These are my Clark’s Desert Boots. There are many like them, but these ones are mine (somewhat NSFW).
I love them. They are simple, versatile and stylish. Unfortunately, all is not well in the world with my Desert Boots.
What you see here, on the right hand side, is the partial leather lining peeling back from the sole. This began to happen on the left shoe within days of beginning to wear them. Then after another six weeks or so, it began to happen to the right shoe. Of course, it is likely easily fixed with a quick visit to any shoe repair place. However, it should not have happened in the first place.
One of the lessons I’ve taken from this is the value of buying from a local bricks & mortar store, rather than eBay. I spent months on eBay trying to get a pair of beeswax desert boots for less than retail. Finally, I found this pair for a BIN about $40 less than retail. Unfortunately, the nature of most eBay transactions leaves me without recourse to have the seller address this issue. I do not blame the seller. Nor do I necessarily blame Clark’s. It’s entirely possible this is a rare problem - or not? However, if I’d paid retail and bought them locally, I could have brought them back as this sort of problem should not happen.
Now that winter is approaching and boots designed for desert wear become less than suitable in Toronto, I’ll finally suck it up and take them to a shoe repair. I haven’t to this point because I’ve been reluctant to be without them, I love them so much.
