Red Wing Shoe Company FW09

It might be a little hard to get excited about Red Wing Shoe Company's fall offering as they have pretty much done the same boots for several decades now. One thing that is worth looking forward to is that the Wabasha collection will be landing in North America. I'm really a fan of this chukka boot, as I noted earlier, so I'm happy to know it will be available stateside in the near future. Also the company will be adding the chunky sole to the 875, as we saw J. Crew do together last year. A lot of people have been putting Red Wing on the top of the 'trendy work wear' list but I still have no problem wearing mine several times a week. It's a great American brand that has contributed a lot to the US and continues to make great boots today. Work wear trend or not, come this fall, I am definitely standing behind (and in) Red Wing. The collection will be showing at Capsule, LV next week. Photos by Jacob Krupnick

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Walk Off: h(y)r vs. Black Lodges

I've been going back and forth with Steven at Black Lodges for a couple months on a lot of things, but one of the ideas we are doing on Black Lodges is "It's a walk off!" I have to fully give Steven credit for the title. It definitely keeps the tone casual and pretty funny, which is really the vibe at BL. This is the outfit I came up with as my Winter to Spring look. It's layered enough to keep you warm, but incorporates some of the lighter tones and shades that you should be wearing this spring. What I found pretty funny was that both of our looks we're pretty similar, and both of them are more or less what we are wearing on any given day. Anyways, the intro is worth a read and it should be fun to see the website develop over at BL in the next little while. Walk off - Round 1

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Compass Show

The Compass show is getting ready for it's second event in Las Vegas on February 12-13. The show, run by the BMPW crew, has stepped up the brand list this time around with some nice additions and some solid returning brands. To be honest I wasn't really sure who the even was really supposed to benefit back when it first launched, but as I've seen more and learned more - some directional help is definitely a good thing. Although a lot of you and myself probably have written out a dream brand list for if we started a store and know exactly what we'd order, there are a lot of shops, big and small and brands, big and small. There are also a lot of people who need help figuring out what to buy, and designers often can use the feedback on what sells. So Compass has become a good meeting ground for the different sides and outlets to come together and move forward together. It's interesting to see some of the old brands like Redwing and Sperry alongside collections from Alife, YMC and even Rachel Comey.

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Really Want: Redwing Wabasha Chukka

These are probably my top choice for footwear right now that I don't have. Michael Williams picked up a pair in the fall in Japan and they have been on my mind since. Lately I've had a personal resurgence in my love for Redwing and these Wabasha chukka boots are leading the cause. I actually hadn't been wearing my 875's much in the fall and winter as I had some other boots in rotation. However the last few weeks I have worn my Redwings almost everyday. I don't care if lots of people have them, have seen them, have blogged them, or think they are 'on trend'. They are great boots and I'm happy to wear them, and that's whats important. I know I would feel the same with these Wabasha models as well, except most people wouldn't even know they are Redwings as they have been exclusively sold in Japan until this spring.

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