Vintage Engineer Boots: HORSEHIDE LEATHER FOOTWEAR CONTEST

Contests showcasing the aging and wear of fine selvedge denim have been very popular lately and usually result in some truly awesome denim specimens. "Mikecch" of Melbourne, Australia and superfuture superjunkie has come up with a similar idea to the Roy x Cone jean contest for footwear that he hopes will expose a combination of fit pics, details, leather care, polish & conditioning tips & tricks, repairs and "what are your shoes doing today" stories from around the world.

So far he has come up with a pretty solid idea, but when the table is slapped this contest should materialize into something fun and interesting.

Link to SF thread for more information

Here is what mikecch has outlined for the contest:

- Footwear has to be some kind of Horsehide, whether it be shell, vegetable tanned strip, Front Quarter or re-tanned (e.g. CXL horsehide), etc.
- Each contestant can enter up to 3 pairs if they wish (to encourage rotation).
- Judging can be done by the forum or judges - what is looked for is not how badly you trash a pair of shoes, but how the leather and the shoes overall has changed time with honest wear.
- Start time will be early to mid-2012. This gives people time to acquire boot or shoes (as we know some MTO can take a long time).
- Footwear must be brand-new at the start of the contest (no slightly worn or NOS vintage).
- Contest length, after considering the evolution of the different cuts & tannage of horsehide, IMO should be 2 years.

The intent is to make this a low-stress contest, so there is no compulsion to have to buy boots or shoes from a particular source. There's no limit on the footwear style as long as it is Horsehide and contestants can update as frequently or as little as they’d like. Since 3 pairs are allowed for this contest, there will not be a need to stick to one pair of boots or shoes either and work requirements that usually make denim contests difficult won't be so much of an issue.

As an example, mikecch’s contest footwear combination will probably be:
* Shell boots for work
* Horsehide boots for weekend/work
* Horsehide boots/oxfords for after hours/weekends.

Here are just a few examples of authorized competition footwear:

The Real McCoy's Buco BA11010 Shell Cordovan Horshide Engineer Boots - $2,725.80