The Cardiff is a red-brown boot, deepened almost to burgundy at the toe and lifted across the ball of the foot and the outer shaft, where a fine natural grain catches the light in patches. It is not a flat colour and it is not meant to be. The elastic gussets are a dark brown that sits a shade or two below the leather, so the boot reads as one dark object from a distance and shows its shading only close to.
Underneath is what changes the boot's purpose. Instead of a slim leather sole, the Cardiff sits on a deep cleated unit in matching dark brown, squared off at the edge with a proper lug pattern. John White specify an XL Extralight commando sole, and make a point of how little it weighs: the tread reads as heavy and the boot is not. What it does add is height and grip, and that pulls the Cardiff away from the dress-Chelsea tradition towards something for a wet February pavement. A woven tab at the heel takes the strain of pulling it on, and there is a cushioned inner sole under the foot.
Wear it with denim, cord, moleskin or a heavy wool trouser. The cleated sole holds its own under a wide leg, where a slim-soled Chelsea boot looks stranded.
Sizes run UK 7 to 12 in whole sizes only. There are no laces to take up slack, so aim for a boot that is firm across the instep and needs a pull to get on. F is the standard fitting across John White's range. Designed in Northamptonshire, where the firm's 1938 Lime Street factory, by Sir Albert Richardson, still stands and is Grade II listed.
Care: Feed the leather with a brown cream every few weeks, and keep wax to the toe if you want the shading to stay uneven. Pick grit out of the lugs before it works into the sole edge, and stuff the shafts so the gussets do not collapse.
You can ask any question about this product.
Our specialists will answer you shortly!
The Cardiff is a red-brown boot, deepened almost to burgundy at the toe and lifted across the ball of the foot and the outer shaft, where a fine natural grain catches the light in patches. It is not a flat colour and it is not meant to be. The elastic gussets are a dark brown that sits a shade or two below the leather, so the boot reads as one dark object from a distance and shows its shading only close to.
Underneath is what changes the boot's purpose. Instead of a slim leather sole, the Cardiff sits on a deep cleated unit in matching dark brown, squared off at the edge with a proper lug pattern. John White specify an XL Extralight commando sole, and make a point of how little it weighs: the tread reads as heavy and the boot is not. What it does add is height and grip, and that pulls the Cardiff away from the dress-Chelsea tradition towards something for a wet February pavement. A woven tab at the heel takes the strain of pulling it on, and there is a cushioned inner sole under the foot.
Wear it with denim, cord, moleskin or a heavy wool trouser. The cleated sole holds its own under a wide leg, where a slim-soled Chelsea boot looks stranded.
Sizes run UK 7 to 12 in whole sizes only. There are no laces to take up slack, so aim for a boot that is firm across the instep and needs a pull to get on. F is the standard fitting across John White's range. Designed in Northamptonshire, where the firm's 1938 Lime Street factory, by Sir Albert Richardson, still stands and is Grade II listed.
Care: Feed the leather with a brown cream every few weeks, and keep wax to the toe if you want the shading to stay uneven. Pick grit out of the lugs before it works into the sole edge, and stuff the shafts so the gussets do not collapse.
You can ask any question about this product.
Our specialists will answer you shortly!
