It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Oak Street Bootmakers. I have talked about their loafers at length (Natural and Navy). The loafers have a great, sleek look, but they aren’t trendy. They are the type of loafers that you can wear for the next thirty years. It’s safe to say that you’ll get tired of them before they will get tired of you. For me, the Oak Street Bootmakers beef roll loafers fit perfectly. Out of the box, they were like the perfect sport coat or pair of jeans, and have become even better after some wear. They have essentially become my go-to loafers.
Tangent: I’m not a boat shoe guy. At all. Generally speaking, I don’t dislike them, they just don’t work on me. I’m not going to make fun of anyone who is wearing them (unless they are dressed like a scotch ad), but I feel like they make me look like an idiot. That said, I have to look for casual leather alternatives. I have plenty of driving mocs, but for the most part, they don’t offer support needed for all-day wear (i.e. tailgating, etc.). I have been looking at camp mocs for some time, but no option has presented itself as the answer – mostly in terms of fit. As I mentioned above, I’m picky…and when spending good money on a pair of shoes, you should be too.
On to the ‘picky’ comment: by picky, I mean that a $150+ pair of shoes needs to have a few specifics. For me, I liked a lot of the camp mocs I tried on, but the leather was so dark, I didn’t want to wear them with shorts…and repeat after me: leather gets darker as it breaks in. Since I had so much luck with the Oak Street natural beef roll loafers, I reached out to George and Tony to see if they could make a pair of their camp mocs in natural chromexcel for me.
Their answer: YES. Who’s a happy camper?: ME
Feast your eyes:
The fit is spot on, as with the beef roll loafers. From a sizing perspective, I wear a 9 in the beef rolls, and went with a 9 in the camp mocs. The camp mocs were just a hair narrower than the beef rolls, but after one wear, they are perfect. Nothing to ring the alarm about. They look great; the leather is the perfect color and doesn’t present a huge contrast vs you ankles. I am really looking forward to the patina growing on these bad boys. That means I need to wear them…done and done.
They need to make these available to the public. Any word on whether they would be willing to custom make these for others? I would pull the trigger on them today. Very nice!
Looking sharp. I was considering the LL Bean camp mocs myself, but these look much nicer. Are these strictly worn with shorts? How do these pair with dark jeans, being a lighter color? Thanks, and congrats on the wedding.
My bean camp mocs have lasted me a long time (they are very worn but i still think they look good). Perfect with 501 STFs 💪🏻
Yup, I got a pair in Navy. Really like the contrast stiching and wear them far more often than my loafers due to the more comfortable camp sole
I have a pair in the dark brown that I got a few months back. They work great with anything from shorts to a blazer and jeans for a nice dinner. They wear great and the extra money buys quality that isn’t found in the L.L Bean version or a Sperry topsider.
Need your advice Jay.
Oak Street navy pennies or the Italian navy pennies at Sid’s?
These are flat out bad ass. I want a pair – I NEED a pair . . . can you convince Oak Street to make these for the masses?
If not, will they custom make them for regular folks?
These are flat out awesome! I want a pair – I NEED a pair! Can you convince Oak Street to make these for the masses? Or will they make these for regular folks?