MY DAD WORE RED WINGS

AND HIS DAD WORE RED WINGS 
- FOR A REASON

With workman boots becoming more and more popular and taking over the mens footwear world as the norm in casual wear, I thought I'd take a second to express why I think one of the original work boots companies is still the best. I can recall going with my dad to the Red Wings store out in Carmichael about once a year. I would fiddle around the store trying on oversized motorcycle boots and banging the steal toed construction boots against the thin carpet floor - doing my own "quality control" testing. The sales people never seemed to care about my destructiveness because of a simple fact, Red Wings were pretty much indestructible.  My dad was never much one for fashion. He wore Dockers chinos because they didn't scratch and held up pretty well. He only ever wore shirts with pockets because he liked to carry a pen and his glasses case where he could find them. When it came to getting fancy he would head straight to the Polo section of the department store because he knew that a shirt he'd buy in 1991 would look just as good and timeless in 2001. That's the way my dad is, sensible. When it came to his shoes, his mindset was no different. He worked construction and needed a boot that would protect his toes from getting chopped off. He'd prefer them to be weather proof, durable and attractive enough that he could shine them up in a minute or two and go meet a client without looking like a complete Neanderthal.  Red Wings cost about triple what the average work boot cost back then, but for my Dad, it wasn't about cost, it was about quality. 

As I grew up I began to value craftsmanship over trendiness as well. As the son of a teacher and a small business owner I also began to understand the importance of supporting people who actually made things, put time and energy into their craft and had the courage to compete against the global giants. While Red Wings has expanded to become a global brand over the years, one thing remains the same. Red Wings is an American company, still based in Red Wing Minnesota, and still making shoes the old fashion way -with great care and pride. In a world of outsourced labor and mechanized processes it is nice to see an old dinosaur still roaming the earth. Call it nostalgia or whatever you want, but I for one will continue to buy Red Wings with pride. Buy Red Wing Shoes locally Here. Check out the videos below for a little more about what this company is all about. 

- brother