My Clark’s desert (also known by the name “chukka”) boots are the “object” I have chosen to describe in detail here. They are my first non-sneakers I ever purchased on my own, and I got them on Black Friday, three years ago. They are size 9 and about 10 inches long from heel to tip, measure between 4 and 5 inches at their widest part, and are about 3 inches high at the heel. Their suede has gone from a light brown to taupe (now close to matching the color of the cord laces) and has lost some of its softness. From the side, the shoes’ profile is essentially triangular—very clean and simple. As for the toe boxes (the part of the shoe that rests on top of the foot), they have begun to crease, resulting in lines that resemble crow’s feet. The leather near the toe has become scuffed and has acquired a light, white cast due to the snow and salt of winter.

I wear these shoes quite often. Because of this, along the length of the edge of their soles—from heel to toe—they darken from lightly browned to charcoal black. The undersides of the soles are mostly blackish-grey as well; however, the sole rubber is lighter colored where heel and sole meet to form a sort of “corner” (these corners have been spared the discoloration of the rest of the rubber, and are still, for the most part, their original tan hue). In terms of texture, the soles lack ridges or grooves of any kind, and even if they had had them once upon a time, they would have been worn away by now. The rubber below the arches of my feet has thinned, and the once squared-off heels are now worn down to a curve that I can rock slightly backward on.

Regarding the insoles, there is brown leather padding to support my heels and arches, which has been burnished to an impressively high shine by my socks. The insoles beneath my toes are made of some kind of mystery fabric, now worn (noticing a pattern?), but somehow not threadbare. Opposite the insoles are the shoes’ tongues, the undersides of which are each stamped with the words:

MADE IN VIETNAM

LEATHER UPPER

NATURAL CREPE SOLE

in black ink. Amazingly, these letters are still all very legible, despite the condition of the rest of the shoes.

The overall look of these shoes, however beat up they might be, is clean but casual. They do not hurt my feet when I wear them, even for an extended amount of time (though sometimes a little bit afterward). Though I have described them in a way that makes them sound like they are past their prime, the change in color seems to still suit them; in a sense, they have aged gracefully, as I have broken them in. Since they are not stained and do not look dirty, in my opinion, the newly acquired color gives them “character,” and I think they look like they have walked many paths with me, which is true!