Back when I lived and worked in Chicago, I had a pair of Timberland boots like these:
I got them for several reasons:
- they had soles that resisted the cold from the ground (Vibram?)
- they were the best boots I could find at short notice, at any price (and yes, they were quite spendy at, I think, about $125)
- they were available at the Timberland store at the mall, and
- Made in Maine, U.S.A.
Just over a quarter-century later, I gave them to Goodwill because I’d put on weight, gone up a shoe size and they no longer fit. They were still in perfect condition, despite having spent 15 years in all kinds of Chicago and New Jersey weather (not to mention the occasional trip to glacial Wisconsin and northern Michigan, see below for proof).
Last year I was getting ready for my trip up to Boomershoot, and decided that I needed another pair of Timberlands because Idaho weather and why not? they’d been great boots for me.
Bah. Compare and contrast the list below with the bullet points above:
- no longer made with Vibram soles
- rubbish quality, judging from a significant number of reviews on Amazon AND on Timberland’s own website
- no longer any Timberland stores in malls, and
- Made in Dominican Republic (real Timberlands) OR Made in China (fakes you get through Amazon).
So much for Timberland, then.
All that came to mind when I saw this silliness in (where else?) the Daily Mail, in which they were making fun of BritPM Rishi Sunak for wearing (gasp) a pair of Timberland boots:
Rishi Sunak is mocked over his £150 Timberland footwear as they steal the limelight during speech
One of the less-than-endearing traits of Brits is what I call “Toff Envy”, i.e. the hatred of people who are wealthy and own things that are of higher quality and (mostly) expensive.
As always, the Greatest Living Englishman has the condition nailed: “In America,” saith Clarkson, “if you drive a nice car, the Americans will think, ‘Great car! I need to work harder so I can afford one like that’, whereas Brits see the same thing and think, ‘I’ll soon have you out of that, you plutocrat bastard’.” And that’s reflected in UK insurance companies, by the way, where by far the largest number of repair claims are for “keyed” doors and suchlike vandalism. We just don’t see that thuggishness Over Here, do we?
I don’t know what the problem is with £150 Timberlands (that’s about what they cost, if not more nowadays), and more to the point, Sunak is a fucking billionaire (well his wife is, which comes to the same thing). What did they expect him to wear? Oxfam slippers (like the awful Emma Thompson)?
Idiots. No wonder their governments are all socialist, regardless of party label. And don’t get me started on their reptilian journalists…
Afterthought: an RFI on American-made work boots. please? Must be insulated and waterproof. Personal testimony a must.