
OluKai Irvine-based
OluKai makes comfortable, well-put-together, Hawaiian-inspired footwear
for people who spend a lot of time at the beach. I do not own any OluKai boots, but I do own
OluKai shoes (which I wear as slippers) and sandals, and my kids and wife wear
OluKai flip flops. In my experience,
OluKai products consistently are good value for the price.

Chrome: When I lived in the real Bay Area (i.e., the Bay Area in which you can see the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge with minimal effort), Chrome was the most ubiquitous brand of messenger bags and backpacks. Now, they've expanded their line to include everything that a bike-messenger-type urbanite needs for day-to-day living, including streetwear boots.
Marcopolini:
Campbell-based Marcopolini imports high-quality, hand-made leather goods from
Italy, including a few high-end streetwear boots. I own a Marcopolini key wallet (which, for
those who don’t know, is a keychain that stows your keys inside a
coin-purse-like wallet, so your keys don’t punch holes in your pockets). It is extremely well made, and its leather
keeps looking better as it ages.
North Face: Alameda-based North Face makes
pretty much everything an outdoors-enthusiast could want. They also make some fairly
uninteresting-looking streetwear boots, which – judging by everything I’ve
bought from North Face so far – probably are as sturdy as they are dull.
Volcom: Orange County-based Volcom is a
one-stop shop for skater/surfer/snowboarder fashion, from jeans to board shorts
to two-piece suits. They also have a
line of hiking/streetwear-hybrid boots.
Honorable Mention – Red Wing Boots:
Red Wing is not a California
company. But they do have California
stores, and they are based in our fellow Blue State, Minnesota. And they make the best boots ever. I recently purchased a pair of Iron Rangers, with Vibram
outsoles. I have never owned more
versatile shoes. I wore them out to
dinner on Friday night. I wore them all day Saturday as I chopped, chain-sawed, and
grinded tree stumps out of the mud in the rain. That
evening, I hosed the mud off them, wiped them dry with a towel, and wore them
out to dinner again. And they drew
compliments.
They are work boots. They are fashion. They are rain boots. They are every kind of casual boot that I
need, all in one boot.
I will own these boots for the rest
of my life.
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