So yeah…these tariffs. So much fun! How might they affect things in terms of footwear pricing and just the overall industry? It’s impossible to say exactly what’s going to happen at this point, but our Shoecast chat with FDRA head man Matt Priest and this story of ours can give you some insight.
The great news: for now, the boots themselves remain steady as ever. And so we roundup away! We’ve got two leathers brand new to the roundup, Real McCoy’s Buco Engineers at Lost and Found, the Thursday Boots Warehouse Sale, and more.
Don’t forget to check out the winners from 2024-25 Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome footwear aging contest—man are they good. And then maybe take a look below to think about what to wear in Thunderdome FIVE starting Oct 1, 2025!
Oh also our Oz-borne bootmaking buddies at Wootten caught a shout-out from the diligent orthopedic-journalists down-under, very worth a look!
See all of our previous roundups here.
[Ed Note: while we never choose anything specifically because of them, some of these recommendations contain affiliate links—the price is the same for you, but Stitchdown gets a small commission if you make a purchase. It’s essential to keeping the site alive, so we really, really appreciate it.]
Division Road x White’s Boots 350 Springdale HSC in C.F. Stead Stone Rambler: $835
A Division Road exclusive in so many ways, this fully lined Springdale comes on White’s just-sprung-enough c461 last (E width—which doesn’t fit too huge don’t worry) and is crafted out of combo-tanned waxy roughout Stone Rambler from England’s never-miss C.F. Stead tannery, with a thin but grippy Vibram V-Bar half-sole. Really cool just-a-boot-but-more-than-just-a-boot boot. Limited to 20 pair!
Division Road x Crockett & Jones Arran in Camel Suede: $725
“Standard” height for a boot these days is a pretty ubiquitous six inches, and if we can be forgiven for editorializing a little, that has come at a price—the loss of shaft/vamp symmetry. There’s something that just looks right about a boot where the height of the shaft is just a bit longer than the distance from heel to toe. Crockett though, they remember the old days; a number of their boots preserve the forgotten symmetry, including the Arran models listed at Division Road right now, built out with 360˚ storm welts and Vibram Carrarmato lug soles. One clicked from camel suede…
Division Road x Crockett & Jones Arran in Teak Oiled Sides: $735
…and the other in Horween’s oiled sides.
Viberg Service Boot 2030 CT in Wheat Predator Roughout: $1,060
Horween’s Predator is a tannage for people that wear their boots—hard. This Wheat version starts out golden but will darken substantially as it burnishes, getting closer and closer to the color of the tongue. The rest of the specs are tailored to the uppers: a plain old cap-toe, a luggy commando outsole and heel, and of course double row stitchdown construction.
Viberg Navvy Boot in Noisette Tanganyika: $1,090
Viberg also dropped a collection of boots in Tanganiyka, a buffalo hide with a fine grain texture to it tanned by C.F. Stead. It’s an interesting intermediate between more formal, embossed grain leathers and a coarser texture like shrunken Bison. In that sense it’s a good fit for the Navvy boot, with its combination of the round toed 1940 last with a leather sole and blind eyelets. Check out the other Tanganyika models here.
Viberg Chelsea 2030 in Rare Wine Chamois Roughout: $1,092
Lost & Found has been getting in on the Viberg makeups too, most recently with a commando-soled Chelsea in Rare Wine Chamois. It’s actually pretty hard to make a boot that has a whimsical side and looks cool, but that tightrope is being traversed with an impressive degree of ease here. All of Viberg’s currently available Chelseas use the 2030 last, rather than the high-instep 2050 designed for pull on boots, suggesting the latter may be on the way out for the time being. Built with a 360˚ scalloped welt.
Viberg Service Boot 2040 in Black Teacore Chromexcel: $1,010
Brooklyn Clothing has a handful of new straight-up Service Boots in Chromexcel, with cap toes and double-row stitchdown. That includes a model on the bump-toed 2040 last…
Viberg Service Boot 1035 in Brown Chromexcel: $1,010
…and Service Boots on the round but not bump-toed 1035 last in the brown Chromexcel shown here (which has a plain cap-toe), as well as black and brown versions. 
The Real McCoy’s Buco Narrow Engineer Boots in Buttock Black: $1,753
The Real McCoy’s—founded by Hitoshi Tsujimoto—is one brands that helped to popularize engineers in the first place, and it’s not hard to see why. Clicked from black, vegtable-tanned horsebutt, these Bucos are kitted out with a chunky leather sole and brass roller buckles. Not a line out of place.
Rolling Dub Trio Casper in Grey Guidi Calf: $954
As a tannery for Rolling Dub Trio, Guidi makes a lot of sense. On their own shoes, the overwhelming focus is on wear and patina, and they tan leathers well-suited to developing color variation and dense folds (“stacks” in the Guidi parlance). Those are especially desirable trait’s on RDT’s Casper, which has an upper comprised of leather, leather, and more leather—plenty of canvas for patina. Otherwise the boots have a 360˚ flat welt and a nitrile cork outsole, with a leather inserts and toe taps at the toe.
Nicks Chukka in Work and Dress Leathers: $495 (Made to Order)
It’s… actually a little surprising that Nick’s didn’t have a chukka before now, especially given that they’ve dabbled in boot-shoes and the like for a long time. It’s a three eyelet pattern with a fairly high shaft (for a chukka) that follows the lines of the HNW last. The double row stitchdown and all the leather you’d expect from Nicks are still there, but it they didn’t just cut down a work boot either. They’re only available on wedge soles for now, but in Nick’s full range of leathers.
Grant Stone Diesel Boot in Rich Tan Sokoto: $435
Goat leathers are soft by default—they’re just not as thick or dense as bovine hides. Tusting & Burnett Sokoto though, is vegetable-tanned using acacia tannins and then twisted, rendering the leather more flexible and adding a lined texture to the grain. It’s definitely a striking leather, and supposed to be a very comfortable one too. You can get it on Grant Stone’s Diesel boot, with a leather sole and 360˚ flat welt…
Grant Stone Baroda Boot in Rich Tan Sokoto
…or on a chunkier Baroda Boot, with a micro-stud outsole.
Russell Moccasin Finishing Oxford Premier Build: $535 (Made to Order)
It’s no secret that the Russell’s fishing oxford is definitively a Stitchdown favorite: they’re incredibly comfortable, quite capable, and just the right amount of weird. As of this week, they’re available as a customizable “premier build” model, meaning you pick the leather and the sole and then Russell makes your boots to order. The premier build version uses a single-vamp construction, and is available on Vibram’s Aspen Gumlite and Oxford soles, as well as two colors of 2060 wedge.
Morjas Boat Shoe in Brown Suede: $350
Morjas is dropping a new boat shoe, and they don’t look half bad. The two eyelet quarters and the collar are neatly executed, and most critically of all there’s a pleasantly short vamp that makes them feel a bit more modern and dodge the pretentious connotation that boat shoes sometimes pick up. They’re built in Italy using a hand-sewn moccasin construction with a rubber camp sole. Check out the other colors here.
Rancourt Blue Isle Venetian in Black Shell Cordovan: $738
Making a handsewn in shell cordovan is tough: it’s a leather that’s dense, not very stretchy, and apt to tear if worked too aggressively. But Rancourt has been expanding their shell options over the last year, as well of the consistency of the hand-sewing, and these new Blue Isles look really clean.
Brogue x Alden 1940 Service Shoes in Brown Calf: $720
Brogue just followed up their black 1940s from a few weeks ago with this Brown calf version. On the surface these are just a solid plain toe derby on the 379x last, but it’s actually pretty rare that brands (or retailers) run their takes on Navy service shoes in anything but black—the military associations just run too deep. Built with a 260˚ flat welt on double oiled-leather outsoles.
Brogue x Alden Chiba U-Tip Boot: $719
Brogue’s Chiba makeup is also built on the 379x “military” last, which on a more argumentative day I might put forward (controversially) as Alden’s best. They’re constructed with a 270˚ storm welt on commando half soles with uppers in Snuff Suede.
John Lofgren Donkey Puncher in Cognac Veg-tan: $1,055
Brooklyn clothing just re-upped on two of their staple leathers for Lofgren’s Donkey Puncher lace-to-toe: cognac veg-tan from Badalassi…
John Lofgren Donkey Puncher Boots in Natural Chromexcel Roughout: $1,055
…and roughout Natural Chromexcel. The Donkey Puncher uses Vibram V-bar half soles and a 270˚ storm welt, and comes equipped with one of the more serious bump toes out there.
John Lofgren Sahara Boots in Mustard Suede: $760
Brooklyn is also stocking the Sahara—basically a souped up desert boot with some extra altitude. Like Lofgren’s regular height desert boots, the Sahara uses natural crepe outsoles and a leather midsole, held to the upper by a 360˚ stitchdown construction.
Cheaney Corinthian in Black Waxy Commander: $510
The 12508 last exemplifies a lot of what’s common to our favorite Northampton lasts: it’s quite rounded and reasonably wide without feeling bulky, with a very solid bump toe. Otherwise, they’re blacked out Chelseas with a 360˚ storm welt and a little variation in texture that comes from the matte finish of the Waxy commander and the white contrast stitching on the upper. The outsoles are Dainite.
Thursday Boots Warehouse Sale
Thursday is moving warehouses, a background logistical detail that’s relevant to you because they’ve marked down a mess of old stock. Just about everything is under $200 (check out the burnt ginger suede on these Captains) , and a lot of it is even cheaper (looking to dip your toes into cowboy boots?). There are a mess of discounted jackets and sneakers as well. No need to go out and buy something just because there’s a sale, but if you’ve been looking…