Perfectly worn-in and totally badass. Tank girl is shaking in her boots !

As the wise sage Demi Lovato once said..."who said I can't wear my converse with a dress? Oh baby...that's just me". This ye old proverb perfectly captures how I like to wear my boots. Although I spend a lot of time hiking, gardening, and stepping in dog sh*t, I am also a fashion girlie at heart. I love wearing my grungey boots with a black lace dress to go to concerts, movies, and city trips as well as wearing them to brave the horrific winters of upstate NY. The aggressively salted roads have corroded every car on my street and threatened to mess with the leather on my tankers...but they survived! I have high hopes they will live to see several more winters, and several more mosh pits too!

The leather has a nice slouch to it, as well as a comfortable toe crease from excessive walking/hiking. They weren't uncomfortably stiff to begin with, so the break-in process was fairly painless. For a care routine, I oiled them once and brushed the leather and soles after any mud or salt exposure. Overall though, i decided to let them get as beat up as possible without compromising the actual structure/function. I prefer my boots to have a heavy patina, and highly dislike leather when the leather is fresh, shiny, and stiff. The boots were custom made to be 100% monochromatic; black from top to bottom. The body of the boot is still black, though the heel stack has sadly faded. Nothing a little polish won't fix, though.

After being a dedicated Doc Marten BxB gal for a decade, I was forced to seek an alternative when those idiots discontinued their only good, double stitch steel toe capped boot. FOOLS!! But alas, I was the fool to trust the sell-out that is Dr. Marten. The Vintos tanker is not just an alternative, but superior in every way to my former love. The monochrome black color has remained relatively uniform, but with a rich patina that follows every contour of my ankles and shows elegant traces of every object I've kicked with the toe cap. And yet, the integrity of the toe remains. Although it is composite and not steel, the look and feel is just as badass and sturdy. Most importantly, better than the bxb toe. The stacked leather heel was originally black, but has faded to brown after many long walks. I'm not so happy about how it looks, but the construction is excellent, so I can overlook the aesthetics. Nothing polish can't fix. The straps and hardware are functional as well as good-lookin', although I did have to sew one of the buckles back on due to how aggressively tight I pull the ankle straps. Overall, the construction is a feat of craftsmanship that obviously more than satisfies a girl who has only ever known the doc bxbs. I've entered a whole new world. The only design flaw that continually irked me was how the tongues didn't stay in place very well no matter how tight I fastened the straps. After a single step, they move to the side. However, this could be due to my weird ass gait. Either way, it's not enough to make me dislike the design.

The block heel is perfect height. As tall as possible without getting into non-functional high heel territory. Excellent for tree climbing, as the heel hooks firmly onto branches or ladder rungs. The lug sole has deep, chunky grooves, so lack of traction has never been an issue and probably won't be for a long time. It would take a lot to wear those flat! It's also worth noting, I have only tripped and fell once in the past 6 months. Even in cold slippery weather, which is another testament to the traction. The only unfortunate development with the heel is how weirdly slanted and asymmetrical they've worn down. That's a personal issue though, I guess I walk funny.