Johnny Depp's Boots

[drummer]

There's some silliness in the news stories this morning about People magazine designating the actor Johnny Depp as "the sexiest man alive" for 2009.

I have long admired Depp as an actor, and delighted in his physical beauty, would certainly list him as one of the males I've found especially appealling sexually, among performers I've seen, and, as we've discussed here at the Footbuddies forum quite often, he has very beautiful feet and soles which we rarely get to see in the movies (Crybaby is probably the best film for viewing Depp's naked feet).

However, in all this silly stuff, one remark caught my eye, on this page:

At 46, the father of two [is] . . . as one-of-a-kind as his beloved 15-year-old boots and as smoldering as his favorite Cuban cigars.

What was that about his boots?!

I already want a sniff inside them!

[akeel]

I think a pair of 15 year old boots is pretty unhygenic, but that's my personal opinion and don't mean to rain on your parade ... just wanted to add that I remember an interview he did years ago in which he said the best gift anyone could give him was socks, and finished by saying 'There's nothing like a good clean pair of socks.' Now I know why he said that, considering his boots must have been going on 8 or 9 at the time.

[drummer]

Isn't that funny? I was just thinking the other day how socks, really good socks, are actually very hard to find, and would make a good present!

I was struggling into some ordinary cotton socks, at the time, and thinking how hard I always find it to find socks big enough.

And years and years ago, I happened to buy two pairs of what turned out to be the best socks I ever owned, so what happens? As soon as I try to buy more of the same, I discover that the manufacturer stopped making them, and I haven't been able to find anything quite like them since. I keep darning holes in the two original ones, so that I don't have to give them up, and although I hate feeling like an old grandma in a rocking chair, darning socks, I just cannot part with those comfortable, warm socks I like so much.

I suppose, if Mr. Depp has a good shoe-repairman, there's no reason one cannot keep boots that long, and I'm not sure why you think it's so terribly unclean--I doubt that an artist of his accomplishment would lead any but the most fastidiously clean lives.

I imagine they must be extremely comfortable boots, too, since by this time, they must have stretched to fit his feet exactly. Anyway, I'd like to know more about these boots and why he holds onto them.

[ftslave67]

I don't see anything unhygienic about having a pair of boots for 15 years, unless maybe you wear them EVERY day.

[drummer]

If you have more than one pair of shoes, you can considerably lengthen their life by wearing one pair one day, and a different pair the next day. The airing between wearings helps to prevent perspiration from rotting the leather. As for the shoes not in use, many persons find it beneficial to put a form or shoe tree in them. This prevents curling and wrinkling. However, the type of form used should not cut off the free circulation of air and thus prevent the shoe from airing properly.

(From this page)

I remember reading the phrase "it's the airings between wearings that..." in one of the etiquette books when I was a kid, maybe Vanderbilt's book. Oh, I used to be halfway presentable, you know.

Although I must say, in recent years, I've become quite devoted to "deck shoes" or "topsiders," not only because, with my hard-to-fit big feet, I find it almost impossible to find shoes wide enough to be comfortable without going to sizes that are too big for me, but also because I have discovered that they are astoundingly durable footwear, outlasting many of the other shoes I've owned.

The pair I shall slip into in a half-hour to go out was inaugurated in March of 2007, for instance, and I've worn them every day since, both with and without socks, depending on the weather. The pair they replaced had been in service at least two years, probably almost three, and finally needed to retire because the seam around the sole gave out, finally.

Unfortunately, the leather "laces" of such shoes don't hold up quite as well, and although Sperry kindly replaces them for free (I hope they still do this), they're almost impossible to thread properly (if anybody knows how to thread laces back into them and can demonstrate, with photos, I will prostrate myself and kiss and lick your feet in gratitude!). The people at Sperry told me they have a special tool to do this, but apparently, there's no way for us mortals to buy such a tool, and even if there were, it would be rather expensive. I think what's needed would be a special sort of "needle" which clipped onto the end of the leather thong, and was long enough to get from eyelet to eyelet around the ankle without becoming thicker than the thong itself. (Sorry, that's hard to verbalize.)

Anyway, I may be retiring these old topsiders at some point soon--unlike other footwear, new deck shoes are almost as comfortable as old ones--and when I do I'll offer 'em up here to anyone who wants to pay the postage: I've done that in the past with other footwear of mine that needs to be thrown out: I prefer to give old shoes a new life inspiring ejaculations from fetishists, rather than adding to garbage dumps, and never understood why more guys here on Footbuddies don't do that.

[sabuninja]

I don't see anything unhygienic about having a pair of boots for 15 years, unless maybe you wear them EVERY day.

I too agree with this comment. Think about vintage clothing stores, etc. The biggest "unappeal" is that the condition may be bad. But you can re-sole or mend shoes.

Drool: johnny depp!

[aso49red]

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