking piece of footwear that's going to last in your wardrobe they're oftentimes going to have either a goodyear welt or a blake stitch or you're going to occasionally see them glued out there point being is you want to go for something a little bit tougher this pair right here is going to have a goodyear wealth it makes for something can also be resold basically that's where they come in and they can replace the bottom if you wear it out now with dress boots versus work boots what we're going to see is they're going to use a more refined leather this is going to usually be a leather with less blemishes it's going to one that can take a shine but overall the lack of a cap toe just that sleek overall design makes this a good looking very versatile dress boot now this pier right here very similar to that last pair except notice right here we've got the cap toe the cap toe an additional layer initially cap toes evolved because they were going to protect the front part of the shoe i still think that they look really nice but they do make the shoe a little bit more casual now how can you tell how formal a boot is or how informal it is the casualness of a boot can oftentimes be determined by the color and the style features so the most formal of colors is going to be black as you get lighter in color in general that's going to be more casual of a boot now the style details do make a difference when we look at this boot right here what do we notice notice those eyelets so right here we've got basically these hook eyelets these are going to make the boot more casual hook islets evolved from hikers from the military now the other type of eyelet we're going to see right here if that went farther up it would be a little bit more formal of a boot but also look at that sole not only the thickness of the sole but the type of sole that we have here that's a little bit heavier and that right there is going to make this boot in general a casual boot compare that with this boot right here it's going to be a little bit darker we've got this gray in addition we've got a little bit thinner of a sole we get down here we look at the bottom we see we've just got a regular rubber traction with a goodyear welt on it and then right up here we've got the more closed eyelets this right here is going to be a more formal boot that being said this boot right here is going to be more formal than either of them because it's in black even though it has the hook eyelets i would say it's the overall style that really makes this thing more formal now gents really quick all the boots you're seeing in today's video are brought to you by our sponsor thursday boots i've talked about thursday boots for years i've worn them for years i'm wearing them right now because i love this company and what they represent it's all about getting you high quality boots at an affordable price i also love how they're always coming out with new styles beautiful styles because they don't just look good on the outside on the inside they're great quality from the leather that they're using in the upper to the way that they build the soul to the way that they connect the soul with the upper using a goodyear welt one of my favorite collections right now the logger if you haven't checked out these boots they're brand new over on their website you want to get over there what i like about this first up is the quality of the leather in the upper this is thick heavier leather these boots are going to last forever they went with a very durable right here they're using vibram soles if you're not familiar these are basically top-of-the-line soles that are pretty much going to last forever they are a steal for the price you can get them at and the quality that being said these new wing tips i just picked up these are sick seriously i mean just the contrast i like how they got this pebble leather right in here just absolutely beautiful these guys are doing amazing things this pair of boots the first pair i ever got from them five years old these boots are still holding up gents if you can tell i love thursday boots an amazing company making comfortable boots at an affordable price go look at all the different selections use that link down in the description go check them out next up let's talk about work boots cousin of dress boots same ancestor but still a different type of boot and when we go we look at a pair of work boots first up it's about function and protection and this is where really what do you need for your job because if it's something that you could drop something on your toe you want to make sure you got a steel toe if it's going to be something that you're going to be on an oily surface you want to make sure you've got basically a non-slip type of shoe that is made specifically be able to deal with oil there's a wide variety of different work boots out there and you want to make sure you have the right tool for the job that being said the vast majority of work boots out there are going to go a little bit higher up past the ankle because they want to not only give you support but they want to be able to give you protection now when it comes to work boots i really think it's better to pay a bit more and get exactly what you need and you do want to look for something that can be resold basically boots that can be repaired because this is a tool this is something that you want to make sure you've got the right pair work boots because of their very nature are going to be some of the most casual boots out there even in black they are going to be casual but i really like dark brown when it comes down to it get the one that works for you a lot of people just simply like something it doesn't take the stains something that is going to last them so find the right pair and again don't be afraid to spend good money to get that pair next up we've got brogue boots very distinctive because of the perforations in the leather these are small holes that are decorative nowadays in nature but historically they went all the way through why would you want that well imagine you're going through a marsh you've got water up to your midsection and you step out of that marsh guess what all of a sudden the water is just going to come right out of the shoes that's initially what they were for nowadays again they don't go through they are there for design and i think they add a lot of texture they really make the shoes look unique now if you're familiar with brogues you know that there are four styles there are quarter brogues there are semi brogues there are full brogues and then there are long winged brogues right here we've got a full brogue it's going down like this covers the entire front part of the shoe another small detail i want to point out look at the lacing look at those eyelets the eyelets in general are going to be smaller that lacing is going to be using a dress shoe lace so all that combined with the overall look makes these some of the most formal boots you can get now what about boots that you could actually wear with a suit well in general you don't want to wear boots with a suit unless there is inclement weather and then chelsea's are a great option overall this is a great style very simple boot was made popular in the 1950s and 60s this is the perfect traveler shoe if you're going to be going in and out of an airport you want something that's going to slip on and off guys that is the beauty of the chelsea boot now lighter colored chelsea's are going to be more casual but i still think that they work great and the contrast looks good especially when going with jeans or a variety of odd trousers that being said black and leather are going to be the most formal this right here in a suede is fun but it is going to be a bit more casual next up we've got the ankle boot distinctive because it only goes up to the ankle in terms of height and let's look at those eyelets right there we've only got five eyelets on a dress shoe you're oftentimes going to see five eyelets so this right here because of the style because of the design in my opinion a hybrid between shoes and boots i think that you can actually dress this up and with the right style you could even wear with a suit how would you do that well first up you'd have to look at this style right here we've got an open lacing system so i think this is going to be more casual maybe if this was in black and it had a closed lacing system but this pair right here i'd say definitely with a pair of odd trousers maybe gray flannels with a sports jacket would be an easy thing to pull off and overall the design is a darker we've got a pebbled leather so that would play into as well maybe if we had a darker just plain leather that didn't have as much texture it would be a little bit more formal but you can see how all this goes into play and i think it's a very versatile boot for someone maybe that has a lot of shoes doesn't really own any boots and you want to have a transition into the world of boots this would be a great option for you next up we've got another ankle boot the chukka but this one right here has its own distinct style and this goes back to world war ii so you have these british military officers that were over in cairo and they wanted a desert boot something that could deal with the heat still give them a bit of support something that they could you know move around in and so the chukka was born when you look at the modern day chukka what do we notice again it's going to go about to the ankle but it also has a lacing system usually two to three sometimes four eyelets but about two to three on average you've got a contrast here that is going to make it more casual the contrast between the sole and the upper right here but we can still have fun i've got this blue suede right here blue suede shoes right you've got that dark soul mixed with the blue suede on top a little bit fun chukkas are a classic boot they are going to be more casual they work great with jeans maybe some odd trousers and a sweater but i would be careful bringing these in with a formal jacket next up we've got the moccasin boot a lot of people think invented by the hipster not true this thing has been around for hundreds of years especially in native american culture it's been decorative it was oftentimes made from deer skin nowadays i think the moxin is a great option especially for men that spend a lot of time on their feet and it really comes down to the design of the toe box because right here instead of it having one piece of leather that goes over we've got another piece of leather that's attached this causes basically a raised toe box it gives naturally more room right here in the front of the foot so this is going to be in my opinion one of the most comfortable types of boots out there now because of its design and overall nature this is going to be one of the more casual boots out there but if let's say you work on your feet you can find maybe a work boot in this style it's got maybe a steel toe or if you just simply you spend a lot of time hiking you want something without a heel that's another key thing about moccasin boots is they don't have the heel so this is going to give you a little bit more traction on the ground this is a great option whether you live in an urban environment or you're out you know in the middle of nowhere personally i think moccasins look great with any type of denim you can even dress them up with odd trousers and chinos but i would be careful wearing them with dress slacks and definitely not a suit next up we've got jump boots we've got military boots these are functional boots that serve a purpose so the history on military boots especially jump boots is they needed to be able to give the guy support whenever he's jumping out of a perfectly good airplane and you want to make sure that his ankles don't get messed up that's the purpose of jump boots it goes higher up on the leg and it provides a nice tight support around there two other specific features i want to talk about with the jump boot you're going to have a padded top right here for comfort just with the height of the boot you want to make sure it's something that yeah is going to be comfortable on the foot and the sole is usually going to be a bit thicker when compared to the combat boot so the combat boot you know it gets a lot of great press but here's the thing if you've ever served in the military you know that combat boot was produced by the lowest bidder and it's relatively an inexpensive boot so the soles are going to be thinner when compared to a jump boot we're also going to find that the leather across the board is just going to be well not the highest quality combat boots really a simple design and in my opinion one that uh yeah i always upgraded my boots whenever i got the chance next up we've got the wellington boot so initially these were riding boots they were made popular by the first duke of wellington and this guy actually it was really big this was a fashion trend everyone wanted to have these boots they were expensive nowadays when you go look at wellington's what do we see we see a waterproof boot oftentimes made from rubber that has still a unique style but it's still a very functional boot especially if you're going to be out in the outdoors you're going to be dealing with really wet weather this is still a good option even though this boot seems ultra casual you can actually wear this with decently nice clothing especially if you're a gentleman going to go out hunting or you simply need something that's functional next up you've got the western boot also known as the cowboy boot you're going to see this in canada you're going to see this down in mexico you're going to see this in regional parts of the united states i have to say growing up in west texas this is a very functional boot and it makes sense why it's still around because if you're riding a horse and you fall off your horse you're not going to get dragged to your death by your horse because this boot is going to slip right off and it's a functional piece of work wear and that's why it's to this day still survives now there are different types of western boots out there ropers are going to be the more common ones they don't have as much of a heel they're usually going to have a rubber base the ones that have the leather down at the bottom these are going to be more ones that are for getting up in the saddle or more for show a lot of people just simply like to dance so you want to get a pair of boots with the leather at the bottom just a very comfortable boot and i think has a lot of character next up we've got the joe duper boot another boot with a riding history this one not as old as the western boot 1920s india we saw this actually being used in polo and it was a relatively short chelsea booth that was modified usually did have some type of strap going around it that would basically keep it on the feet nowadays i really like these because they look like the boots that a rock star would wear right i mean when i look at the green suede i just yeah can imagine one of the beetles pulling this thing off or maybe this one right here with the dark chocolate brown got a little bit of hardware right here maybe harry styles eric clapton i could see them pulling this thing off now gents i know you got an opinion i want to hear from you down in the comments what is your favorite style of boots and if you want to learn more down in the description of today's video i'm linking over to an article at real men real style in which i go into a lot more detail about all the different types of boots there were some i didn't cover in today's video and i talked about how to make the best purchasing decision for you when you're out there looking for those perfect pair of boots and what video to watch next how about why boots are better than shoes seriously i give you seven reasons why you should invest in your boot collection and skip over shoes because i mean i love shoes but boots yeah i love a little bit more find out why guys in this video right here
