Menswear's Red-Headed Stepchild

An Ode to The Gumshoe

Good Morning friends, I’m coming to you live from Cape Cod after a Memorial Day Weekend filled with tumultuous weather. We’re coming off the back of a Nor’Easter up here, marking perhaps the coldest MDW that I can remember. Luckily, a spur-of-the-moment purchase (really a replacement of a lost member of the FC footwear family) from last weekend has helped keep me dry while scoring some style points with the other washashores on the Cape this weekend.

Erm any ball knowers?

Ah the Bean Boot — the pinnacle of Americana. The Bean boot stands amongst giants like the Levi’s 501s, the Carhartt Detroit, the Brooks Brothers oxford, that red buffalo-check flannel, and the Polo Ralph Lauren uh, polo shirt (blah blah blah it’s Lacoste but everyone still thinks of Polo).

Along with all of the items above, the Bean boot was borne out of function: Originally (and still) a duck hunting boot, the giant goofy rubber sole helped keep the feet of hunters dry and their approaches silent while traipsing through the marshes of New England.

L. L. in the flesh

As was common among the bourgeoise in early 1900s America, items used for specific sportswear niches (think oxfords, polos, boat shoes) began to make their way into the regular wardrobes of those that participated in them. Leon Leonwood Bean’s “Maine Hunting Shoe“ was no exception here — it is fantastic for handling the wet, muddy conditions that accompany the New England edge seasons.

While the boots themselves were an ~instant success, they exploded in popularity in the 80s, when The Official Preppy Handbook referred to them as the “second most important shoe after weejuns,“ thus completing the Bean boot’s transformation from functional apparel to a fashion statement.

A quick tribute to my old (and forever lost) bean mocs

Since then, there have been numerous takes on the Bean boot — crazy high leather uppers, low uppers, canvas construction, and even some guest appearances from designers like Todd Snyder putting their own spin on one of the most classic pieces of American footwear.

L. L. Bean is also committed to keeping their manufacturing of their signature footwear in the USA. While prices have risen a little over the years, they’re still very reasonable for a MiUSA boot. They’re also resoleable, which Bean handles for an also very reasonable $49.

That brings us to the topic of today’s newsletter, the L. L. Bean Gumshoe.

The gumshoe is a low-cut variation of the bean boot, with a ~2-inch upper and a padded collar: