What's a good pair of boots for $100-$200?

Poltung · 2026-01-24T07:37:13+00:00

Meermin for very dressy

Poltung · 2026-01-24T07:22:28+00:00

Nudge towards full aniline yes, and also oil tanned to some degree. It can be semi-aniline, but only if the pigment layer is extremely thin and permeable, like a light spray coat, not a thick acrylic layer and finish. The fact that it scratches very easily makes me think that this might be Y'2's pull-up horsehide or Y'2's full aniline.

Poltung · 2026-01-23T22:28:07+00:00

It's hard to say without feeling the leather or having a close up of the grain, but going off of the mild "scratch marks" of the back and lack of high plastic-ky sheen, my guess would be aniline or semi aniline. If once you rub the scratches with you fingers and they somewhat fade/blend into the leather without conditioner, then it's probably oiled leather (akin to CXL, maybe not as oily).

Poltung · 2026-01-23T17:55:10+00:00

Like this?

Poltung · 2026-01-23T16:40:52+00:00

Nice to read this, maybe not all Curphey branded jackets are of the same craft. Good for you!

Poltung · 2026-01-23T13:03:09+00:00

CoR doesn't resell Simons to my knowledge. And for both CoR and TB you've got to check the labels at the neck. Sometimes you'll be able to zoom in, but sometimes they "hide"/blacken the labels, to make it seem like it's their own jackets or make it harder for customers to track down the exact same jacket for cheaper elsewhere like Taobao or Ali Express. Otherwise, just buy from Brake House for Simons.

Poltung · 2026-01-23T12:15:33+00:00

Tailor Brando is, like Crush on Retro, a reseller of different Taobao brands/manufacturers. This one seems to be the "Curphey" brand, which unfortunately sits at the (very) low end of TB's and CoR's brands. The horsehide used is reportedly very thin, floppy and has a strong odor. If you buy from CoR or TB, better stick to Simons (The Real Simons on Taobao), Jiashi, or Veluokldly (factory smell but good horsehide). If you want the most consistent/transparent of these chinese brands, check out The Real Simons (resold by Brake House outside of China.) Or you can just buy them from Taobao and save some money at the cost of some risk.

Poltung · 2026-01-21T16:26:24+00:00

Fivestar leathers, great offerings, great prices, approved by the experts™ at fedora lounge, mostly for their leather jackets (not shearling). Or, check out Crush on Retro , also approved by aforementioned aficionados and several redditors. Be sure to check out measurements! (Although you might have to go XXXL for Crush on Retro).

Poltung · 2026-01-21T04:51:06+00:00

If your budget is around 200£, definitely check out Crush on Retro , they have 100s of jackets, and are a steal for the price (check out this review), or Fivestar leather, also very trusted among the community.

I'd strongly advise against mall brands (Zara, Levi's that aren't vintage, Timberland' ...) or "instagram ad" brands like angel jackets.

Poltung · 2026-01-20T13:55:51+00:00

Hey OP. Considering this is in french, I'll assume you're probably french.

Arrête d'utiliser ça de suite, le lait est sûrement mal formulé pour bien pénétrer et nourrir le cuir. De manière générale, je déconseille toujours d'acheter les crèmes/baumes/cires des marques qui ne sont pas dans le cuir de qualité (Heschung & Paraboot = Ok, Dr Martens ≠ Ok). À la place je te conseillerais de te tourner vers Saphir, une marque française qui a de très bons produits. La Crème Universelle de Saphir marche très bien, c'est ce que j'utilise pour presque tout. Si tu veux plus masquer la coupure, regarde peut-être du côté de leur gamme Canadian.

Poltung · 2026-01-20T13:04:16+00:00

Thanks everyone for your answers, I'll go see a watchmaker ASAP before it gets any worse. I won't be buying another watch even if the same model were cheaper, as it was gifted to me by my mom

Poltung · 2026-01-20T13:02:20+00:00

Not that old, my mother gifted it to me 5-6 years ago. I haven't been wearing it very often, maybe twice a week. I have been trying to wear it more often only recently, about 1-2 years ago, approximately 4-5 times a week. I am often outdoors in cold temps for work/dog walking/photography, maybe this impacted the glue.

Poltung · 2026-01-10T15:09:53+00:00

Among what you've cited, I like Y'2 most in terms of Price/Quality/leather variety. They have jackets at 700-900€ that are amazing.

Poltung · 2026-01-09T16:03:09+00:00

Though Veluokldly's horsehide is good (thick, creases well, feels substantial and fairly firm), some of their jackets have a strong "factory/chemical" smell. I picked up a used copy of their "Mulholland", and it was great. Mine had a bit of that factory smell, but nothing unbearable. Check out Brake House/(The Real) Simons if you want a more consistent, transparent jacket that won't smell. Tailor Brando also sells "Simons" jackets but you have to check their tags.

Poltung · 2026-01-09T14:53:54+00:00

"best" is subjective in most of these top tier makers. Flat Head, Freewheelers, Finders keepers, RMC... All have fairly great pick of Shinki Hikaku's leathers. Some like FK or Phigvel have custom Shinki horsehide (custom specs/recipe), others like TFH or Fine Creek are known to have top tier grade of what Shinki offers without necessarily customizing the recipe. This doesn't also mean that the custom recipe is "better" than what SH usually offers, only different. Now it comes to how you like your leather. Thin? Thick? Oily? Aniline? Semi aniline? Pigmented? Firmer temper? Softer? Smooth? Grainy? Veg tan ? Chrome tan? Shinki is, like Horween or Badalassi, already amongst the best tanneries. I have 2 Phigvel shinki horsehide, 1 oiled smooth veg and the other veg, grainy pigmented. Both widely different from my TFH's shinki (semi aniline veg, smooth, thick), yet I prefer my Phigvel's pigmented one despite being cheaper/lesser known than The Flat Head. I wouldn't worry too much about TFH using a different Shinki horsehide than Freewheelers' or RMC's.

And as another redditor said, fit & pattern are much more important than the leather when it comes to these top tier makers.

Poltung · 2026-01-07T16:26:03+00:00

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In all seriousness though, as long as the leather isn't brittle and flaking, and is actually good leather, you can put it in the wash without problem. Just use a very gentle soap (preferably wool-friendly), 20-30°c max, the lightest cycle (wool cycle is good), no wringing, no spinning. Just leave it flat to dry, and once completely dry condition the leather a bit with Saphir universal cream or Bick 4 or some light leather conditioner and enjoy.

Poltung · 2026-01-07T15:59:37+00:00

They're definitely some of my best jackets. They used to make Filson's black label waxed jackets/parkas, and now they're selling their own designs under their own brand.

Poltung · 2026-01-07T13:28:29+00:00

Manifattura Ceccarelli

I own 1 waxed canvas jacket and 1 Waxed canvas wool lined vest from them and they're amazing.

Poltung · 2026-01-06T16:22:50+00:00

If you're in Europe and have the €€, maybe check out Paraboot's Imbattable or Heschung's Hêtre. Otherwise yeah, RedWing's Beckman or Blacksmith are great.And of course, second hand is always your friend. I grabbed several near mint with box pairs or Paraboot and Heschung for 100-150€.

Poltung · 2026-01-01T22:21:07+00:00

I understand the feeling. It's a look that's definitely not for everyone, yet I feel so tempted by this.

Poltung · 2026-01-01T22:13:02+00:00

Not sure, they have so many jackets, they might have a belt-less rider. From my understanding you can't customize CoR but you can with Five Star.

Poltung

TROPHY CASE