Penelope Chilvers vs Fairfax and Favour vs something else?

[WandsOut]

Anyone know the differences or have another brand to recommend? Looking for a pair of water resistant boots in that tassel style that will last a decade 😂

Penelope Chilvers all the way - love them although they do need a bit of breaking in if you have really high arches.

Penelope Chilvers - I also love that they do a tall option on the long boots so I can have boots that come up to my knees and go round my 'sporting' calves. Mine are fantastic quality.
For wet weather I have fleece lined Ariat boots which are super comfortable and very waterproof

Oh give your head a shake.

F+F are now for wannabes who want the country "look" , who may never have stepped foot in the countryside and are happy to be ripped off. Does that make it more palatable?

I have some early pieces from them before they went mass market and tacky. I can afford them thanks, I just choose not spend my money on overpriced cheap shit just to get a certain "look"

I don't have the boots (actually I've got a second hand pair on the way), but I bought my first pair of Penelope Chilvers sandals this year and it's like walking on a cloud.

Nope, still judgy and narrow minded. And you are a year late with your comeback.

I love my F&F explorers, find them really comfy etc etc but for every day I wear dubarry Galway boots which I wear until they fall apart and/or the soles have worn smooth. I have wellies too but they only get worn on the very worst days. I've no experience of Penelope Chilvers boots though, sorry. I use Renapur on all of them when they need smartening up.

And I care about your opinion why? I don't. I only just got the notification 🙄

If you don’t care for my opinion, don’t ask for it? You asked me if that was more palatable, remember! 😂

@WandsOutHonestly, these are not boots for every day! I go to Cheltenham races and see them with jeans and trousers tucked in all the time. They aren’t every day boots. You sit in a grandstand or bar and don’t get wet! Few people spend the money these are and muck out in them. A good pair of yard boots fits that bill.

I love my PC ones, I have also had Really Wild Spanish boots which are lovely but unfortunately started to leak after about 15 years so certainly got my monies worth out of them.

The problem is that things that start off as high quality, high functionality become a class signifier and then aspirational for people who can afford them but don't need the functionality. Then, because they become fashionable they need to be produced in higher quantities, they are imitated and overall quality starts to degrade, liding their original functionality. . Then the original customers fall out of love with them and move on to another product that isn't being copied in the colour supplements or used by well-off dog walkers or aspirational school-run mums.

I've seen the same thing with Barbour, Hunter, Dubarry and I worry about Schoffel. I think F&F are probably on the same trajectory (hence 'country chav') and PC will be at risk too. I wonder if it's particularly prevalent when small companies are bought out by big ones that don't share the same brand heritage.