Role Club Engineer Boots

Horween Black Chromexcel Horsehide

One of my favorite parts of engineers is what happens to the shafts after long focused wear. The shafts on these started out like shiny black stovepipes, the over dyed CXL rigid and shiny. Over time as the soften up and collapse they get an almost accordion like quality to how they relax, exaggerated by the high contrast friction fades on the creases as they abrade against pant legs. The black is blacker than the rest of the boot due to the pant leg protecting most of the shaft from the sun and elements, save for the friction points. I also love the Puckering fades on the shafts around where the vamp piece is stitched on.

Taken on April 6, 2024

2023-2024 Open Thunderdome, April submission

Maker

Role Club

Model

Engineer Boots

Leather

Horween Black Chromexcel Horsehide

Last

RC1940 Last

US Men's Brannock: 11E HTB/10.5 HTT

RC1940 Last: 29E

Size is in cm

Sole

Anniversary Leather Sole

Made for Role Club

Purchased from

Role Club

More about this item

Brian prefers to size his boots almost no room in the toe. While these do fit very well, I was hoping and expecting to have another cm of room in the tip of the toe for the toe box to collapse based on how most bootmakers size, but the fit is so spot on that my toes fill up the entire shoe. This is a personal aesthetic preference for me and is not a mistake in Brian’s part, but I would have liked to have been able to have softly more room in the toe, so make sure to bring that up if you have a similar preference.

Why I own this

Custom

Style

I am learning to make handmade boots and have been lucky enough to have been invited by Brian to sit in and learn a bit in his famed shop in LA. He is my biggest inspiration, so for my Dome boots I asked him to pick the spec he felt best represented Role Club and make that for me so I could represent his work proudly in the Thunderdome. He said 1940 last, black hand dyed cxl hh engineer with a leather sole was his favorite build. I asked him if he could slap an embossed deco anniversary sole on it for a little flair and away we went. Shortly after I received mine, he introduced this exact makeup as a limited edition run on his website. These boots have become a guiding beacon for me, a tower on the horizon as I move through the sometimes murky fog of learning this archaic but essential craft. Watching the beauty of these boots bloom as I wore them and being able to sit down with my hero and inspiration and learn from him has kept me focused and hungry to learn as fast as I can and hopefully be able to match his monolithic craftsmanship some day. When I get to that level, I dream of one day celebrating by collaborating on a make up with the man himself.

How I sized

Sized in Person

Foot Tracing

Circumferential Measurements

Modified Last

Brian sized me in person. He took a traditional size 29 1940 last and built out the ball area for me as my feet are in between a D and E. Brian sizes in cm.