One of Izzy’s devoted readers kindly pointed him to this cast photo in which Mark Harmon is wearing a pair of boots that appear to be laced very unusually. Izzy has never seen these type of boots before. Does any of his readership recognize them?
February 14, 2007
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These boots appear to have a zipper insert laced into them, though it’s a little hard to tell from the photo. These are quite common in the military; when taking your boots on and off all the time becomes a hassle, the zippers end up saving a lot of time.
Comment by Elaine — February 14, 2007 @ 6:03 pm
I was coming in to say exactly that. Definitely zipper panels. Here’s a generic one.
Comment by Rich — February 14, 2007 @ 10:36 pm
The above is correct, they are zip panels that are frequently used in the military, as the character is based on a former marine sergeant it would be an item that he would be familiar with. However they are often not approved of within the military for parade wear as they do not look uniform enough and in the “field” if they break are tougher to replace than usual shoelaces. hope that helps!
As to the “mystery boots” they dont appear to have a vibram sole or any fancy tread pattern, in fact the tread is a generic type similar to the combat 95 boot used by the british military, so theyre probably a generic cheep work boot in brown leather. Of a similar type to the combat 95.
Regards,
Robert Nicholson,
http://www.tmlewin.co.uk
Comment by robert nicholson — February 19, 2007 @ 8:28 am
The previous respondents are essentially correct. The zippers, laced onto the boot, used to be popular among soldiers and marines. The boots resemble Danner hiking/work boots. The black version was popular among instructors at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in the 1980s.
Comment by Ricardo — February 27, 2007 @ 5:07 am
They are also common in EMS, fire, and police uniforms. It is much eaiser to wake up and zip on a pair of shoes for a call in the middle of the night than worrie about tripping on your shoe lace.
Comment by Yvonne — February 27, 2007 @ 8:51 am
These are noticeably nice boots. Maybe, if Mark Harmon could be a gentleman and, inform me where he got the catalog for these work boots, with a shine of eloquence. It seems like a tight fit, too. Toast to those who dress class. He seems more a Police than an Actor.
Comment by Blake — October 25, 2007 @ 10:30 am
You can purchase the zipper insert that you lace in from different stores. The best I’ve seen so far is Silberman’s Army and Navy. They also have the boots with the zippers installed in them.
Good luck.
Comment by Jen — March 31, 2009 @ 2:13 pm