I follow a lot of stylish guys on Instagram, and I’ve noticed a couple guys who wear the Tyrolean-style shoe a lot. Derek over at Put This On wrote about them a couple years ago. The most widespread version of the shoe is the Clarks Wallabee. I always thought they were ugly, but whenever I see the higher-end version made by Heschung on stylish men like Greg from No Man Walks Alone, I always reconsider. I tried the Wallabee a couple years ago and loved how comfortable it was, but the shape of the toe was not to my liking.
Padmore & Barnes, which is the Irish factory that originally manufactured for Clarks, then was spun off as its own company when Clarks moved production to Asia, still sells the original Wallabee, and its toe shape looks vastly better. Kiyoshi from Five in Blue did a comparison a few months ago to show the difference.
But I also am liking the version made by Astorflex, the Italian company whose crepe-sold desert boots I recently bought and am loving. Called the “Beenflex,” End clothing has them in a few different makes, including suede with the super comfy crepe sole but also some pairs, presumably new in for fall, in leather with commando soles. The leather doesn’t look as high-quality as the Heschung version, but at 1/3 the price, that’s not a surprise.
I’m not sure how water resistant the Astorflex version is, though the commando sole, leather version will fare better than the suede crepe sole in the rain by default. But the key is that toe shape, and at $165, it’s a less expensive way to try out the style.
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