An ad from a mid-1980s L.L. Bean catalog.
It seems to me that the shoe came to be part of the trad essentials pantheon as it spread out of its home in New England--much like the Bass Weejun and the Oxford Cloth Button Down shirt--as staples of the prep school wardrobe.
Although Mr. Bean's original shoe was, at 16" tall, nearly knee high. Customers began asking for and ordering lower cut versions of the shoe.
This is from the Fall 1969 catalog, just a few years before I got my first pair. (For winter wear the Cold Proof Arched Innersole is highly recommended.)
Today there are at least 50 different models including moccasins, 6", 8", 10", 12", 16", slip on boots, thinsulate lined, shearling lined, tops in tan, brown, red or bison leather, waxed canvas... the list goes on and on.
There are, of course, two basic models: the Maine Hunting Shoe an the Bean Boot. I wear the Shoe because it's more trad(itional), I suppose, and because the Bean Boot didn't exist when I began purchasing this shoe. The differences are slight. L.L. Bean says the shoe's sole is somehow designed to help you feel the forest's floor better. Eh. Still, I wear the shoe rather than the boot. I have to admit there is something about the little tag on the back of the heel -- I like the font used on the Maine Hunting Shoe better than that on Bean Boot. Details.
Fresh from a walk with the hounds in Rock Creek Park.
Since I'm not a hunter, I wear my shoes mostly to walk the dogs or out and about when I'm in casual clothing. I own two pair: a tan pair of 10" shoes that are at least 20 years old (kept here at home in DC); and a brown pair of 10" that are only a couple years old (at home at the cottage in upstate NY). I always keep a pair of pile inserts in the boots for added warmth for they are NOT very warm. Thick socks help, too.
Often imitated, never duplicated. The Maine Hunting Shoe in its natural habitat--ice and mud.
