GQ Recommends 7 Must-Have Boots | GQ

hey what's up this is GQ recommends today we're going to be talking about seven iconic boots [Music] the boots we chose today all really fulfill a certain need in your wardrobe work boots hiking boots weatherproof boots and then on top of that they also look really good each of these boots are iconic in their own way if you're not sure where to start this is going to be a good resource for that you'll see boot Trends flare up and they'll be cool for a season or two we really tried to think outside of that these are boots that would have been cool in 1972 they would have been cool in 2002 and they're still very cool in 2022 and Beyond Red Wing classic Mach 6-inch boot they've been around for a long time for good reason these guys started out actually doing some hard labor they're known for having a break-in process so they're really sturdy Red Wing makes their own uh Leathers as well so that's something special that you won't see everywhere this thick wedge sole is super comfortable kind of helps offset the break-in period and it's a boot that is made to last it's made for hard wearing but it also looks great with a pair of jeans a pair of chinos even if you're not doing hard manual labor these aren't gonna serve you well and for a long time yeah they are like a classic All-American boot I bought a pair of these like 12 years ago still wear them all the time the leather is held up beautifully over time you know like I've worn them through slush through rain and the great part about them too is that they're fully resoldable you can just bring get to a cobbler and they can pop it right off and so a new one right on and you'll be good to go another classic work boot option is the Timberland six inch wheat boot that's another one that uses fully waterproof it's built to withstand really intense working conditions it'll last you a long time it's great in all sorts of weather and looks good with a ton of things in your wardrobe Danner Mountain light boots those Red Wing work boots aren't quite your Vibe then this is another very strong very weatherproof very versatile option also made in America it's from Danner which is a brand out of Portland Oregon they have that very very classic hiking style if you're picturing a hiking boot or like an alpine boot this is probably the one that comes to mind the style was a big hit when they introduced it in the 70s a lot of similar hiking Alpine boots came after that it was the first one to be waterproof and it uses Gore-Tex it's still breathable but also will keep the water out which is something you definitely want on the trails but they also just look sick absolutely not on the trail this lacing style is very bold and maybe it's not for everyone but these are way more versatile than you might think whether you're wearing a fleece cool hiking pants that kind of thing you see guys in Italy wear these with a suit all the time like with a nice final suit a pair of boots like this really goes off and really looks sick despite how like Hefty they look they're pretty comfortable it's right there in the name Mountain light Mountain light exactly I mean out of the boots that we've chosen today this is probably the one I would wear every day Merrell Moab to hiking boot so if the danners represent sort of the Nay plus Ultra of hiking boots this is the modern equivalent why are the Merrell moabs like the goat hiking boot in your opinion they've got a lot of tech behind them I mean they've got a crazy Vibram soul for you to grip anything it's like a four-wheel drive Subaru for you oh totally yeah I mean it's also waterproof and it's very light it's super comfortable it does feel a lot like a sneaker and it looks like a sneaker in that kind of dadish way that's really cool right now you know what I mean they're very much of their era which is you know the late 90s early 2000s even more so than the danners the performance aspect here is really cool in the spectrum of boots that we're talking about today these are among the most affordable oh yeah you can get them for as as little as under a hundred dollars in some cases these are the Moab twos Merrell just came out with the Moab 3 which they're really pushing which means you can get some great deals on the Moab too yeah totally I mean the mother of all boots one of the goats it's kind of crazy that you can buy a pair of these for the same price or even cheaper than you know a lot of sneakers during the pandemic as people were endeavoring to get outdoors more there's been a real explosion in people embracing outdoorsy sort of techy clothes you're seeing a lot more style-minded people Embrace a shoe that looks like these Merrell moabs the first person that comes to mind for me is Frank Ocean yeah showing up to Fashion Week all like kitted out in waterproof clothing and like hiking boots so it's not just for you know uh Avid hikers it looks cool you know in the streets and it is very practical I would say like you know if you're the kind of guy that likes wearing New Balance 990s old school A6 Runners these are the boots for you right they have a very similar energy very similar Vibe they're going to go with a lot of the same kinds of clothes you would wear those sneakers with and you know they had the added bonus of being able to handle whatever weather you want to throw at them L.L bean original eight inch Bean boot they may not look like it but these might actually be the hottest hypest boots that we're talking about today the bean boot has a tendency to sell out very quickly every winter every fall because they are maybe the best weatherproof boot on the planet you're going to want to pair these on your side to like get you through the muck with dry warm not soggy feet some of the other boots that we've talked about are waterproof the nice thing about these is this lower half is rubberized so even if you do find yourself in a puddle or you know a Balenciaga show right you can just hose this off these are another like really really standard staple boot that a lot of people grew up wearing you know they go well with a lot of those kind of old school Staples right like they look great with an Oxford shirt some chinos corduroy pants corduroy pants their old school construct production still really holds up to Modern standards I'd say and they still make them in Maine which I think is part of the reason they sell out they can't make a ton of them they're not like super super mass produced at this point still if you're lucky enough to get your hands on them because they are quite affordable and a really good value you absolutely should and do it before winter comes but that's right I mean people forget and they're like oh now it's winter I don't have boots yeah when the first big blizzard hits in December or January wherever you live uh these guys will be gone they make a lot of uh versions of this this is probably the most classic one but they're even taller ones or slightly shorter ones there's some that come with like a wool lining or a shearling lining lining if it gets really cold there are a lot of different versions of it for the weather you're experiencing Tom Brown Pebble grain wingtip boot in a sort of hard left from the previous boot we were talking about is this pair from Tom Brown this one is something he puts out every season and for good reason it's really handsome the silhouette's nice these are probably not as like substantial or hardcore as like some of the other boots we've talked about but they are definitely sturdier and more winter appropriate than just a standard pair of dress shoes they're made of this really gorgeous Pebble grain leather which is notoriously like quite tough and like can stand up to quite a bit and still have that really really refined elegant dress shoe-esque look they're Sleek but at the same time not dainty I feel like that's mostly because of the the soul which is pretty substantial these are going to go great with a suit or with some dress pants and they're way more versatile than that as well like I would totally wear these with a pair of jeans on the weekend you could pull these off with a whole wide variety of looks and they're gonna look great so you know in the event that you don't have that Tom Brown money then a great option is solo there these are made in England boots they used to be the makers of Doc Martens and they still make these wonderful brogues that have a work boot s quality to them but are still very very in that dressy upscale mode Saint Laurent Wyatt Chelsea on the extreme other end of the spectrum from where we started the Saint Laurent Chelsea boots are super Sleek they're really not meant for any kind of bad weather or anything along those lines these are made for going out for looking and feeling awesome for feeling like a badass Chelsea boots were really cemented into pop cultural history in the 60s they were called the beetle boot they've sort of been associated with rock ever since and you can kind of see why right I've actually never handled a pair of these yeah and the details are pretty crazy sailor raw makes These Boots constantly they are a staple of the Saint Laurent line and as a result they come in a lot of really cool makeups like a gleaming patent leather that will look great with a tux you can get them in like an extremely cool crushed velvet if you're not totally psyched about spending you know a grand and or whatever on a pair of shoes another option we like is from a brand called RM Williams they've been around for a long time making boots in Australia and have sort of become this real icon of this style of Chelsea boot they are also still very slim and sculptural and have like a very similar effect to the Saint Laurent but they're not as flashy they're like a little bit more restrained a little more toned down and you know maybe a little bit more practical too which is great takovis the Johnny the last boot we're talking about is a cowboy boot this brand to gobus is a newcomer to the game but I think honestly one of the best examples of like Adidas the quality is really great the price is what you want but you're getting a lot out of it there's a lot of traditional techniques that go into this that really make it a classic cowboy boot and I love the suede upper they have them in a bunch of different materials but this suede is going to look so good worn in these are very practical if you're riding a horse yeah I was gonna say like I actually own these exact cowboy boots and I bought them because last year I went on a trip with some friends out to New Mexico and we had like a whole cowboy experience so I can say from experience that you know for actual Cowboy duties these cowboy boots hold up they are kind of a swerve that's why we sort of are talking about them last like they're definitely not as practical as you know like the Duck Boots we were talking about or as dressy as the Tom Browns they kind of stand out from the crowd but they're like well worth the effort if you're looking to take your boot game in a whole new Direction it's a great everyday boot it's a great flashy boot also so I like that there are no laces I don't have to waste my time they're slipping straight on you're wearing sort of like a variation on a cowboy boot right now right Gerald yeah totally uh this is a pull-on boot from a brand called fry this one in particular is called their campus boot they have this square toe which I like a lot I think something like the cowboy boots or the boots I'm wearing it's hard for me to imagine a pair of pants that won't go with it they're both like very versatile and very eye-catching and bold at the same time [Music] foreign so those are all the boots that we're going to be running through today there's a lot to like I think they're all really easy to style which is why we chose them but do you have a favorite I mean yeah I think I'm a little partial because you know I actually do own these exact boots um they're a favorite of mine so that's probably my my very favorite do you have one yeah you took it but I also really like the danners that's probably the second one that I would wear like all the time one day when I can afford those Saint laurents I'm going to do it and you will see me stunning everywhere I look forward to that what's great about all these boots is that you know they come in such a range of prices and styles like hopefully you guys found something worth investing in It's Gonna fit your lifestyle and fit your style well said thanks for tuning in

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