Made for walking

CEBU, Philippines - There are two words that you always have to live by: never do things half-baked, and love is in the details.

Inasmuch as these two phrases apply to much of life, it also teaches us a good deal in choosing the right kind of shoe not just for one season, but for many, many, many seasons to come. 

There is no denying that all of us blow our budgets for the full fashion experience. Of course, there are those who try to balance budget and style – a feat that's easier discussed than pulled off. We often take inspiration from fashion magazines to catch the styles that big time fashion houses have been highlighting season after season, and we try to raid departments stores and ukay-ukay for the exact same replica sans the mind blowing price that sometimes borders on the impractical. After all, for the insatiable stylista, the drive for austerity should never be a reason to look shabby. Never.

So we find ourselves resorting to fast fashion, oftentimes taking the easy way out with shoes that cap the season's style but aren't necessarily high on quality. Sometimes, we resort to that heavily embellished shoe from some run of the mill shoe company only to turn heads for all the wrong reasons.

This holiday season, we look into the investment piece that won't just last for November and December but one that will be with us until Armageddon. It's nothing overly embellished. It has the right amount of detail, it catches us off guard with superior workmanship that's apparent a mile away. It turns heads. It grabs attention. The right kind of attention. It is pricey but it is an investment, nonetheless.

We're talking about Camy and Afina boots from British cordwainer Mark Charles. And really, in the Queen City of South, there will probably be only less than a handful of you actually owning a pair of genuine Mark Charles. And no, that pair from Carbon doesn't count, baby.

What's fascinating about the Mark Charles boots is that every pair has been the labor of love of at least six craftsmen from the signature cross stitch at the back, to the buckles, to the straps, to the cut. This is not the kind of boot that's churned out from a machine. It's hand-made straight from the Mark Charles Boot Company. In roughly the same way that neatly tailored suit is brought to life, each of the craftsmen whip up everything from a pattern used to shape calf leather to sealing the boot's sheep skin lining to the custom-made brass buckles. 

Done almost entirely by hand, the very act of assembling the Mark Charles boot is an art in itself, requiring more than just a steady hand and heap of experience to perfectly finish this delicate experience.

More than the statement and the quality, surprisingly, the Mark Charles boot is extremely comfortable – an experience overlooked by many, many shoemakers and stylistas alike. Too comfortable for words, as attested by women who have donned a pair of Acne's Pistol Boots, it's enough to outlaw all other boots and footwear that are seriously synonymous with “torture”. 

The comfort that comes with every Mark Charles boot is because every boot's insole has been specially made from a double layer cushion latex foam giving extra cushion to every key pressure point of the foot. 

With only 500 pairs available, Mark Charles boots are shipped in a handmade wooden box that's complete with everything from horsehair wax brush to cleaning gloves and can be ordered online from MarkCharlesBoots.com.

Seriously, these boots are made for walking. (FREEMAN)