Which R.M.Williams Comfort Craftsman Colour Should You Buy?

The Comfort Craftsman is one of the R.M.Williams boots we spend the most time fitting and discussing in the shop. At Livingston we stock the finished yearling-leather version in Chestnut, Dark Tan and Black, and although the boot itself is the same model, the colour changes how formal or casual it feels.

If you are choosing your first pair, the easiest place to start is with the clothes you already wear. Chestnut is the brown we usually regard as the dressier option, Dark Tan works particularly well with denim and more casual outfits, while Black gives the cleanest, smartest finish.

Chestnut: the dressier brown

Chestnut is the colour we most often suggest when somebody wants a brown Comfort Craftsman that can move easily between smarter and casual outfits. Its deeper, richer tone sits neatly with tailored trousers, chinos and jackets, but it is still easy to wear with darker denim.

For somebody buying one brown pair to cover the widest range of situations, Chestnut is usually our first suggestion. It has enough warmth to work casually without losing the polished look that makes the Craftsman useful with smarter clothing.

Dark Tan: easier with jeans and casual clothing

Dark Tan has a more relaxed character. In the shop we often steer customers towards it when most of their wardrobe is denim, chinos, knitwear and casual jackets. It works particularly well with blue jeans and tends to feel less formal than Chestnut.

If you want the boot mainly for everyday wear rather than tailoring, Dark Tan is often the natural choice. It is still a smart leather Chelsea boot, but the lighter brown makes it easier to build into a casual outfit.

Black: the smartest and cleanest option

Black is the straightforward choice if your wardrobe leans towards dark trousers, business clothing or sharper outfits. It gives the chisel-square Craftsman shape its cleanest appearance and is the easiest colour to coordinate with black belts and darker tailoring.

It can still be worn casually, particularly with black or dark indigo denim, but of the three colours it is the one we would normally describe as the smartest.

Which Comfort Craftsman colour is easiest to look after?

One reason we often recommend the finished yearling Comfort Craftsman to customers who want straightforward long-term care is the availability of matching coloured polish. R.M.Williams Stockman’s Boot Polish is available in Chestnut, Dark Tan and Black, and the coloured versions contain pigment that helps refresh the leather colour after wear and makes everyday scuffs less obvious.

That is useful over several years of ownership. Boots inevitably pick up marks, particularly around the toe and heel, and being able to put colour back into the finish gives you more scope to keep the pair looking smart.

Pull-up leathers are different. They are normally maintained with Natural, uncoloured polish, so the leather develops its own character and marks remain more visible rather than being covered with matching pigment. Some customers prefer that lived-in look, but if you want the easiest route to keeping a boot looking consistently polished, we generally find the finished Chestnut, Dark Tan and Black yearling leathers simpler to maintain.

You can see the current R.M.Williams Stockman’s Boot Polish colours in our shoe-care range.

Matching your belt to your boots

A matching belt is one of the easiest ways to finish the outfit without making it look over-coordinated. The R.M.Williams Drover Belt at Livingston is offered in the same useful colour families, including Black, Chestnut and Dark Tan, subject to the size and colour currently available.

We do not mean that the belt and boot are cut from the identical hide or will age in exactly the same way. Leather varies naturally. The advantage is simply that the colour families work together, so a Chestnut boot with a Chestnut Drover Belt, or Black with Black, gives you a straightforward coordinated combination.

Our quick recommendation

• Choose Chestnut if you want the most versatile brown and expect to wear the boots with smarter trousers as well as denim.
• Choose Dark Tan if your wardrobe is mainly jeans, chinos and relaxed casual clothing.
• Choose Black if you want the smartest finish for dark trousers, workwear or tailoring.

If you are still unsure, bring in the trousers or jeans you are most likely to wear with them. Seeing the colours beside your own clothes is often more useful than choosing from a photograph.

Shop the R.M.Williams Comfort Craftsman Boot, browse more R.M.Williams boots, or explore our shoe-care range.