The roughout boots are an ankle high, leather boot with rubber soles. It has a soft, un-capped toe and the leather is rough side out, which eliminated the need for polishing in the field. They are worn for field work and nothing else.
Roughouts are suprisingly comfortable. They can be made water resistant with some shoe dubbing (original tins are still easy to find online). It is not recommended to finding original shoes to use for reenacting. During reenactments, you'll be running, jumping, diving, crawling, dirtying, muddying, and just generally trashing your boots. Original shoes aren't usually maintained, so the leather is frail and the stitching not as strong as the day they were made. While reproduction boots can be pricey (anywhere from $120 to $180), they last for a long time (with some maintenance and care) and you won't cringe if you bust through a seam.
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