 G'day guys. How are you going? Welcome to Bootlossophy. My name is Tech. I'm filming on Budget Country in Perth, Western Australia and I acknowledge the traditional custodians of this ancient land. I'm taking a sidestep today, not a review, but I'm choosing my five best business casual boots to go to the office or to take a meeting in. Let's go. Now let me set up the premise of what I'm recording today. I'm going through my boots to select the five that I think are my best business casual boots. There may be others out there but I'm only limiting my selection to boots within my collection so that I can be fair in assessing not only their looks but also how they wear because you need to be comfy if you're at the office all day or if you're negotiating a tough deal. You don't want to think about how your toes pinch or how your arches ache just as you're about to seal the deal right? So let me start by pointing out my definition of business casual and how in my mind it differs from smart casual because many people conflate the two. Now I want to say that my business life for most of my career has been as a partner in an accounting firm and then in the latter half as a management consultant working with Aboriginal groups in the far north. So my business dress sense if you like starts very conservatively suit and tie and evolve to suit and no tie and currently involves being in neat jeans when I travel to the Aboriginal communities and to small towns in northern Australia. Today I'm not considering what I wear when I travel to the north because I consider that as smart casual or even relaxed casual. There are grades of casual that I go down. I'm only considering what I wear in the office when I'm not alone or when I'm expecting visitors or when I have to go to meetings out of the office. In those situations I may still sometimes wear a suit without a tie but on most occasions I would wear what I consider to be business casual. But let me start with my definition of smart casual so that I can then distinguish business casual. To me smart casual is what you might wear to a social occasion where you maybe can't be too relaxed not lounging by the pool at a barbecue for example but maybe you're at a dinner party at friends. Perhaps it's for a date night when you want to make an effort or something where you do want to make an effort but it's still relatively informal. By my definition then smart casual includes unripped and unfaded jeans more like a dark or mid-wash maybe loose flannels or linen trousers neat five pocket pants and chinos. Shirt wise relax linen or light cotton open necked solid or with patterns maybe polo shirts or very very neat t-shirts no big logos please. If it's cool chunky jumpers or pattern jumpers either crew or v-necked or even quarter zip collars. You can wear a sports coat like tweeds or checks or you can wear clean undistressed bomber jackets and textiles or leather but no chore coats or work overshoots. On the other hand to me business casual is a smart and professional dress code with some casual elements so clean clothes to start with and if they need pressing yes they should be pressed. The business casual ensemble definitely includes a blazer or more formal sports coats nothing too tweedy or too patterned in fact preferably solid colored. I would include smart wool pants or chinos of a variety of more conservative colors black gray navy or earth-toned like browns and khakis. Definitely a tucked-in shirt colored of course but it can be a dressy button up or an Oxford cloth button down again in professional conservative colors like whites blues pale pink pale green or dressy types of checks or stripes. If it's cool you might wear a v-necked solid-colored jumper under the blazer. If you're wearing all of that and if you're a boot man rather than a shoe or loafer man then what you have on your feet must match. So what I'd look for is something on a sleek last not too many seams and stitches or too contrasting two-tone colors. To match the tones of the clothing I've described I think browns and blacks rather than naturals or orangey tans although those are my favorite type of boots overall. You also want them to be comfortable to walk the corridors of power so they must fit well and still look dressy rather than have big white duck feet. While showing off your personality and it is okay to wear something people will notice but at the same time you want to be comfortable walking into a boardroom to impress so you don't want something that just screams out look at me look at me. Of course thick commander's soles or half soles are out. Roughouts most suede and bulbous toes are definitely out. All that means that ruled out from my business casual list are some of my favorites whites MP boots a little too obviously military service boot and the leathers are rugged rather than dressy. No Truman boots to bulbous and work booty even though I love them no rugged leather parkhursts because most of my favorite parkhursts are green or natural veg tans that are just a little too bright to go under smart casual gear. All that being said let's go my top five best business casual boots in reverse order and starting at number five is the parkhurst allen boots in colorate Dublin. Yeah I know you thought I ruled out parkhurst right well I ruled out some of my parkhursts if they were too orangey tan or in natural leathers. I think those are either too bright or the patina evolution in netties will start to become way too informal and a bit too distressed. These however are a darker veg tan in Halloween's beautiful colorate until they really patina in this slightly shiny state they still look pretty dressy parkhurst is a small batch manufacturer out of upstate new york and they produce boots in very innovative leathers. This one is Dublin from the famous Halloween tannery in chicago. Dublin is a vegetable tan leather and part of a suite of leathers starting from Essex and going toward Derby or Derby a progression of tanning steps. Dublin is in the middle of that progression with the addition of waxes and oils on this full grain hide. It's a smooth full grain leather so if you look closely it will show natural textures of the animal skin and eventually will show variations in color and shade as it wears and patinas like all veg tan leathers will. It is a solid boot in keeping with parkhurst's more rugged vibe but as I said while it's still looking reasonably shiny the rich burgundy purplish red of the colorate dyes makes this appropriate for business casual. If you take my list of what clothing I consider to be business casual and the colors they should be in this colorate is totally versatile enough to go with anything on that list. The wheeled stained natural welt sets off the burgundy color and while conservative still allows you to show a little personality. The hardware is dark so it doesn't shout out and the shape of the toe box is sleek in profile while rounded to give you a comfortable fit. The day night sole is grippy in pretty much all business situations low profile and the interesting stud pattern means you can celebrate your business dealings at the end of the day by showing them off when you put your feet up on the desk. The last and sole construction gives you a lot of comfort underfoot for a long day at the office. So that's number five the parkhurst allen and colorate doublin. Now moving on to number four it's this yes this the Thursday captain again you might be surprised at this I mean I ruled out my favorite service boot the MPs from whites the captains are service boots true but this goes to show that while the design may look or being inclined towards outdoorsy and rugged that doesn't necessarily rule them out as business casual boots if like the previous pair the letters can tone down that ruggedness. Thursday boot company started in 2014 and make a big range of boots sole direct to consumer and most for below 200 US dollars. You don't get necessarily the most robust boots but to me they are good quality for that price. The Thursday captain was my first heritage style good you voted boot and I've already said in another video up here that I'm a huge fan of Thursdays. The captain is a service boot but the design has been really sleek down and make dressy and especially in this Thursday chrome leather is quite in the business casual mode if you pair them with the right clothes. They're very versatile because due to the design of that sleek cap toe you can most definitely wear them with smart casual or even more rugged type casual gear as well as business casual. Thursday chrome is their version of Horween's famous chrome excel a combination tan leather that's pumped full of oils and waxes in the tannage. This isn't as waxy and oily as chrome excel but it's a pretty good substitute. It does scuff easily but it is a pull-up leather which means you can mostly rub the scuff and the waxes and oils in the leather will move around and almost self repair the scuffs. The leather takes a really good shine after you condition them with Venetian shoe cream say you can polish them up with a cream polish in brown or burgundy because these while brown do have a burgundy undertone. This color will go well with gray black or brown and khaki in your pants. Again despite the service boot design the welt and hardware is dark allows the boot to slide back under your smart casual clothing. The captain is fully lined and the soft leather and soft glove lining makes for a very supple feel when they're on your feet. The sole construction it is good you're weltered is based on the proprietary version of day night the same sunken studs in a relatively low profile and it has a cork filling and a poron midsole it's really comfortable. Whenever I put these on I feel like I'm walking around in sneakers under my feet. The comfort is fantastic when you're walking on hardwood floors or carpeted office and I have worn these while standing all day heading up a seminar so that's my number four the Thursday captain in brown Thursday chrome. As for number three that's the RM Williams comfort craftsman in chestnut yearling. I'm getting pretty good at these special effects huh? Okay so number three best business casual boot for me is this Chelsea. RM Williams is of course an Australian bootmaker started in 1932 by Mr. Reginald Murray Williams. Today they are a luxury brand once owned by Louis Vuitton but now back in private Australian ownership and while they make lace-up boots they specialize in Chelsea boots and have a wide range of models and makeups in each model all of them still made in their birthplace of South Australia. Chelsea boots while modern looking were actually first designed in Queen Victoria's days. The reason they look so hip is of course because they were made popular during the 1960s by pop groups like the Beatles and they've been with us ever since. This model is their comfort craftsman distinguished by the comfort sole construction on a proprietary rubber sole and with comfort insoles and the craftsman design of the slim chisel toe. The leather is yearling leather from a less than one year old calf and is super soft and supple. It's a whole cut boot the whole upper is made from one piece of leather with only one seam running up the back. This makes the shape of his boot extremely dressy even though they are or were designed as work boots and they're still worn as work boots on Aussie stockyards. Still brush them up and they look great under a suit never mind business casual attire. Actually I have a pair of black craftsman on a leather sole that I wear with a suit. For this business casual video I chose a chestnut because I think the black is a little too severe for the casual part of business casual and it's certainly more versatile to go with more colors in the business casual outfitting. The leather takes a shine beautifully and if you want as I have done on the black pair you can even mirror shine the toes and heels to give it a really well polished and elegant look. I've had these for a lot of years and they've been everywhere with me so you can see that they crease really well quite subtle creasing and no big folds. In Australia you can wear these to any business meeting without comment but I'm sure anywhere else the comments you get will be complimentary. The fit is outstanding if you get the right size. Go see my video up here about the black craftsman for a discussion on sizing. You want Chelsea boots to hug you in the heel, waist and above all in the instep and ankle. Too loose and you run the risk of losing your boots when you're walking in a hurry. Too tight and you have problems putting them on and taking them off. The design of RM Williams Chelsea's are perfect for that fit. On the low profile but comfortable rubber sole the grip is great so no embarrassing slips as you enter the marble floors of your client's office. They are super comfortable to stand around in all day and your feet will feel great at the end of long, long days. That's the number three best business casual boot in my collection. The RM Williams comfort craftsman in Chestnut Yearning. Okay let's move on to number two. My number two best business casual boot is the the Alden 403 Indy Mocteau boot in Brown Chrome XL. Alden is an old and famously revered shoe manufacturer from New England in the United States. They were founded in 1884 by Charles Alden and they remain a family-owned company to this day and all of their shoes and boots are still made in Massachusetts. This boot or its cousin the 405 was made famous because Harrison Ford wore it in all of his Indiana Jones movies and it's now actually called the Indy boot. It's a mock mocteau design. The front of the boot has this U-shaped stitching mimicking the moccasin shoe construction of American First Nations shoes but it's not a real mocteau in that the stitching doesn't sew two pieces of leather together. It's just a decorative stitch edging the vent. This one the 403 Indy is made of Horween's Chrome XL. Chrome XL I spoke about earlier is the famous combination tan leather meaning it's tan using both chrome tanning and veg tanning processes to give it sturdiness as well as making it supple. It's also put through at the end of the tanning process a tumble in a very hot barrel of waxes and oils to infuse the leather with all that delicious waxy stuff. Because of that it's known as pull-up leather meaning that if you apply some pressure you can see the oils and waxes inside the leather moving around. Again because of all that wax and oil inside it's a self-repairing leather. The scuffs you get can easily be massaged and the waxes and oils will fill the gaps again. This brown chrome excel is a beautiful leather for business casual. It's soft and supple, it's lined and so feel really comfy on your feet. It has the right amount of shine to show some formality but also has enough patina and glow to have some casual overtones. The design of this mocteau is sleek in profile and a slightly almond shaped toe makes it look dressy. The mocteau stitching gives it character but it doesn't shout out like a work boot with a mocteau stitch. Goodyear weltered three quarters of the way around. It sits on a cork midsole and a flat nitrile cork sole. Nitrile cork is a rubber compound mixed with grains of cork. This gives it a dressy look while being very comfortable to walk and stand in. Some people say that it doesn't grip as well as a studded sole but if you're walking in an urban environment and indoors particularly on office carpet it's pretty good. Comfort is the number one factor in these boots. Alden has a history of making orthopedic shoes and they have brought this technology into this last and construction. The heel and waist hugs your feet while the wide toe box gives your toes room to move. The arch support is phenomenal built up underneath and the way the uppers curve in on the arch just holds you perfectly. Definitely the boot to wear when you're busily pacing the office corridors or jumping up and down in a meeting. One of the downsides might be the price. These sell for over 600 US dollars so buying these may depend on your salary or finding a good slightly used pair on eBay or saving up because they are worth it. Okay so that's number two. So now drum roll please let's move on to the number one best business casual boot in my collection and that would be these the Ellen Edmonds Higgins Mill also in brown chrome excel. Now a bit of honesty these are not my favorite boots in my collection. I have many others I'm more attracted to by either color or design. I tend to love my more rugged boots like Truman or Whites or the smaller and more personal bootmakers like Parkhurst and Grant Stone. These are a little plain so why have I chosen these as my number one business casual boot precisely because it's quite a standard boot. It doesn't scream out in any way and it is very versatile in design and color so you can wear it with absolutely every business casual combination you'd like to think of and even with a suit with or without a tie. It is definitely dressy enough in my opinion to go under a suit worn with a tie. It's a six inch service boot pattern this one in a low profile plain toe no toe cap which makes it immediately look more formal. The brown chrome excel is the same as using the Alden 403 so that gives you all of the same comfort and suppleness. It's also fully leather lined and it's comfortable on your feet. While the design is plain if you look carefully there are design elements like this stitch along the side that gives this boot some differences compared to say the plain toe Thursday president. This while a heritage design is not an old design the Higgins Mill only arrived in the Ellen Edmonds catalogs in 2016 to fill their service boot category. Nevertheless it has become a bit of a classic boot in the sense that to fill in a collection of heritage boots or boots from heritage bootmakers you really should get one to fill that gap. And of course Ellen Edmonds is a heritage shoe and boot manufacturer. Ellen Edmonds was founded in 1922 and originally called the Ellen Spiegel shoe company. Then in 1946 became Ellen Edmonds. During World War II they made boots for the US Army and Navy and the story goes that this gained them a huge loyalty amongst returning troops and helped them to grow after the war years. They're now owned by New York Stock Exchange listed Calaris Corporation that's worth over $1 billion today. They still make moderate to high-end shoes and boots and do have some of the hands-own elements made in the Dominican Republic before returning them to their US factories to finish off. So technically they are still made in the US. QC has been said to be iffy in recent years with questionable leather selection during clicking but I think these are okay. They're comfortable because they do use some foam or poron amongst the usual cork and leather mid-soles and in-soles and while there is some debate whether or not the Higgins Mill has a shank I think these do. The arch support is pretty good. They also sit on the ubiquitous day-night sole from England and invent it in 1910. It's really seen on many boots because of the grip combined with the relatively slim profile making these boots look dressy from the side. Combining the rubber with cork and leather and foam filling this is another comfy boot with pretty good arch support to stand and walk around on hard surfaces and carpet floors. So despite not being on my overall favorites list I'm calling these Ellen Edmonds Higgins Mill boots my number one best business casual boots but before I finish I want to squeeze in an honorable mention and that would be these. Oops I mean these. Grant Stone's diesel boot in Black Chrome XL on top of a leather sole. I didn't include these in my top five by a hair's breadth. I think they could just as easily have been included at number five and maybe even this at number one depending on which way the wind was blowing. These are really beautiful well-made sturdy boots. I honestly don't have much of a rationale of leaving them out except that this particular makeup has this contrasting natural welt which arguably is too contrasting to make for a quiet conservative business casual boot and this Black Chrome XL is not struck through with a dye and will eventually show a t-core effect where the lighter brown underneath will start to show through. These are not very convincing reasons to leave them out so let's give them an honorable mention and take a look. Often when you talk about dressy shoes you will almost certainly include leather sold shoes. So these qualify almost immediately. They stand on a double leather sole a little hard to break in at first as you walk to flex the sole just where your own feet bend but eventually they'll break in and you'll be rewarded with the most flexible moldable pair of soles under your feet. The double leather is tough and feels tough. These feel like boots not dress shoes. On top there are six inch plain-toe service boot design. If you thought the Ellen Edmonds Higgins Mills were plain these are plain. Minimal pieces of leather make a very elegant plainness. The Black Chrome XL is reinforcing in its plainness except that the natural welt frames the black very attractively in my opinion especially looking from the top down. I guess this is where you might stress that it's a little loud under dressy clothes. If you do Grant Stone make exactly the same boot but with a black rubber day night like studded sole and they dye the welt black that might be better for you as a former boot. The Chrome XL used here is thick and it combines with a soft but thick leather lining so the whole feel is one that's more of sturdiness especially with that double leather sole but they're not uncomfortable. In fact Grant Stone's Leo last is one of the most comfortable last for my feet. It's snug in the heel and waist opens up to give the ball of your feet room before rounding off at the toe without pinching or cutting off your toes. Sitting on a leather insole a cork filler and a leather midsole and then the leather outsole itself these will definitely feel stiff at first but when you break them in and your feet compress into the leather and cork these will take on the shape of your feet as if a piece of leather had been specially carved to the shape of your feet absolutely comfortable. The leather sole it is a little slippery even on carpet so you need to tread carefully if you don't want to end up on your bottom while you're presenting your powerpoint presentation. These are one of the sturdier boots at the top of my favorites list I mentioned earlier so I'm glad I was able to squeeze them in under an honorable mention the Grant Stone diesel boots and black chrome XL on a leather sole. So there you have it my five best business casual boots in my collection. There you go I hope you like my little presentation if you like this video please help me out by clicking on the like button and if you're already subscribed do so anyway and if you're not then why don't you click on subscribe too because I have a load more boot reviews a boot and brand comparisons and boot unboxings to bring to you. If you subscribe YouTube will notify you when I upload and you won't miss a thing. So until then take care and see you soon.