My Collection: Rogue Mid-Calf Boots

Two kinds of eBay auctions stand out in my mind long after the bidding has closed: the ones where I overpaid for something, and the ones where I walk away feeling as if I stole it.  And eBay auctions can be a funny thing.  I've seen ones for mediocre items spiral wildly out of control (a hint for the ladies: if you have an average pair of worn shoes to sell and want to some bidding action, don't be afraid to be descriptive with some well-planned fibbing, like saying you're a sorority girl and your pumps have spent the year being passed from sister to sister as they wear them to bars and have beer spilled on them), and I've seen some fantastic items sold for a lot less than the seller deserved.  These dark brown size 10 Rogue boots were one half of a Buy It Now auction where I walked away with two pairs of trashed and abused boots for a paltry $10.  It was probably the best purchase I ever made in regard to this hobby.

You'll have to excuse the background scenery.  Finding a place in the house in which to photograph boots in all their vertical glory proved to be insanely challenging, and that was after I had to come up with a way to convince the shafts to stand upright without holding them myself.  In a perfect world I would have a few mannequins (or at least their feet) for situations such as these, but we all know it's not a perfect world, right?

These boots seem to be perfectly suited for everyday use.  I'm no expert when it comes to fashion but I can imagine these would work well with most everything in the closet (well, except for maybe a bridesmaid dress or ballroom gown) and the low, blocky heel makes them a "go anywhere, do anything" option.

On the outer sides is a large ornamental bow... quite adorable...

On the inner sides, a full-length zipper.

The leather (or whatever the material happens to be- I can't be sure because half the time I can't tell real leather from the synthetic stuff, and there was nothing on the boots indicating the material) is perfectly aged.  From a distance, is looks wrinkled and soft from years of use, and only when you get in for a closer look do some of the battle scars make themselves obvious.  The tips of the toe boxes are looking particularly rough.

The same goes for the shafts, where the top layer is peeling away.  I love shoes with this kind of character!

I wish I could have seen these boots in action.  By flexing them, it's easy to see how the leather folded with the foot.  I found that stuffing the foot area of the boots with a few paper towels helps to better simulate the presence of actual feet.

The hard life these boots lived is best appreciated by looking at the parts that would rarely be seen.  The outsoles actually held up quite well, although I'm not surprised given the fact that these are heavy, substantial-feeling pieces that feel as though they're designed to survive lots and lots of use.

The heels dealth with the majority of the trashing and abuse, where the top pieces are an ancient memory.  At first I was suspicious of this being intentional, as I've purchased shoes in the past where the heels were obviously worn down with something mechanical like a sander, but the way the leather is frayed and the plastic structure breaking apart leads me to believe this is a pair of boots that were worn hard for a long time.  Part of me is surprised the owner didn't replace the top pieces since everything else is very worn but still in good shape (if that makes some kind of sense), but a greater part of me is happy they decided to part with them.  One of my favorites in my collection, although I love the other pair even more... and you'll be seeing them soon, I promise.