East coast breh. Why are timberland boots popular. And when did this start

[Rollo Goodlove]

They keep the rats from nawing at your ankles

 

[Rollo Goodlove]

I'll just say this.....throw on your timbs at least one time when you fukking.........

I got a pair just for that

Timberlands are an east coast tradition that Cali dudes will never understand. It's similar to the way L.A dudes wear chucks but on the east coast they are considered Bobos.

Also,on the east coast it snows 8 months out of the year therefore nikkas wanted to be ready for snow but at the same time good in style.

I seen a few eastcoast nikkas roccin chuccs

 

[kingofnyc]

wasn't this a thread a few weeks ago

 

[HollowPoints2]

I got a pair just for that






I seen a few eastcoast nikkas roccin chuccs

When I grew up in the nineties, they were called Bobo's at my school.

"Bobos,they cost a dollar 99 bobos,they make your feet feel fine."

That was the song people would sing.

 

[kingofnyc]

What u say

u welcome

We examine the history of the Timberland 6″ Boot and its journey from humble workwear staple to global icon of hip-hop style.

Timberland’s 6″ Work Boots – known as Style #10061 to the brand’s employees or by their street monicker “Timbs” – have come a long way since their release in 1973. Originally designed as a hard-wearing boot for New England construction workers, the six-inch high waterproof nubuck shoe has become synonymous with hip-hop style, appearing on the feet – and in the songs – of everyone from Notorious B.I.G. to Kanye West.

The story behind the brand’s popularity in hip-hop circles is a strange one; Timberland never intended for their boots to be worn by rappers, and found the association so far removed from their blue-collar roots that they at first tried to distance themselves from their new-found “urban” audience. But like so many brands who found popularity in places they didn’t know existed – Converse, Dr. Martens and Vans, to name a few – the subculture association has become such a large part of the brand’s identity that today that it’s hard to imagine them without it.

In the early ’90s, when Timberland was serving its core customer base of blue-collar workers – who adored the brand’s boots for their hard-as-nails construction and superior waterproofing – the company noticed a strange thing happening in New York City. The Big Apple’s hustlers, rappers and scoundrels, miles away from Timberland’s rural heartland and oblivious to the brand’s blue-collar reputation, had become obsessed with their boots.

As consumer journalist Rob Walker reports in his book Buying In, “the legend goes that the first ‘urban’ buyers of Timberland boots were New York drug dealers – guys who had to stand on the street all night and needed the best possible footwear to keep them warm and dry.” Ever keen to enhance their hustler credentials, the city’s rappers followed suit, and soon the boot was everywhere; on Tupac’s feet, in Biggie’s lyrics, on Wu-Tang’s feet and in Mobb Deep’s artwork. Rap magazine Vibe reported that “everyone from thugs to step teams were stalking, walking in their six-inch construction boot,” as they “stood up beautifully to urban elements like concrete, barbed wire, and broken glass.”

As a brand priding itself on its rugged, salt-of-the-earth roots, Timberland actively tried to distance itself from this new-found street cred. Timberland’s CEO Jeffrey Swartz (and grandson of the company’s founder Nathan Swarz) told The New York Times in the early ’90s that “If you want to buy us and you are not our target customer, we don’t have a point of distribution that speaks to your lifestyle.” That didn’t deter any of the boots’ fans though, as trekking to backwater New England towns to cop Timbs became part of the experience; a pilgrimage of sorts.

Of course, things are a little different today. Timberland, realizing that there was nothing it could do to deter a demographic hell-bent on appropriating the brand’s boots for themselves, soon embraced the hip-hop association. The brand has since hooked up countless rap artists with boots (like the ones worn by OutKat’s Big Boi on the cover of Speakerboxxx), expanded their collections to include more ‘urban’ oriented product (pink Timbs, anyone?) and collaborated with tons of streetwear brands; including Supreme, Black Scale, Ronnie Fieg, Billionaire Boys Club, Stussy and many more.

Shop the latest gear from Timberland here.

 

[Boogie]

Since the early 90s. How they got popular? Who knows but I got my first pair in 6th grade in 92. All black

 

[KinksandCoils]

I always thought timbs was just a standard boot until I came to this site


People been wearing them. I remember as a kid when LUGZ tried to step in the game

 

[Black Barbie]

Grandmother got me two pairs as a kid pink and wheat. My grandmother always had us hooked up.

 

[Shadow King]

cue someone from Philly to come in and say "Philly started timbs" just like they started everything else

"We been rockin timbs in philly since '68, sippin lean since '72, started battle rapping in the late 50s, we were riding spinners in '81"

Yoooooo

 

[Shadow King]

I hate that it became a meme. It was always trendy but more low key.
Now the prices are almost double what they were in the 90's

I was thinking bout getting a new pair but I saw that $190 these ones I got gon stay till they start talking

 

[Ghpstface]

Striped Lees, girbaud, acid wash, jordache with the seam, Gap baggy shorts. Timbs are timeless.

 

[BaldingSoHard]

Wheat Timbs. Classic as Apple pie.

I mean damn what else is there to say?

 

[Shadow King]

Also,on the east coast it snows 8 months out of the year

It does?

 

[BigMan]

It does?

It does not

 

[The Devil's Advocate]

i read an article somewhere saying ny rappers copied ny drug dealers on the corner...timbs could withstand snow, shytty sidewalks of 90s nyc

here it go

icon of hip-hop style.

Timberland’s 6″ Work Boots – known as Style #10061 to the brand’s employees or by their street monicker “Timbs” – have come a long way since their release in 1973. Originally designed as a hard-wearing boot for New England construction workers, the six-inch high waterproof nubuck shoe has become synonymous with hip-hop style, appearing on the feet – and in the songs – of everyone from Notorious B.I.G. to Kanye West.

The story behind the brand’s popularity in hip-hop circles is a strange one; Timberland never intended for their boots to be worn by rappers, and found the association so far removed from their blue-collar roots that they at first tried to distance themselves from their new-found “urban” audience. But like so many brands who found popularity in places they didn’t know existed – Converse, Dr. Martens and Vans, to name a few – the subculture association has become such a large part of the brand’s identity that today that it’s hard to imagine them without it.
In the early ’90s, when Timberland was serving its core customer base of blue-collar workers – who adored the brand’s boots for their hard-as-nails construction and superior waterproofing – the company noticed a strange thing happening in New York City. The Big Apple’s hustlers, rappers and scoundrels, miles away from Timberland’s rural heartland and oblivious to the brand’s blue-collar reputation, had become obsessed with their boots.

As consumer journalist Rob Walker reports in his book Buying In, “the legend goes that the first ‘urban’ buyers of Timberland boots were New York drug dealers – guys who had to stand on the street all night and needed the best possible footwear to keep them warm and dry.” Ever keen to enhance their hustler credentials, the city’s rappers followed suit, and soon the boot was everywhere; on Tupac’s feet, in Biggie’s lyrics, on Wu-Tang’s feet and in Mobb Deep’s artwork. Rap magazine Vibe reported that “everyone from thugs to step teams were stalking, walking in their six-inch construction boot,” as they “stood up beautifully to urban elements like concrete, barbed wire, and broken glass.”

As a brand priding itself on its rugged, salt-of-the-earth roots, Timberland actively tried to distance itself from this new-found street cred. Timberland’s CEO Jeffrey Swartz (and grandson of the company’s founder Nathan Swarz) told The New York Times in the early ’90s that “If you want to buy us and you are not our target customer, we don’t have a point of distribution that speaks to your lifestyle.” That didn’t deter any of the boots’ fans though, as trekking to backwater New England towns to cop Timbs became part of the experience; a pilgrimage of sorts.

How Timberlands Became an Icon of Hip-Hop Style | Highsnobiety

nikkas making hour long journeys to pick up a pair of boots that cacs didn't even want them buying


i wish jay was running shyt to get nikkas to ban them shyts.................


but at the same time, thank god he didn't, cause dammit i was LIVING inside a pair of timberlands all through the 90s