As a rule, I don't think that they are business casual appropriate. Some environments might not balk at them, but they simply aren't worth wearing in an office for a full 8 hours. The only climate you have to deal with is the six degrees that those two women keep adjusting the thermostat over. I would suggest either a pair of swims overshoes, or a pair of the Bean mocs, which you can wear outside and then change into more appropriate footwear when you get to work.

 

While I own a couple of pairs of these I don't think they pass muster for casual business or any business for that matter. Invest in a pair Tingley overshoes and you're all set.

 

I commute about a mile walking. I wear duck boots to work and slip on my loafers at my desk. Problem solved.

 

I commute about a mile walking. I wear duck boots to work and slip on my loafers at my desk. Problem solved.

+1 Wet/slush weather commute wear.

 

I wear Maine Hunting Shoes, essentially the same as the low Bean Boots, in slushy weather or heavy rain, but I'm fortunate in that I have wide latitude in how I can dress--I think it depends on your profession. They work well, I think, with tweed trousers and a sport coat. I think of them as GTH footwear that I can get away with at the office.

 

I wear Maine Hunting Shoes, essentially the same as the low Bean Boots, in slushy weather or heavy rain, but I'm fortunate in that I have wide latitude in how I can dress--I think it depends on your profession. They work well, I think, with tweed trousers and a sport coat. I think of them as GTH footwear that I can get away with at the office.

Same for me. I wouldn't have been able to get away with it at my previous job, but I wear mine all the time when there is foul weather now.

 

Same for me. I wouldn't have been able to get away with it at my previous job, but I wear mine all the time when there is foul weather now.

Great to know that there are at least two of us out there. I always feel like an English country gentleman when I wear mine with tweed and a tie. It almost makes up for the bad weather.

 

Hmm. I've spent time in Buenos Aires and the idea of walking around in Bean boots sounds kind of odd. I always felt most appropriate dressing more "city" there, at least in the Microcentro and even in neighborhoods like Recoleta, Palermo, etc. I would feel like I'd be giving the impression of doing some sort of urban lumberjack or streetwear fashion thing with the Bean boots.

Haven't been there since this whole "Americana" thing kicked into high gear several years ago so maybe they wouldn't be so weird there now. Heck, business casual there seemed to be more of the spread collar shirt, wool trousers, and black shoes variety from what I recall. Khakis were odd outside of warm-weather months and still not common then.

Bean boots might be more "Palermo Hollywood" [hip neighborhood] than business casual, know what I mean?

Unlike Conservative Business Dress, appropriate business casual, and casual for that matter, varies greatly by location.

 

Great to know that there are at least two of us out there. I always feel like an English country gentleman when I wear mine with tweed and a tie. It almost makes up for the bad weather.

Make it three. I'm one with a "wide latitude" of dress as well. I also have some pretty rural locales in my territory so the boots don't stick out quite so much. If I were working in more urban settings, I'd probably do the Swims or just change shoes at work.

 

Make it three. I'm one with a "wide latitude" of dress as well. I also have some pretty rural locales in my territory so the boots don't stick out quite so much. If I were working in more urban settings, I'd probably do the Swims or just change shoes at work.

I have a couple of pair -- the 8-inch boot and the moc -- and wear them to work on particularly messy days. But I'm a journalist, and my work place is well below business casual. It's more casual-casual.

 

I've gotten away with wearing 6 inch duck boots and I work in the financial district in nyc. Usually its slacks and a button down minimum as dress code. I tend to wear heavy pants and a sweater or cardigan when I wear them and make the outfit more casual. Also leave a pair of shoes just in case of meetings.

 

Negative. There's a line, and it's a thin one, but Bean boots at work are a no-no. I'm starting to feel the same about camp mocs and boat shoes with business casual.

 

These things are hideous. The only way they could ever be put on my feet is over my cold dead toes.

 

Are they appropriate? ...

Only if you travel to work on a tractor.

 

These things are hideous.

...and yet de rigueur for any college-educated American gent of a certain age.

 

^ Honestly?

 

^ Honestly?

No joke. When I was in college you had to have the following (in the correct brand...no knockoffs):

1. LLB Maine Hunting shoes/boots
2. Bass Weejuns
3. LLB/Sebago/Eastland/Timberland Blucher Moccs
4. Sperry Topsiders
5. Woolrich Mountain Parka
6. LLB Field/Barn Coat
7. PRL University Stripe OCBD
8. Duckhead khaki chinos

These items comprised the uniform that everyone wore.

I have to admit that I've moved on to better things with regard to the Bass Weejuns, LLB Blucher Moccs, LLB Field Coat, and the Mountain parka, but the LLB Maine Hunting shoe/boot is still OK in my book.

 

^ More and more I come to appreciate the benefits of the English educational system.

 

^ More and more I come to appreciate the benefits of the English educational system.

You're probably right, but our co-eds are prettier.

 

^ If you managed to 'pull' any ladies in that get-up then you thoroughly deserve your diploma. :thumbs-up:

 

^ If you managed to 'pull' any ladies in that get-up then you thoroughly deserve your diploma. :thumbs-up:

No problem at all. As I remember, except for the Duckhead chinos, the girls wore the same things as the guys. It does seem strange now that I think about it. But it was the mid-80s. The time of Prince, Culture Club, Michael Jackson, British new wave, etc. A lot of androgyny in the dress code.

I think that this is definitive proof that at the age of 18-21 both men and women look good in anything. It's all downhill from there...

 

I frequently wear mine to the office. However, I'm a university student and my "job" is an unpaid internship with the University's government relations office. Most of my day is spent walking to and from class all around campus, so Beans Boots are an absolute necessity, in my eyes. I often wear them with chinos, an OCBD, tie, and blazer. It might not be the "ideal" look but... It is currently March 27th, I'm on spring break, and there is legitimately 6 inches of snow on the ground. At this point the Bean Boot is a part of my survival instincts, I believe!

 

Negative. There's a line, and it's a thin one, but Bean boots at work are a no-no. I'm starting to feel the same about camp mocs and boat shoes with business casual.

I would wear Bean boots at work, but not boat shoes or camp mocs at work unless it was Friday(I still don't, but I could see it). Bean boots serve a purpose. I also wear in a very casual office (sneakers are allowed), but I keep a slightly more conservative code.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. Back then, chicks did dress the same.

No problem at all. As I remember, except for the Duckhead chinos, the girls wore the same things as the guys. It does seem strange now that I think about it. But it was the mid-80s. The time of Prince, Culture Club, Michael Jackson, British new wave, etc. A lot of androgyny in the dress code.

I think that this is definitive proof that at the age of 18-21 both men and women look good in anything. It's all downhill from there...

 

^ Honestly?

This is an Northeast United States "New England Preppy" thing. I grew up wearing them and they seem normal as heck to me. I own four versions and couldn't live without them. I work in finance and on snowy or monsoon days, I have gone to meeting where men are in $3000 custom suits, Hermes ties, et al. and LL Bean boots - it is understood by those who grew up in that culture that it is acceptable. If I hadn't grown up here, I would be with Shaver thinking they look like some sort of weird moon attire.

And in high school and college everyone wore them, guys and girls. Most regions have there "things" that you either grew up there and get or not. I am not going to defend these away from the Northeast, but in the Northeast, they are part of the Wasp / Prep / Trad culture.