Well I’ve had these for many years, 8-9? They were my daily drivers for the majority of that time at work. I came from making yearly Johnston and Murphy purchases after they wore out or fell apart, and got sick of that cycle. Admittedly I knew little of rotation, shoe trees, and good care in general apart from how to clean and shine them. So last December I sent them in for a sole change and reconstruction. They came originally with a hard, semi-lug type sole. I had them changed to a Danite sole. The reconstruction on the bottom looks very good. What I’m disappointed with is how the uppers came back. I was hoping the leather would be restretched and look much cleaner. I’ve heard of instances where that was case. But alas, my neglect wasn’t remedied. So my question is, how would you fix these to look less like the tired, worn out specimens that they are? Is there hope? I’ve seen videos of guys steaming/ironing the leather to reduce the creasing but I’m not sure if these aren’t too ‘gone’.

This outfit works because it leverages a controlled contrast—cool tones in the light blue gingham jacket and navy trousers are grounded by the warmth of the tan polo and brown leather shoes. The mix of textures, from the soft knit polo to the structured blazer and smooth leather, adds depth without visual clutter. Accessories are intentional: the gold-toned watch with a red bezel introduces a subtle pop that ties back into the warm palette, while the patterned socks echo the jacket’s visual rhythm.

After a brief stop earlier, off to the home of Duck Dynasty in Monroe Louisiana today for a 7 am demo tomorrow and site visit to the latest Meta Data Center to see progress.

A little late on the motivation today. Had to go to the dentist and am looking forward to a root canal next week. "You are not obligated to win. You are obligated to keep tring and to do the doing the best you can every day." Marion Wright Edelman Have a great day brothers.

Who's in? 😁