New boot week part 2/2. I received the second half of my Father’s Day order from Bakers, 3.5 month order to doorstep The MP in 55 last has is a more rounded toe compared to the lower profile toe of the standard MP 5050. I have tried to accentuate this difference in photos. The downside with this change is that initially I only saw a “bowling shoe” look with the toe cap; this has now faded but YMMV.

 Specs:

• Whites MP – 55 last not standard 5050
• Natural CXl
• Single celastic
• No lining
• Danite sole

Impressions:

These boots complete a long-term itch for a natural CXL pair. MP’s fit different that SD, I was relieved to immediately to feel that arch-ease “roll of quarters” when lacing up. The 5050 last of the black HH pair never felt the same and I find my feet more tired after a week of MP 5050 than with the semi dress 55. Natural CXl earns its hype about wearability. These were unboxed, photographed, then straight to a 11.5 hour day with zero drama. This is my only pair of unlined White’s boots so this kind of ease of break-in could be more common than I personally have experienced. In the first day of wear, they are already forming to ankles. Whites QC did good on this pair, a bit of edge color over run on the right boot but no hollowed stiches as you saw last week. This pair (to me) looks to have gotten a nice bit of Horween hide and clean craftsmanship.

Comparison shots:

The visual difference in MP55 and MP is certainly less obvious than I initially expected. From above I can tell the rounded toe but certainly to most there is little difference. If you look closely at the comparison shots you’ll note the black horsehide pair has aged poorly. I am of the opinion HH is not well suited for those who use these boots for physical work, daily brushing but possible over conditioning (3month) did the vamp in over 5 years ~6000 miles. I am hoping to see this CXL pair age a bit more graciously and plan to rebuild the black HH set with black dress vamp in the future.

Pricing:

This pair was bought during Baker’s Father’s Day sale (20%) but partially excludes “fun” leathers. CXL upcharge + celastic toe put this pair at $720 on my doorstep. This is a 40% increase from the black HH 2021 pair in the photos which were bought during a HH sale at Bakers. I am optimistic about this new pair and hope to gain insights to rebuild the black pair in better way from a foot feel and longevity perspective. If this CXL pair ages poorly I will no longer buy MP in favor of the semi dress, but this be another 5 year before new purchases.

We're back...again!

Viberg will be holding a private sale through the WhatsApp proxy group Thursday October 22nd through Sunday October 25th! This is now the 5th we've done out of Viberg's stock at their Victoria, Canada HQ (close to the 10th proxy sale overall) and we're looking forward to another trek.

Admins for the group (and the people who will be running the sale) are myself (formerly u/mattmcmhn), u/meelypops, and u/mojolikescocoa

As usual, the sale will feature a large stock of past season items including boxed and unboxed firsts-quality footwear as well as one-off samples and factory seconds.

The sale will be a little different from the past in that, since we've basically been sitting very close to the WhatsApp group chat max of 1,024 members, we've converted the chat into a WhatsApp Community with a capacity for 2,000. Joining the WhatsApp group link posted below should automatically add you to the community's Announcements group, which is where all of the information related to the sale and available pairs will be, uh, announced.

Pricing

• Prices are tiered by style and age/condition, and generally start at 50% off for the most recent season available (probably S/S and F/W 2025, maaaybe S/S 26) and then go down in price (and up in discount) from there. Whatever the makeup, if it's not current website stock it will be cheaper than Viberg's latest online archive sale by a significant margin.
• Prices are always in USD and include domestic US shipping, as well as Canada shipping (which will be done directly from Viberg to Canadian buyers).
• International shipping is an additional cost per pair tiered by region, about $30-60.

Group Link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Fx0Ehrie5TO9N48TeAjUXO

Purchasing Process

We'll post makeups with pics and prices in the WhatsApp announcement group chat, which is locked so that only the group admins can post. Interested buyers can DM us with any questions. Once a purchase is decided on, we'll provide payment options and ask that you send a screenshot of the payment and follow-up with a message that provides shipping information. Once confirmed, the boot is set aside for you.

Shipping Process

All US and non-Canada international buyer pairs are shipped in bulk from Victoria to the US for distribution. We typically start shipping to those buyers about 3 weeks after the end of the sale, to ensure that everything has enough time to clear customs and get to the US. Tracking is sent to buyers for each shipment. International shipments are usually UPS Worldwide Expedited or similar service, US shipments are UPS or USPS, whichever is the best balance of price and estimated delivery time.

Common Questions

Q: Do I need to join the WhatsApp group to buy?

A: Yes, at minimum the Admin group.

Q: What boots will be at the sale?

A: We don't know, that's part of the fun! There's always some surprises that turn up at every sale. Generally there will be a mix of almost all Viberg products in play. Best recommendation is to go in with an open mind rather than try and search for a single specific makeup.

Q: Do you take requests for makeups or styles?

A: No. Due to the volume of pairs and buyers and messages and the constant, perpetual motion of the sale this doesn't work. We can try and match general requests and give you a quick list of what's in your size, or tell you if we've seen anything in a particular last/size, but generally we won't be fulfilling wishlists of boots.

Q: What size am I?

A: We will provide general fit/sizing information but if you don't know your Viberg size or don't have experience trying any pairs on you should at MINIMUM know your US Brannock size measurement. From there, the standard recommendation for Viberg sizing is .5 down from that on ALL boot lasts with very few exceptions.

Q: Is the box included?

A: Many of these boots are new, boxed pairs. It's important to understand that including the box more than doubles (closer to triples) the total shipping cost, since we can fit literally half as many boxed pairs in the bulk shipments out of Canada, plus volumetric shipping to the buyer once they're in the US is also much more expensive. If available the box can be included for an additional fee. Boxed pairs likely won't have accessories, as Viberg normally packs those in the boots as they're being shipped out of the warehouse rather than stocking them inside the boxes.

Q: Are there returns?

A: No. This is the same as buying from the sample sale or archive sale, items are final sale and there is no Viberg involvement in terms of customer service etc. That being said, we endeavor to give you a full understanding of the condition of the boots you're buying and will always differentiate firsts from seconds. Generally buyer issues are very rare (i.e. a handful out of thousands of boots).

Q: What payment methods do you accept?

A: PayPal F&F, Venmo F&F, and Zelle for U.S. buyers (or international if you have a U.S. PayPal account). For international buyers, we accept Wise and highly recommend you use it. It provides by far the lowest currency exchange rates. If you are outside the U.S. and are serious about buying something from the sale, I'd recommend getting the account set up ahead of time (can be some lead time in verifying ID per banking regulations).