John Varvatos Men's Barrett Side-Zip Boot

This is my favorite boot that I've ever owned. I've had mine for three years now and I still love them. The leather lost its "shine" after about six months and the distressed look is exactly what I had hoped it would be. They can work with a t shirt and jeans and not look to fancy and yet still work with a suit. I wanted the Barrett's because of the flat sole. Boots with a heavy heel make me feel like I should be working outdoors. These can be a pain to get on and off but its gets easier as the leather gets softer. I've always found them comfortable and they get a lot of use. I wear them about 4-5 times a week and have always been fine. Two things to look out for...first, the little pull tabs on the back heel of the boot will come unstitched if you pull them to hard (although its kinda of necessary to get the boot on). That happened at year two. Good news is it only costs ten bucks to have them restitched. Second, are the laces. I love them, they get soft over time and a little lighter, but they tear somewhat easily if you pull too hard. One snapped after the first year and the second at year two. I've had a hard time finding replacements that are as soft as the originals.After three years I took them in to get the leather treated and they came out looking almost new. I have worn these boots everywhere, rain, mud, desert, and even hiking and aside from a little wear around the sole and ten bucks in stitching these boots have stood the test of time. I'm pretty sure I'll have these for another three years at least.

These are a good looking boot and pretty comfortable right out of the box. They look well made for aveage daily use but not for constuction work boot.I bought a John Varvatos Creeper BT boot prior to these that looked just like these and sent them right back and got the Barrett.The Creepers were a huge dissapointment, a whole different leather and feel on my feet.I did want black but settled for the Lead color which I think looks good,and will discolor quickly as breaks in which adds to the appeal of this style. Don't buy these if you want a perfect color looking boot.I will say putting them on and off takes time for they have a double lace system. You have to spend the extra time to loosen all the laces. I ended up re-lacing only using top holes and Bingo! Works like a charm, and won't even see the extra holes not using.I'm usually 9.5 and these feel good, though I'm wearing thin socks which I wanted to for trying to get away from thick cotton socks.When they break in more,probably could get a small heel pad or arch pad in there. The arch is ok but could be a little better. Certainly not like wearing Converse sneakers I like the low profile and sole of this boot. It has extra toe space, but that's the look and style, so if you feel you want to fill the toe space up you may not want this boot, but certainly worth the try.

TL;DR: These boots are rad. Buy them if you think you like them from the photos - they look even better in person.To address some other comments:Size - everyone's foot is different, but for me, these fit exactly as I would expect them to. They LOOK a little long, but I wear a size 11 with a medium wide foot, and these fit like a medium size 11. Definitely might be too long if I got the 11.5 though (which I sometimes wear).Leather - yes, these boots start to crease and change color virtually as you're putting them on. But not in a bad way at all. In fact, I would argue that is how good waxed leather is supposed to behave. Expected functionality as far as I'm concerned. If you're not into that, maybe these boots aren't for you, but to me it adds character, and you don't have to walk around in them for 10 years to get it!Side Zipper - ok, so the side zipper basically allows you to get in and out of the boot, but by no means does it make it EASY to get into or out of the boot. Without the side zipper, these boots would be near impossible to get into; with it, they're only difficult to get into. By no means a deal breaker, just be prepared to spend a minute or two putting your boots on.Overall Quality - Great. I would say they totally meet the mark for boots within this price range - no disappointment here. They feel very solid on your feet, but without a huge outsole as some other boots have. The leather is nice and thick (but not too thick), and soft (but not too soft). Very well manicured right out of the box (i.e. looks like they've been waxed).Country of origin - China. This one is sort of a bummer considering the price of these boots. I would really expect these to be made in the USA/UK for the price. That said, the quality is very good, so maybe a moot point.Usage - Someone else here said it, these aren't "work boots". At least not heavy duty work boots. You can wear these to work if you work in an office building, sure - but I wouldn't wear these if your office is a construction site. Your mileage may vary of course.Comfort - These are boots. The feel like boots. They aren't all pillowy on the inside, it's true. That said, they're comfortable for what they are. I expect that (as with most boots) they will get more comfortable as you wear them. Probably can't fit an insole in them as they are pretty low profile, but you might be able to if you got a half size up in the boot.

First of all I got them for $185.00 cheaper than what they were going for on Nordstrom's web site, and Nordstroum's didn't have my size. So I was very psyched to get these boots from Amazon in my size and so cheap. They came today and look fine out of the box. The problem for me is that I wanted a side zipper boot so I could get them on and off easily without untying them. This is not that boot. The zipper does not go to the heel and I had to loosen the shoe laces all the way down to get these boots on, and even then with some struggle. Once on they fit good and look good. However I wasn't enamored with the peace sign logo on the soles. I'm 68 years old so I came up in the heyday of that hand gesture, but I don't want it gracing my shoe when I cross my legs in front of a client. Bottom line: too hard to get on and off even with a zipper, and peace sign on sole is not apporpriate for my work. I'll send them back and keep looking for the right boot for me.