Every week a different FADER staff member will pick a clothing item or accessory that he or she has lately been spending a lot of time with—or would like to—and write a little love letter to it. We would’ve done a column on who we’re dating but that seemed a little bit much. This week Justin Thomas Kay writes about Abington by Timberland boots for him and Timberland Boot Company for her.
So last October I moved in with my lady. This was easily the best thing that has happened to me in recent history (the relationship, not the apartment, although the apartment is pretty great too). But expectedly moving into a studio apartment, no matter how rad the everything else is, presents a series of difficult transitional moves. Mainly, how the hell do you condense the lives of 2 people who have been in New York City for the better part of a decade into 500 square feet? There is just so much opportunity to buy stuff in this city that it took a lot of letting go of things to make this work. That great jacket you actually haven't worn in 3 years? GONE. That nice sketchbook you got for your birthday 5 years ago that is still blank but was probably 40 dollars? GONE. And so on and so forth. But these shoes happened to find their way recently into our 500 square feet (of which they probably account now for about a solid 2-3% of available floor space) and without a doubt were a welcome addition, alongside the new couch and bookshelf that we got custom-built into the space, fulfilling a life-long dream to have a floor to ceiling pseudo library in my living space. All these things are now part of our day to do day life and are, for better or worse, constantly in our faces. When you are a designer like myself (and definitely much to Julia's dismay occasionally) that sort of constant exposure to your belongings demands them to be damn good looking, well constructed and always have to serve a specific function - which these surely fit that bill easily. Rugged enough to withstand the fussy spring elements and light enough to wear in the inevitably higher temperatures, these wont be leaving our home or wardrobes any time soon.
Best of all, they look pretty great in pairs, no?