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welp, its been 6 months since this thread has seen a post. so i decided to offer a brief opinion on layer-0 footwear. i'm no shoe expert but i've owned a good bit from all of the usual sz suspects and it seems to me that layer-0 is the red headed stepchild of the bunch, and thats totally unwarranted.
this is the shoe i own, with the pics and description from sartorialoft:
layer-o sartorialoft
2.0 cm heel ankle boots finished with shell cordovan/calice on the upper to the vamp and the toe box finished in reverse cordovan. The calice provides a beautiful movement of color that pairs well in contrast with the reverse cordovan. Aging of the boot will show vein like strands on the toe box due to the reverse leather.
i may be biased since i think this is probably one of the nicest offerings from layer-0 and its my only firsthand experience, but overall the shoe is like a 10/10.
the leather itself is incredible. my impression of it thus far is that it is designed to be broken in over time. it started out pretty soft around the ankle and very stiff everywhere else. and there is a rawness to it that i think will age beautifully and develop a very nice patina. i've only had these a few months and they have softened up and appear to be showing the first signs of an evolution. in fact, i've actually decided to wear the hell out of this shoe just to see what happens. (side note: it seems so often that the closet is full of shoes that are of amazing quality and "built to last" but get worn so sparingly and gently just because we've got too many damn options in the shoe arsenal. gotta get em all, right? lol. but how will i ever know if something was worth the money if it never gets used as intended?)
the whitewashed looking effect on the leather has diminished a lot. as has the upturned toe. it still has a slight lift to it but not at all like what you see when its new. it actually creates a pretty cool silhouette. and the glue around the sole has cracked and started to break and i think it looks interesting and pretty unique.
the fit if the boot was the first thing that struck me. in my experience its been very rare to buy a boot from a1923 or ccp or the others and have it fit perfectly on first try. with no loose areas or painful areas or sliding areas and so on. there is also a great deal of detail and precision involved in the actual construction of the shoe, including the leather lining, the laces with the metal detail and single knotted end, the split heel and split shaft, the stitching is even and precise and there's no loose ends or squeaky sounds or flaws of any kind whatsoever. my impression is that there is a primary focus on the actual skill and process of good old fashioned shoemaking for layer-0, as opposed to...oh lets say, different skins or treatments and textures or funky shapes and dyes and so on...
i guess if i were to make any sort of comparison of this shoe to the ones most worn around here i'd say they are most like m.a+, which has always been the shoe that i'd say is "the best" of the group, based on overall quality, fit, last/shape and aesthetic.
so in other words, this is a nice ass boot. in fact, of all the boots and shoes i've brought to my cobbler over the years, this is the only one he has ever commented on as being a nice looking, well made boot. its good looking, its versatile, its tough, its solid and well built, the shape is cool, the leather is interesting and its reasonably priced for this corner of the market. well worth the investment and a solid thumbs up from me, for whatever thats worth...
this is the shoe i own, with the pics and description from sartorialoft:
layer-o sartorialoft
2.0 cm heel ankle boots finished with shell cordovan/calice on the upper to the vamp and the toe box finished in reverse cordovan. The calice provides a beautiful movement of color that pairs well in contrast with the reverse cordovan. Aging of the boot will show vein like strands on the toe box due to the reverse leather.
i may be biased since i think this is probably one of the nicest offerings from layer-0 and its my only firsthand experience, but overall the shoe is like a 10/10.
the leather itself is incredible. my impression of it thus far is that it is designed to be broken in over time. it started out pretty soft around the ankle and very stiff everywhere else. and there is a rawness to it that i think will age beautifully and develop a very nice patina. i've only had these a few months and they have softened up and appear to be showing the first signs of an evolution. in fact, i've actually decided to wear the hell out of this shoe just to see what happens. (side note: it seems so often that the closet is full of shoes that are of amazing quality and "built to last" but get worn so sparingly and gently just because we've got too many damn options in the shoe arsenal. gotta get em all, right? lol. but how will i ever know if something was worth the money if it never gets used as intended?)
the whitewashed looking effect on the leather has diminished a lot. as has the upturned toe. it still has a slight lift to it but not at all like what you see when its new. it actually creates a pretty cool silhouette. and the glue around the sole has cracked and started to break and i think it looks interesting and pretty unique.
the fit if the boot was the first thing that struck me. in my experience its been very rare to buy a boot from a1923 or ccp or the others and have it fit perfectly on first try. with no loose areas or painful areas or sliding areas and so on. there is also a great deal of detail and precision involved in the actual construction of the shoe, including the leather lining, the laces with the metal detail and single knotted end, the split heel and split shaft, the stitching is even and precise and there's no loose ends or squeaky sounds or flaws of any kind whatsoever. my impression is that there is a primary focus on the actual skill and process of good old fashioned shoemaking for layer-0, as opposed to...oh lets say, different skins or treatments and textures or funky shapes and dyes and so on...
i guess if i were to make any sort of comparison of this shoe to the ones most worn around here i'd say they are most like m.a+, which has always been the shoe that i'd say is "the best" of the group, based on overall quality, fit, last/shape and aesthetic.
so in other words, this is a nice ass boot. in fact, of all the boots and shoes i've brought to my cobbler over the years, this is the only one he has ever commented on as being a nice looking, well made boot. its good looking, its versatile, its tough, its solid and well built, the shape is cool, the leather is interesting and its reasonably priced for this corner of the market. well worth the investment and a solid thumbs up from me, for whatever thats worth...
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