RED WING” is an American shoe brand synonymous with work boots. The Irish Setter and Beckman are particularly famous, but the POSTMAN is actually a model that is secretly popular among Red Wing fans. In this issue, we will focus on Red Wing’s “Postman,” a favorite of Red Wing fans, and explain its derivatives in detail!
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The name was a place name! Over 100 years of Red Wing history!
Red Wing was born in 1905 in “Red Wing City,” a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Red Wing is unmistakably a shoe manufacturer born and raised in the United States, but surprisingly, its founder was a German named “Charles Beckman,” who was so passionate about shoes that he called himself “Schumann (shoe man). Before founding Red Wing, Charles Beckman had already established ” Beckman and Co.”, a boot and shoe sales company in Red Wing City in 1883. The shoe sales business was a huge success, selling over 500,000 pairs of shoes in the 22 years before Red Wing was founded.
From that sales business, Charles Beckman realized that work shoes required greater durability, functionality, and comfort than street shoes, and he decided to start the Red Wing Shoe Company to develop better quality footwear. Even today, Charles Beckman’s will is still dedicated to the company.
Red Wing made its name by developing work shoes for workers
Since its founding, Red Wing has specialized in the production of ” work boots ” approached by workers engaged in agriculture, forestry, and mining. In 1912, seven years after its founding, the company focused on agriculture, which was particularly active in Minnesota at the time, and released the “Brown Chief Series,” a model for farmers. With a logo modeled after a Sioux village chief, an aboriginal tribe that lived around Minnesota, the company produced work boots featuring a plump, round-toe form that emphasized comfort and robust construction using the Goodyear welt method. The boots were sold in Minnesota and other large areas of the U.S., and became very popular among farmers and other workers. The popularity was so great that Red Wing could not keep up with production even though it had a production line capable of producing more than 800 pairs a day at the time. The success of these boots made the Red Wing name known throughout the United States.
Red Wing shoes are made of durable materials for workers in harsh environments
After the success of the Brown Chief series, Red Wing decided to develop outsoles made of new materials in the 1920s to make the traditional work boots with leather soles more comfortable. The result was a material that could cover the disadvantages of leather, such as slipperiness, durability, and low water resistance, and could be produced at a lower cost than leather soles. The first of the many original Red Wing soles that have now been produced was the ” Grocord sole,” a rubber sole with fibers kneaded into it. Thanks to this grippy, slip-resistant, water-resistant, and durable sole, the brand took off even further. The Grocode sole was so revolutionary that not only the company itself but also other shoe manufacturers adopted it for their work boots and sports shoes.
Red Wing’s backstage staple? Postman #101, a service shoe made for government workers in uniform “
Red Wing has several types of leather shoes called “Postman,” of which the original model “POSTMAN OXFORD #101” is the prototype. The shoes of not only postmen, which is the origin of the model name, but also police officers, military personnel, and other uniformed government employees are called “service shoes” in the United States, and Red Wing’s Postman is one of them. The #101 was originally created as a service shoe, but was later adopted as the uniform shoe of the U.S. Postal Service, and is now worn by mail carriers throughout the United States. It was against this backdrop that the shoes became widely known to the American working class as “postman shoes. In the 2000s, the Red Wing Postman #101 disappeared for a time, but in the 2010s, it was reissued in response to the love calls of fans all over the world.
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Now let’s focus on the more specific features of Red Wing’s Postman #101!
Red Wing’s Postman #101 features “”traction-tread sole”” to prevent damage to the lawn where the mail is delivered.
The sole of the Red Wing Postman uses a ” traction tread sole. This sole model is familiar to Red Wing fans, as it is used in a variety of modern Red Wing models. It is a foamed and aerated rubber sole that is characterized by its light weight and high grip. The flat sole pattern also makes it difficult to get caught on foreign objects, a feature that was adopted by mail carriers, who often step into the grass at mail delivery sites, to prevent damage to the grass during their work. They have also been used in hunting boots for outdoor hunting in poor footholds, and they boast a level of functionality that is suitable not only for street wear but also for outdoor use.
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Red Wing’s Postman #101 features (2) “All-around Goodyear-welted construction” that brings lightness and cushioning to the shoe.
In the general Goodyear welt method, the front half of the shoe, except for the heel, is stitched with a scoop stitch and an out stitch, and a leather part called ” hachimaki ” is used for the heel instead of a welt. The heel is not welted, but rather a leather part called a hachimaki, which is often held in place with nails, but the “all-around Goodyear-welted method” used by Red Wing is characterized by its 360-degree stitching around the entire circumference. This not only makes the shoes lighter, but also increases the amount of cork laid on the soles, which provides a high level of cushioning.
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This method is also called “360-degree welt” or “double-welted” because the welt circles the shoe, and is used not only by Red Wing, but also by many long-established American shoe manufacturers, such as Alden and Florsheim. It is also characterized by a more voluminous design than the “single-welted” shoes, which are generally sewn on the front part. The heel is also stitched, which eliminates problems such as peeling of the sole and increases durability. It is also nice to know that repairs such as sole reupholstering can be done without damaging any parts.
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Red Wing’s Postman #101 features (3) “”Chaparral leather”” which is more flexible than ordinary glass leather.
Chaparral leather used for the Postman is probably one of the materials that Red Wing fans are familiar with. This is a type of glass leather with a resin finish added to the leather, and a unique matte sheen is created by applying a coating to the leather surface during the finishing process. Originally, like other glass leathers, chaparral leather was finished with a shiny black finish, but around 2013, after the reissue, the same chaparral leather was changed to a matte, softer texture. This has reduced the cracking of wear lines that is one of the demerits of glass leather, and the leather now blends in better with the footwear. Although the texture has changed, the nature of the leather itself is unchanged, so if you want to bring out the luster, carefully caring for the leather with shoe cream will bring back the shiny luster.
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Introducing other models of Red Wing “Postman”!
RED WING Postman Oxford #9183
One of Red Wing’s unique characteristics is that each color and material has its own part number. The #9183 is the same model as the Postman #101, with the same design base, but with a “Black Yukon” upper. This leather is based on cowhide, and is known for its breathability, which is not found in conventional waterproof leather, due to the application of a waterproof treatment to the leather fibers themselves during the tanning process. In addition, GORE-TEX is used for the lining of this model, making the upper waterproof and giving it the high level of functionality that is typical of work shoe brands.
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RED WING Postman Oxford #9112
The #9112 is the same model as the #101 and is made of suede “roughout leather.” The process of making suede generally involves pruning the hair on the leather floor (back side), adjusting the thickness, and so on. The “rough” texture of this material can be enjoyed. Although it has a strong casual impression, the black stitching gives it a classy finish.
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RED WING Postman Chukka #9196
In contrast to the previous derby shoe models, the “#9196” is a postman with a high-cut chukka boot design. Although it is a derivative model with a completely different appearance, it inherits the characteristics of the Postman series introduced above. If you are looking for chukka boots, why not consider this one?
RED WING Postman Romeo #9198
Lastly, we present the ” Postman Romeo #9198,” which removes the laces and adopts a side gore design. This is a derivative model with a beautiful upper that expresses flowing curves, and you can enjoy a different atmosphere from the chukka. With a pull-tag attached to the heel, it may be said that this model is unique among the series in terms of design.
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