I love Clarks Desert Boots like everyone else. I've worn through some pairs and have been pleased with them. However it bothers me that such an iconic boot is made in Vietnam and often of a rather poor leather quality. But the iconic status will often make you look the other way and just wear it anyways - yes, it happens.
However I think, I've purchased my very last pair of Clarks, since an Italian friend of mine mentioned a company called Astorflex. Astorflex makes a desert boot, which is very popular among Italian students apparently. For good reason it appears. Astorflex makes their shoes in Italy, of vegetable tanned hides (from Italy) and they use a natural crepe sole. Many of you will probably also appreciate that the price is lower than Clarks at around 75 euros.
These will wear amazingly, I'm sure. The tan leather is perfect for nice patina
Astorflex doesn't have many retail clients in Europe - I couldn't find any to be honest. Maybe it's because they're quite unknown outside Italy, or it could be conscious decision by the company in order to keep their prices as low as possible. They seem like a well-thought out company with a very open and transparent company, as you can see where they purchase their materials and they have a quite strict code of conduct. Have no worries about the retail situation - you can purchase directly from their web shop using Paypal/credit card.
