The Perfect Jedi Footwear

I love my hobbies.  Star Wars, letterboxing, photography...travel.  But there is one of my favorite pastimes that I don't know that I would categorize as a hobby, but I do find myself thinking about it often, and that is the search for the perfect boot.

I appreciate all types of boots, believe me.  I have many pairs of boots for all occasions in my closet, to be sure.  But I'm not just looking for any boot, mind you...I'm on the hunt for The Perfect Jedi Boots.

The burning question is this:  does The Perfect Jedi Boots exist?
Please, someone tell me they do.

Annie's tall boots

The Perfect Jedi Boots would first and foremost be tall boots.  And not those mediocre, two inches shy of the knee that the fashion boots try to pass off as tall.  I mean all the way to the knee tall.  No pullin' them up to pretend tall.  And, not over the knee, either.  That would be too tall.

Obi-Wan's Ep III version replica

Next, they need to be brown.  Any shade of brown is acceptable, but a true medium brown or even leaning a little to the darker brown shades would be good.  Not black or grey.  Not taupe or khaki.  I have even seen yellow boots online trying to pass for Jedi footwear.  Wrong.  They have to be brown, without a doubt.

Qui-Gon's

The heel is an issue for The Perfect Jedi Boots.  A practical one-inch-ish heel is ideal.  You just don't want to be trippin' up during those lightsaber drills with too high of a heel, y'know?  Which leads to the sole of the boot, which needs not to look like a lumberman's boot - no Doc Martin soles, please.

The toe of the Perfect Boot would be a bit rounded, as well...not too pointy or slight.  A nice, medium looking rounded toe with an obvious toe-box is perfect.  And nearly impossible to find, I might add.

ready-made "Shinys"

 Alright, so you can buy ready-made Jedi boots online.  Don't you think these are a little shiny?  Sheesh.  I am certainly not a fan of these boots, plus they are quite spendy.  Look to spend at least couple-a hundred creds for boots that look like they have never left the Temple.  Sure, they are calf leather with Vibram soles, but don't they look a little uncomfortable to you?  Maybe it's just the photo...

There is another issue that prohibits some boot purchases; shank diameter.  Some of us don't sport a 13"-14" calf, but are more on the, shall we say, muscular side?  This makes boot shopping more than frustrating for a lot of potential purchasers.  And, let's face it...working out creates larger calf muscles.  Why can't the boot manufacturer's get that through their heads? 

the real deal

So, do I own The Perfect Jedi Boots, you ask?  Well, probably not; but yesterday I may have taken a big step towards acquiring them.  We found some boots locally that had to be tried on (gosh, I wonder how many boots I have tried on in the last couple of years...!)  They are not brown, but they are tall.  They zip up the back with a blue zipper, but I think I can modify the blue, anyway.

somehow, we have to make them brown...

And the boot fetish...um, search...undoubtedly will continue.

UPDATE:
On the recommendation of the cobbler that helped put together our extraordinary Jedi utility belts, I used some leather dye/dressing on the grey boots.  He recommended using a cleaner-type dressing before applying the leather dye, but it seemed to work better just putting it on without the first step.  Not sure if this is the finished look I want, but it's interesting...

maybe it needs another coat; at least they're brown now!
Now, in 2013, and many troops later,
these boots are the best!!

Comments

Ari C'rona said…
Too cool! I am sooo thrilled we found these! I'm just sure we can make 'em brown... :o)
Stacy Christian said…
I'm sure you've already searched riding boots, but have you checked some of the Steampunk lines?

Would it shock you to know that I own fewer than 10 pairs of shoes total, even if you count my snow boots? And 4 of them are Sketchers.
Stacy Christian said…
PS-Shiny is easy to fix. Just wear them letterboxing once or twice and Ta-da! No more shiny.
Jedi-J said…
What's wrong with the color that they are now? I like em.
Sha said…
I know this feeling exactly!

First of all, I, too, love boots. I also love costuming, and while I have no money to do actual costuming at the moment, I have enjoyed perusing various sites trying to find the perfect boot for various costumes I have in mind.

And your struggles mirror mine almost exactly. So best of luck in finding that perfect boot -- and I hope the not-quite-perfect ones you get along the way are enjoyable. :D