Roadtripping to Red Wing
Some days, a break from routine is just what the doctor ordered. Yesterday was one such day. Since I had a day off, my dad called me up and asked if I’d like to hit the Red Wing factory sale with him. Being the boot lover I am, I jumped at the chance.
My love for Red Wing boots goes back three years when I dreamed of buying a pair as a broke college student. Thanks to some saving and frugality, I bought a pair of Iron Rangers six months later. Classic styles like the Iron Ranger and Beckman were all the rage in 2013, which was the tail end of fashion's obsession with the lumberjack look. Trends be damned, I still wear my Iron Rangers three to four times per week and after two-and-a-half years, a resoling and a healthy dose of patina, they’re going stronger than ever.
The factory sale is quite the spectacle. We arrived just after doors opened at 9 AM, but hoards of Red Wing devotees packed the building during the sale's opening seconds. The crowd was a mad stampede of boot fans, where farmers, bikers, businessmen and all the young dudes snapped up as many pairs of Red Wings as possible at fire-sale prices. When was the last time you saw a pair of Iron Rangers for $129.99? Only at the factory sale.
The hour-long wait in line was worth every minute, because I added a second pair of Red Wing boots to my shoe collection. Though dad struck out on finding a pair (none of the models he liked fit him well), my new Beckman last in the Cigar hue fulfills my longtime wish for a dressier boot. They’re the ideal foil to my black cherry Iron Rangers (which need a good shoe shine to return to their original hue), and complement the rest of my fall wardrobe and the leaves covering my sidewalk.
More than anything, the trip was good time spent with my father. His style was the first one that made an imprint on me, and I remember stealing a certain plaid shirts as a young child and wishing it were mine (my plaid love continues to this day). We talked about sports and the world and jammed out to Bruce Springsteen during the ride, appropriate considering the day centered around American made boots. And though we don't dress in a similar manner, it was a reminder that open eyes and ears for style and taste are passed down from generation to generation.