Handmaking the Perfect Carhartt WIP Workwear Shoe Takes Time
Carhartt and Solovair are two OG's in the field of rough-and-ready workwear. Carhartt started life in 1889 as a maker of uniforms for Michigan's railroad workers, while across the pond, in the village of Wollaston, England, Solovair's parent company had been handmaking hardy boots since the beginning of the decade.
Now, these two titans of hardwearing fashion are collaborating to create some sleek shoes.
Carhartt WIP and Solovair have teamed up to create two handcrafted shoes that embody the labor-focused ethos of both brands.
The collab includes the luxe leather 3-Eye Gibson shoe, which sports an embossed Carhartt WIP logo at the backstay. Then there's the Single Buckle Monk shoe, which wears a full suede upper and a singular buckle.
Both the 3-Eye Gibson and the Single Buckle Monk will be available on September 25 via the Carhartt WIP website for $225 and $235, respectively.
Solovair was the OG Dr. Martens manufacturer. You know, Dr. Martens? The iconic boot maker that started as a hard-wearing work shoe brand? Yeah, that one. So if some of the contrast stitching and thickened outsoles look familiar, that's why.
The brand has never abandoned its roots, manufacturing traditional leather shoes in the same village it was founded in almost a century and a half ago. In the process, it's picked up some notable admirers, teaming up with the likes of preppy streetwear powerhouse Noah NYC or the London-based menswear label YMC.
Now, as we know, good things take time. And in the case of Solovair's Carhartt WIP collaboration, that time is approximately 12 to 16 weeks, the average time it takes to produce just one pair of the collaborative work shoe. You can't rush perfection.
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