Pentrich Derby Boots From Stanley Biggs Clothiers

Pentrich Derby Boots From Stanely Biggs Clothiers

Pentrich Derby boots From Stanley Biggs Clothiers - These Pentrich boots from Stanley Biggs Clothiers just arrived this week and I am super happy with them.  Made Stanley Biggs by Heritage Bootmaker William Lennon (since 1899).  I have been wanting to dip my toes into the William Lennon rugged work boot experience for a while now, but have been a bit put off by their long wait times, so when I saw the post on Instagram from Biggs that they've got some pairs in my size available for immediate shipping, I jump on the opportunity.  

About 10 days later, here they are.  Wrapped as traditionally as can be with string and brown paper, it was like receiving a package right out of the first half of the last century:-)  All smiles here, I couldn't be happier with them, the UK size ten fit me perfectly, and despite the fact that they are built like a tank a surprisingly comfortable right out of the box.   

a couple of coats of Saphir shoe cream for extra protection and a bit of black polish at the toe box for looks and they look amazing.  incidentally, these are made from heavily oiled 'Pull-up' leather so a mirror shine won't be possible (not that I would mirror shine these workhorses anyway).

The Build:  

The construction is about as traditional a work boot as one could ever hope to find using sewing machines and BUSM Rapid Standard brass wire screwing machines to attach the prepared sole or throughsole to the leather upper. These machines, like just about everything about the build process are straight out of the late 1800's, so you can be assured that the boots made by William Lennon today are the very same that they've been making for the hard-working men of England for nearly 125 years.

Further details:

For the full explanation of the build process, please visit the William Lennon website here: Full Build process

For a video of these details: William Lennons at Stoney Middleton

And for the full company history: William Lennons Company History

The Unboxing:

Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with my first Stanely Biggs/William Lennon boots experience, and can assure you that these won't be my last.  I'm already perusing the Stanley Bigg online shop for my next purchase. 

US Army Fatigue Trousers by Sauce Zhan Clothing Co.

I've been admiring the OG-107 US Army fatigue trousers that I have been seeing incorporated in many guys posting on Instagram for a while now and finally tracked down a supplier on Aliexpress - Sauce Zhan Clothing Co. from China not only offers these but a load of other great items of workwear/military wear preproduction garments as well.  

My originally purchased OG-107 trousers are in remarkably great shape after more than 2 years of wear - in fact, I would say that they are just beginning to be broken in nicely:

Anyway, about 2 years ago now, I purchased the version in the original Olive drab, which I have really enjoyed wearing they have held up remarkably well.  Based on that I felt confident in purchasing a couple of additional pairs (This time in a dark brown and light khaki color).  Both arrived here in Germany in about a week which from China is amazing and with no additional VAT or Customs charges due (Bravo!).  And shipping from China to me here in Germany was an incredible 5-7 days.  Shipping was so fast that I suspect that they must have a distribution center here in the EU.

Made from the same reverse sateen twill made from 100% cotton inspired by the original US Army fabric.  The fabric is fairly heavy-duty (I would estimate 11 to 14 Oz). Heavier than the fabric used for most Chino trousers, I would say about the same weight as medium-weight denim.  Based on my experience, these will be pretty bulletproof as well.

Here is what Sauce Zhan has to say about this model Army trouser on their Aliexpess listing:

 The Vietnam OG-107 Fatigue Utility Pants, in trendy circles, are often referred to by its color OG-107. The military pants with two large patch pockets on the front and back body are commonly known as Baker Pants in the United States.

    In 1947, the earliest version of these pants was MIL-T-838A, made of olive green herringbone twill cotton fabric (HBT). In 1958, the Baker Pants were changed to use thick straight cotton twill fabric. This bread pant, codenamed 838D, also became one of the very classic pants in the history of military uniforms. The later versions, with the thinner fabric, are difficult to surpass the previous versions.
    OG-107 means Olive Green, and 107 is the number of Olive Green. The smaller the number, the greener it is, and the larger it is, the more yellow it is. Several large U.S. Army uniform supply manufacturers at the time, strictly unifying the color number to ensure that the uniform color is similar and consistent.
    In the 838D version of the bread pants, by making the reverse side of the satin fabric outside, cleverly avoiding the problem of too much gloss on the front side of the satin, so that the surface of the pants show a rough military texture, while the interior of the pants will be comfortable and skin-friendly, I must say that this design is really very clever.

These new pairs are made from the same heavy fabric and appear the be extremely well made just like my original Olive Green pair. As you can see from my photos, the OG pair have held up remarkably well over several washes and I fully expect that all these will last for many years.  

Fit:

The fit is straight and not at all baggy and with a mid-waist fit, I would say neither high nor low wasted, these sit nicely for me and DON'T slide down to my hips throughout the day.   They've got a button fly and 2 back patch pockets with square profile button flaps.  

OG-107 Colorway Trousers:

Here are a few of the outfits that I have put together over the past couple of years.  As you can see from the photos, given the weight of the fabric these have been reserved for Fall, Winter, and Spring, and I put them away for the summer season:

Brown Trouser:

I have already enjoyed wearing these over the past couple of days and expect to enjoy wearing these and the Khaki version this Springtime and in the years to come:

Here is a 360-degree view of the fit:

The Light Khaki Trouser:

The Light Khaki Trousers lean a bit towards the soft cream yellow more than a traditional British Khaki color, which will be great for Spring and Summer wear.  This fit and overall quality of the construction and fabric are identical to the OG-107 and brown pairs:

I am really happy with the overall quality of these utility pants from Sauce Zhan Clothing.  I'm sure that these will be in my rotation for many years to come and I am already considering my next purchase from them.