L.L.Bean Boots are why I love rainy weather
Many years ago I backpacked through Europe with a girlfriend (who is now my wife). Along the way we stopped in the Scottish town of Loch Lomond. One night, we headed down to the pub for a pint and happened to catch some live traditional music. Near the end of the evening, the band played the town’s eponymous song. My wife and I were surprised to discover that we knew all the words, by heart, even though neither of us remembered ever hearing the song before.
L.L.Bean Boots are my sartorial version of the Loch Lomond song. I bought my pair a few years ago and I don’t really remember how I choose them. I was in need of rain boots and instead of just regular rubber versions, somewhere in my subconscious was this image of those slightly old-timey, Ivy League-style boots. I even knew they were called Bean Boots despite the fact that no member of my family or group of friends ever had a pair.
I suppose what attracted me most to Bean Boots was the image of heritage they represent. The things is, though, that the search for authenticity and tradition in clothing usually ends in disappointment. Things aren’t made like they used to be or some new company is just using an old product’s name. Styles change dramatically and the line from then till now is broken. But that’s one of the remarkable things about Bean Boots: they are still made by the same company, in the same way, as they were over 100 years ago.
I found this out by chatting with company spokesperson Mac McKeever, who’s been with L.L.Bean for about thirteen years. He was able to assure me, for instance, that the boots have indeed changed little since the company’s founder, Leon Leonwood Bean invented them in 1911. The oldest pair in their archives is from the 1920s and there are only two noticeable differences: the added back-stay (to help pull on the boots) and the surface of the sole. Until the mid 1940s, the sole was textured rubber with a rough, sandpaper consistency. That was replaced by the chain sole the boots have now: what looks like a series of rubber knots that act like snow tires, giving the boots better grip.
In talking to Mac I also wanted to go back to the creation of the boots themselves. The well-healed story is that after returning from a hunting trip with rather wet feet, L.L. (as they call him in the company) knew there must be a better design for his footwear. Leather is great at moulding to your feet, but when it gets wet and cold, it stays wet and cold for a long time. Rubber, on the other hand, will keep you dry but is rather stiff and uncomfortable on the ankle and leg. So L.L. enlisted his cobbler to tear the tops off a pair of rubber boots and sew on leather uppers. The first batch were almost all returned due to defects but after some tinkering the boot we now know was born, as was the L.L.Bean company. That two-part construction is one of the reasons for the boot’s longevity: for a small price, the company can resole them by simply replacing the bottom rubber half. And so boots get passed down from generation to generation.
It seems a bit funny, actually, because when resoling all you are left with is about 8″ of leather tubing. But over time, that leather takes on its own character, developing a patina and shaping to your body. I asked Mac, actually, about caring for that leather because these boots are odd, being neither purely leather nor purely synthetic. Mac told me that L.L.Bean recommends a simple process: use a dry brush to get any dirt or dust off the boots, then wipe them down with a wet cloth and after they’ve dried, apply beeswax-based leather treatment. In other words, you can treat the boots as you would any other fine leather shoes.
It turns out that I am hardly alone in rediscovering the Bean Boot. In fact, they are enjoying possibly the most popular time in their history, with the company barely able to keep up with demand. There are currently tens of thousands of back orders as they’ve gone from making 150,000 boots four years ago to over half a million this year. Each is made in Maine and despite millions of dollars in new equipment and hiring a third daily shift to make the boots, this kind of hand-guided quality takes time. And Mac tells me that that’s one of the reasons for the boot’s success: people are drawn to that old-world heritage. (And the price: at $109 a pair, they are remarkably affordable.)
There is a lesson in all of this for many companies, even L.L.Bean themselves. As Bruce Boyer points out, outside of Bean Boots, L.L.Bean isn’t what it used to be, and that’s because “if people want more instead of better, that’s what retailers will sell them.” To put it another way: if the consumer isn’t aware of what real quality is, it is hard to convince them to pay for it. I hope the success of the Bean Boot inspires L.L.Bean to go back to their roots – locally made, high quality clothing for the outdoors. I’d like to see them apply the attention to detail and care in their boots to their entire catalogue – a direction, I’m happy to see, they are already starting to move in. And I think they can do it because thankfully there is a growing portion of the population interested in the true meaning of heritage.
1 Comment
John karapita
November 16, 2015 at 6:53 pm
I love my Bean boots! They are my go-to choice of footwear for our slushy, wet winters, rainy fall and spring days, for gardening, you name it. Maybe not so much for going to the office but they are a fantastic value even with the low Cdn dollar. Don’t accept those department store look-alikes.