Grafters and the Genuine Workwear Aesthetic.

January 25, 2010
Apologies for the post-less stint, have been in France’s Ireland-esque region, (referring to shit weather here) Nord-Pas-de-Calais, to visit ma soeur et son petit bébé – Jacques Desgrousilliers O’ Connor (were I to go about officially changing my name it probably wouldn’t be all that different from this). Not gonna lie, he already has me kind of jealous with his numerous asymmetric knits in a typically French monochrome palette of steely grey and white courtesy of atelier maman. Sigh.

But adult life in the tenties does offer its advantages, too. Namely, big f*#k off leather boots at a bargain price. You may recall I spent a disproportionate amount of time agonising over which boots to buy, when, and where. While the deep chocolate suede pair I settled on scored high on ‘form’, I couldn’t deem ‘function’ one of their admirable traits. Due to Ireland’s cold snap and my own stupidity regarding fabric care, they’re not fit for much any longer.

Having noticed the damage I’d caused them I was on the look-out for a replacement and decided (though I NEVER purchase anything I actually end up wearing here) to scour eBay for boots of a beautiful disposition. Result below…

ca866 graftersleatherboots4
ba038 graftersleatherboots2804ef graftersleatherboots3
120ab graftersleatherboots1

Now, technically, these are work/safety boots (by specialist brand Grafters) and should, technically, be worn only in situations involving the processes of cement-mixing, block-laying and site-surveying. Needless to say, these activities aren’t part-and-parcel of my day-to-day existence. STILL, I’ve never been one to get entirely stuck up on connotations – they’re an amazing pair of boots and came v. v. cheap in comparison to high-street models in a similar black/leather/motorcycles vein. The only disadvantage is that they’re somewhat difficult to break-in, being the sturdiest of sturdy and all. However, if it means a Rick Owens/Ann D-esque aesthetic for oh around 45 euro, then I’ll suffer for the cause.
  • ... January 25, 2010 at 10:55 pm

    Dude cool blog, very busy…Keep them coming….Check me out,Yours Nathanielhttp://www.nathanielmccarthy.com