Converse Close-ups

Yesterday was a nice varied boot-wearing day. I started off wearing my riding boots then wore a succession of black and white hi-top boots, starting with my lonsdale boxing boots, my new Converse hi-tops, my adidas boxing boots and finally tonight I wore my old pair of converse hi-tops. In the middle of all that I briefly wore my wellies when I went into the garden.

I am back in work now and wearing my new tall  Converse hi-tops, laced all the way to the top of course.

These are the hi-tops folded down, showing the star pattern on the inner lining. I quite like the star pattern but since I prefer tall boots I will be wearing them 'up' more often. I will only wear them folded down if I am wearing shorts.

This is a close-up of the ankle patch. It is a printed disk which appears to be sewn onto the inner lining of the boot. It appears to be positioned slightly too high though because with the top folded down and fixed using the studs, the top of the patch sticks slightly over the top of the boot.

The ankle patch on the outside of the boot isn't as good - it is just a plain printed disk which appears to be glued to the side. It is a pity this is lower quality to the other disk since this is the one which will be visible most of the time while I'm wearing them.

Boots and shops

Today has been another 'trousers tucked inside boots' day, with a slight emphasis on shopping with boots on display. I started off wearing my adidas boxing boots laced up with trousers tucked inside. I drove to the supermarket, got some petrol, then walked round the shop.

Later on I did a bit of gardening, wearing my Le Chameau wellies. When I got inside I changed into my riding boots.

This afternoon I walked to one of the local shops, about a mile each way, still wearing my riding boots. This is the furthest I've walked wearing them, and the first time I've risked wearing them in public in my street. I decided I didn't care what the neighbours thought - I was going to wear the boots and have them on show.

The left boot rubbed slightly just below knee, where the top of the boot is a bit tight, but otherwise they were ok. It got quite warm while I was out and the boots have softened up really nicely. I think I got at admiring glance from a young lady who looked at the boots and smiled as she walked past, otherwise nobody seemed to notice or care that I was wearing them.

Plenty of Wellies

I've been wearing my wellies a lot this weekend. Yesterday it was raining so I put my wellies on when I went out to the shops. I kept them on when I got home and waited for the rain to stop so I could go into the garden to start getting the pots ready for planting vegetables. At the moment I only get chance to do work in the garden at weekends, so I really need to take advantage of any opportunity to go out.

Yesterday afternoon I changed into my 'long shorts' and my Lonsdale boxing boots. The shorts come to just below my knees, where they meet the tops of the boots. I thought the combination looked really good. I forgot to take a photo though. I'll have to remember to do that next time I wear them.

The weather was better today so I put my wellies back on to go into the garden to finish off the work I started yesterday.

Summary of 2009

Ok, so 2009 is over. I was successful in wearing boots for some part of every day. There were a few days when I nearly went boot-free but I always managed to slip on a pair of boots for at least a few minutes of each day.

The most popular boots were my Vans Sk8-hi (worn for 110 days) and my Doc Martens (worn for 81 days). This is the same way round as after 6 months.

Next in popularity were my Adidas boxing boots (62 days), closely followed by Le Chameau wellies and Gola boxing boots (joint 57 days). At the 6 month point, the order was Gola,Wellies, with Adidas tying with my Levi's tall converse.

Running order after 6 months:

1. Vans Sk8-hi
2. Doc Martens
3. Gola boxing boots
4. Le Chameau wellies
5. (joint) Adidas boxing boots & Levi's boots
6. B&W Converse
7. Blue Wellies
8. Other Converse

After 12 months:

1. Vans Sk8-hi
2. Doc Martens
3. Adidas Boxing boots
4. (joint) Le Chameau Wellies & Gola boxing boots
5. (joint) B&W Converse, Levi's & Lonsdale boxing boots (new entry)
6. Blue Wellies
7. Other Converse

I only bought the Lonsdale boxing boots in October but I wore them at least once every week so they did quite well after only a few weeks.

I wore my different types of boots roughly equally. Low boots includes Vans and Converse. Boxing boots includes my Levi's 'tall converse style' boots. Knee length includes Doc Martens and Wellies.

As expected, I wore low boots mostly in the spring and summer. Knee length boots were mostly worn in autumn and winter, being worn less during summer. I wasn't expecting boxing boots to be mostly an autumn thing.

The numbers vary because I would have worn more than one pair of boots for some days, so each would count towards the total.

After 6 months, my Blue Wellies were my newest pair. They cost £20 and I had worn them fewer than 20 times, which worked out as over £1 per wearing. By the end of 2009, I had worn them 31 times. I actually bought the boots in the autumn of 2008, so I had already worn them a few times before I started keeping count. They are probably down to 50p per wearing by now. They are starting to look a bit battered since I was wearing them when I was painting the house, so I might get around to replacing them sometime this year.

Week 52 (extended week)

Since it will seem a bit strange to have more than 52 weeks in a year, this final week will be a few days longer, to take us up to January 1st. Week 1 was a bit short so this will even out in the end.

I wore my doc martens for the last couple of days in work.

I didn't get any boots for Christmas but I spent Christmas Day wearing my boxing boots so it wasn't too bad.

I wore my green Le Chameau wellies a lot - mainly in the garden. Most of the rest of the time I wore my Vans sk8-hi.

I was wearing my Adidas boxing boots when 2009 ended.

Week 49: Another week of Doc Martens

It's been another week of wearing my Doc Martens in work. I wore them for 4 days, and my Gola boxing boots for one day.

At the weekend I spent some time in the garden so I wore my green wellies. Back in the house, I wore my Lonsdale boxing boots for a while.

Week 47: Doc Martens

It has been cold and/or wet this week so I spent most of the week wearing my doc marten boots. I wore my gola boxing boots for work on the monday but the DMs for the rest of the week. In the evening I briefly wore my Lonsdale boxing boots a couple of times. Since these boots live under my desk at home, I often slip them on while I'm using the computer.

On saturday I did a bit of work in the garden so I wore my green Le Chameau wellies for a while. On sunday I wore my Vans hi-tops for most of the day.

Week 44: boxing boots and wellies.

On monday I wore my Adidas boxing boots in work, and changed into my Lonsdale boots as soon as I got home. I tucked my trousers into the boots and laced them up all the way. Well, nearly all the way. I didn't lace up the top-most eyelet. Either the laces aren't long enough or my legs are a bit too fat. I can lace them up all the way if I don't tuck my trousers into the boots.

On tuesday morning I put my green wellies on to go into the garden, then changed into my new boxing boots, ready to go to work. When I got home I put my blue (indoor) wellies on and wore them for the rest of the evening. The rest of the week followed a similar pattern - Lonsdale boxing boots during the day and wellies in the evening, occasionally wearing my green wellies if I needed to go into the garden.

At the weekend I alternated between wearing my doc martens, blue wellies and boxing boots around the house - trousers tucked into the boots of course.

Saturday: boots day

I spent nearly all of today with trousers tucked into boots. When I went out this morning, I was wearing my Doc Martens. When I got home I changed into my new boxing boots.



This afternoon I went into the garden so I wore my green wellies. When I came back into the house, I put my blue wellies on and kept them on until the evening, when I put my Levi's converse-style boots on.

Week 41: Lots of boxing boots

This has been a good week for tall boots. On monday my new boots arrived. I already had put my Adidas boxing boots on in the morning so I changed into my new Lonsdale boots when I got to work and wore them for most of the day.

It rained mid-week so I had a chance to wear my 20 hole Doc Marten boots for work for a few days.

On friday it was cold but dry so I wore my new Lonsdale boots again. I am still impressed by how tall they are. I bought them as a replacement for my ageing Adidas but they feel almost twice as high. The padded leg is very comfortable. I haven't laced them all the way up yet but when I was sitting at my desk, pressing my ankles together, I could feel the tops of the boots rubbing against my legs and it felt really good.

My third and final pair of boxing boots - the Gola boots - also got worn during the week.

On saturday I did a bit of work in the garden so I put my wellies on. I kept them on when I walked to the shops. Later in the day I wore my new boxing boots again.

On sunday I wore my new boxing boots a lot. I put them on in the morning and laced them up.

I also wore them again in the evening, trousers tucked inside, boots laced all the way up. They really are very comfortable to wear this way.

Around mid-day I went out to the shops. It was drizzling so I put my wellies on. I drove to the shops. I think this is the first time I have driven in my current car while wearing wellies. The boots squeaked on the peddles. Unsurprisingly when I got to the supermarket, I was the only person there wearing wellies.

Shopping In My Wellies

This morning I was doing some work in the garden, wearing my wellies of course. I then walked to the shops to buy something for lunch. The route I had in mind took me through an old 'village green' and past some 17th century cottages. For some reason I always wanted to walk this route wearing my wellies so today I decided to leave the wellies on when I walked to the shops. It is only a mile each way to the shops but by the time I got back home, my legs were a bit warm and sweaty.

Week 16: boots at home

I've been trying to wear a selection of different boots while I've been off work this week. I wore both my adidas and gola boxing boots around the house, and my Vans and Converse hi-tops when I went out. I also wore my wellies in the garden. Yesterday I put my Levi's 'Fake Converse X-Hi' on, tucked my trousers in and laced them up all the way, and walked to the shops.

Week 14

I'm a quarter of the way through the year and everything's been going ok so far. The boots which have been getting the most use have been my Vans hi-tops, my doc martens and my green wellies (in that order).

There have been no wellies worn this week - it's been quite warm so I've been wearing normal trainers or hi-tops in the garden. I've not had any digging to do so wellies haven't been needed.

This week, I wore my vans hi-tops a few times for work. I also wore my adidas boxing boots and Levi's Red Tab for work. At home I wore my gola boxing boots and my black and white converse hi-tops. Since it's getting closer to summer, I'll be wearing my converse more often.

Week 13

It's the start of spring and I've been spending more time in the garden, which means I've been wearing my wellies more often - 4 times this week.

My other boot wearing included by adidas boxing boots (twice), my 'fake converse' (twice), and my vans sk8-hi (twice). I didn't wear hi-tops today, only my wellies in the garden.

Week 11

As usual, I wore my Vans mostly, but also wore my Doc Martens and my Adidas boxing boots one day each for work. Today I did a bit of work in the garden so wore my wellies again.

Summary of the week

For the last week, I've been trying to only wear boots, and to wear all of my different boots at some point during the week. I have been wearing my hi-tops as normal during work, but at all other times I've been wearing taller boots with my trousers tucked inside.

I wore each of my 4 pairs of normal hi-tops just the once -my 3 pairs of converse and my pair of vans, worn during the day in work.

I wore my Levis Red Tab (fake converse x-hi) twice - once for work (trousers on the outside) and once at home (trousers tucked inside the boots).

I wore my gola and adidas boxing boots a few times - both around the house and when I went to the supermarket. I wore my doc martens twice - both occasions were in the house.

This really has been a week of wellies. I made sure I wore both pairs every day. My blue boots got the most use, when I wore them around the house in the evening and during the day over the weekend. I even wore my blue wellies to walk to the corner shop to buy a newspaper yesterday. Although I said I would keep my blue wellies for indoor use, wearing them on the pavement should be ok - it won't get them muddy.

I wore my green wellies every day when I went into the garden, even if it was as brief as getting something from the shed. To avoid changing in and out of them too quickly, I would usually keep them if I was staying in the kitchen for a while, only changing out of them when I went into the rest of the house. I also wore them this morning when I went for a walk, and was wearing them when I stopped to buy a newspaper on the way home.

All of my boots. Back row: 20 eyelet Doc Martens, me wearing my blue wellies, green wellies. Next row: Adidas boxing boots, Gola boxing boots, Levis Red Tab. Front row: Maroon converse, black & white converse, vans sk8 hi. In front of those, my black converse hi-tops.

100% Wellies

I've been wearing my wellies all day today - it's been over 12 hours now since I put them on this morning. I changed from my blue wellies and into my le chameau when I went out into the garden, but apart from that I've been wearing my blue wellies all the time.

I'm really going to miss wearing my wellies next week, when I'm back to wearing my more usual hi-tops. I love the feel of the tall boots on my legs. I still get that when I wear my DMs but it's not quite the same.

Tomorrow is the last day of my 'nothing but boots' week so I'll probably try to wear several different pairs - with my trousers tucked in of course.

Maroon Converse

Today it was the turn of my maroon Converse hi-tops. These are probably my favourite pair of converse. As usual, when I got home I changed into my wellies. First, my Le Chameau to do a bit of gardening. Then my blue wellies to wear around the house.

My maroon Converse hi-tops

My Le Chameau 'outdoor' wellies.

Watching TV, wearing my blue 'leisure wellies'.

Mashed Potatoes

I've been busy with my video camera this week. I've also been busy in my wellies. Here I am wearing my Le Chameau boots, crushing some old potatoes.

Black Converse

First thing this morning, I put my Le Chameau welly boots to walk to the end of the garden to throw some stuff onto the compost heap. I changed into my black converse hi-tops for work.

When I got home, I changed into my blue wellies to wear around the house. So far this week, I've worn a different pair of hi-tops in work and I've also worn both my Le Chameau and my blue wellies every day too. I've been getting up at around 7am and going to bed at midnight, so that's been 17 hours of boot wearing each day. That works out to be 8 hours of hi-tops and 9 hours of wellies per day. Apart from last night when I wore my Doc Martens laced up to the top, but since they are the same height as my blue wellies then they count as the same amount of tall boot wearing time.