Non-leather Shadow Guard boots (and belt)

[bennroe]

I put together a budget Shadow Guard costume for Celebration in London earlier this year, with the intention of slowly upgrading components over time to get the costume where I'd really like it to be. I think I did well considering the time and money crunch (ended up having to forgo armour at the time, and rely on robes, as I just didn't end up finding enough time to finish printing, assembling, and attaching things), but most of that work is done now and I'm starting to look toward making a few upgrades. There are a lot of great, high-quality boots and belts out there, but they all seem to be real leather, which I unfortunately can't wear, so I'm looking for recommendations.

I ended up using the following boots back in April:

https://www.magicwardrobes.com/rogue-on ... -6623.html

Needless to say, you get what you pay for and these are cheap Halloween-costume boots that weren't built to last. They have zero support, the material rips when confronted with a strong breeze, and they slowly slide down my legs because they just aren't rigid enough. Does anyone have recommendations for a faux leather boot that looks the part but is also a functioning piece of footware, that will hold up with any amount of usage? There are a number of nicer (but identical) looking options in the $50 to $75 range on eBay/Amazon, all from Chinese sellers, but I've already seen what $50 buys me from a Chinese factory, so I suspect the pictures make them look nicer than they actually are.

As for belts, I have a great buckle, and I was able to find an appropriately-sized strip of faux leather to use as the belt, but couldn't find anything with the appropriate incised lines. Does anyone either know where I might be able to find a 2" faux leather belt with the lines, or know how I could incise them myself? I had thought about using a soldering iron and just burning the lines in, but I suspected I'd either end up with vaguely squiggly lines or wind up setting whatever straight edge I use on fire. I made the hole for my buckle with a soldering iron, so I know the material takes it well, but I don't know what I'm doing and didn't know if anyone had any experience doing these lines properly.

I know the ideal costume is made with real leather, but that's not an option for me, so I appreciate any suggestions anyone might have!

[bennroe]

Anyone had any luck with Pleaser Funtasma Captain 100s?

https://pleasershoes.com/products/captain-100bpu

They look the part. They have side zippers. They're synthetic leather. The reviews indicate that they need insoles and won't stand up to surface trauma, but they have to be better than what I'm currently wearing. Looking for feedback from people who have worn them with a similar costume, especially as regards to their durability. I'm still skeptical about shoes that are explicitly billed as cosplay shoes, rather than just shoes that will work well for a costume.

[ugcspawn]

you will have to hide the zipper as it's not allowed (must be hidden). I'm using Decathlon riding boots for mine, and the basic model is in faux leather (almost rubbery). A lot cheaper that the futurama also.
As for the belt, it's quite specific, and if you try to make one by yourself with the proper buckle and vegan leather, i might be the same price in the end. Try contacting Dave at Magmel, he might be able to accomodate you. Great guy (he is in out Garrison), and his work is outstanding. I'M assuming the ''no leather'' is because you are vegan, so just tell him and ask if he has an alternative for you. The worst that can happen is that he tells you he doesn't have one.

https://magmelcreations.com/categorie-p ... ial-belts/

[bennroe]

you will have to hide the zipper as it's not allowed (must be hidden). I'm using Decathlon riding boots for mine, and the basic model is in faux leather (almost rubbery). A lot cheaper that the futurama also.
As for the belt, it's quite specific, and if you try to make one by yourself with the proper buckle and vegan leather, i might be the same price in the end. Try contacting Dave at Magmel, he might be able to accomodate you. Great guy (he is in out Garrison), and his work is outstanding. I'M assuming the ''no leather'' is because you are vegan, so just tell him and ask if he has an alternative for you. The worst that can happen is that he tells you he doesn't have one.

https://magmelcreations.com/categorie-p ... ial-belts/

I really appreciate the help! I'm a little sheepish about asking Dave, since I already have the buckle (one from Super6props out of England), but I'll probably do it anyway. Maybe I can promise him some future business, as he has other belts that would fit with other costumes on my radar... or maybe I just end up with two Imperial belts, one with and one without the lines. Worse fates, I suppose...

As for the boots, are these the ones you're talking about?
https://www.decathlon.com/products/adul ... 560-301094

Those are the only ones I could find from Decathalon that looked the part, but they say they're 80% genuine leather, and they appear to zip on the outside face.

Thanks again!

[ugcspawn]

with decathlon being all over the world, they have different offering as well. HEre is the one I'm talking about. And keep in mind, this is $$ with the queen on it, so it's cheaper for you

https://www.decathlon.ca/en/p/3568836/s ... ee5490cc1

[bennroe]

I was recently inducted into the academy for Garrison Carida, and the commandant recommended I look at Crow Props, since they have a synthetic leather you can request they use. Does anyone else have these boots (either in genuine leather or synthetic):

https://crowprops.bigcartel.com/product ... ed-zippers

At $228, they're already pretty expensive, but they're asking an extra $50 to use synthetic materials, and the shipping and taxes work out to nearly $100, so it would actually end up being around $375 for a pair of boots, which is much more than I was expecting to have to spend. Can anyone speak to their quality and durability? I'm not sure I can justify dropping nearly $400 on boots either way, but I certainly can't bring myself to do it without at least a vote of confidence or two that they're going to last. Thanks!

[bennroe]

(To clarify, I'm not saying they're over-priced; just expensive. I get that good quality tailored boots aren't going to be cheap, but I just want to be really careful if I'm considering dropping that kind of money on something like this.)

[ugcspawn]

Pretty expensive for a synthetic i think. Can you check around you for a horseback store? I know PA is not known for its cowboys, but I'm sure you can find something locally or even online. For fun, I checked on Amazon (canada) for synthetic riding boots, and I found exactly the Decathlon boots. 4x the price of what they sell, but I'm sure you can find something like this.
https://www.amazon.ca/Riding-Boots-Hors ... 39fbe&th=1

One note on those though: nothing stick on them. The pvc material transform velcro glue and e6000 into some sort of goo.