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« About guys and rubber boots » (I)
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Every “Bootman” has his own tastes (or almost) : all rubber boots have their fans :
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Farid, for example, prefers riding boots in black rubber (01), or the brown supple boots made by Aigle. He likes them shiny or clean. He finds that they go well with his Mediterranean look.
Fernando (02), Mexican, likes very much the French boots AIGLE « Chambord ».
 02.
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 03.
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The Anglo-Saxons often wear their black lined rubber boots with the tops turned down (03), in the image of Georg (04). This practice is found less in France where bootmen often prefer unlined black rubber boots, which they do not turn down.
 04.
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Those, which are the most prized, are without doubt the BAUDOU black "Tracteur" boots (05) which unfortunately are no longer made (there are still a few pairs on sale at the House of the Rubber Boot – AMBC, who also have exact copies of them : the SKLOP) ,
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 05.
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06.
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and the black ETCHÉ, another French make which is still produced. You can sometimes see them on the feet of the motorcyclists on the Paris Périphérique (06).
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 07.
 08.
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Etché make the same, but lined, for professional use : you can see them on certain firemen or the refuse collectors of the "Propreté de Paris" for example..
The Belgian black BEKINA boots (07) also have quite a few fans. They are more rigid and rugged. Claude, for example, loves to wear big white wool socks turned over the tops of his Bekina boots. You can often see him on the streets of Paris..
In Haute Savoie, Christophe is known to all members under his nickname "Christophe Bottes Blanches" (Christopher White Boots). In fact, he only really wants white rubber or PVC boots. He adores the "Hyper Major" ("Flocon", in white) model made by BAUDOU (08), but for some time, he also wears with great pleasure the olive-green nytrilic rubber boots from the German manufacturer NORA, which are completely unlined..
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René (09), from Lyon, very often uses the TGV train to Paris, and of course, always, in rubber boots.
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09.
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 10.
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Kéké, in Helsinki (10), wears his NOKIA rubber boots without embarrassment, like the majority of Finns, even in the town, at the museum, at concerts etc. It must be said that NOKIA is the jewel of the Finnish boots ! (and not only mobile phones !)...
 11.
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If you buy flowers in the Northern Suburbs of Paris, don’t be surprised to see Jean-Louis, a sympathetic florist, (11) welcoming you still wearing his Baudou Tracteur or Le Chameau rubber boots. He wears rubber boots permanently, all day.
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Heinz, (12) in Germany, likes to alternate his green or black NORAs and his black TRETORNs with a red sole. He wears them as often as possible and, like more and more fans, dares to wear them at work, in places which hardly lend themselves to it.
Then there is Jean-Louis... Any pretext (or sometimes even none) is good enough for him ! His close friends are used to it. Of course, you should also remember Pascal, the founder of AMBC, who since 1992 threw away all other sorts of shoes and boots and now does not wear anything any more other than rubber boots, at all times and in all places and they are really evident at his place of work : a lycée (high school) in the Paris area. He wears them conspicuously and not under his trousers...
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Brian, living in Michigan, and also wearing his rubber boots, remind himself all the time of his childhood in the country ; and, under the name « Briz », draws remarkable drawings of guys wearing rubber boots.
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The black waders, entirely in unlined rubber from GAVIOTA, also have an enormous number of fans ! Eric, for example, swears by them. Unfortunately, since the Spanish company CRUZ who made them went bankrupt, many guys have been without them ! |
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The supporters of the big sewer waders are split between the old black BAUDOU waders —which you can get from AMBC who still has a small stock. Daniel wears them almost all the time, or as Blaise, with his BEKINA waders (13) or the brown waders with black soles from LE CHAMEAU. Another Daniel, from Paris, still remembers with emotion the procession of Parisian sewermen which were seen in the streets, in gear... and in waders !!!
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13.
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 14.
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Laurent, on the other hand, left Provence where he originated, for the Atlantic coast, in order to work as an oysterman (14). He had an inordinate taste for thick, lined Le Chameau waders. He was unbeatable in his knowledge of the prices and the various models (Fécamp or Océane) (15).
 15.
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The untoecapped English waders BTR (HOOD nowadays) or GATES are softer and made in different models. Luc wears them proudly whenever he can. He has many pairs, some of which are decorated with a red edge at the top of the leg...
« Waderman (16) wear them proudly. He has got many pairs; some have a red or a blue line on top; his favorite waders are, of course, extra High Bullseyes...
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 18.
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José has got an original collection of waders, among them a pair in... leather, for women, but now has numerous waders in black rubber, of course, either French or English like the Century waders, which come up to 106 cm in height, or yellow "Dielectra" (17) ! Gaeli also wears very often his waders (18)...
 17.
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Pascal BOURCIER, |
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April 2004. |
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