Clarks new Wallabees are quilted like your favorite down jacket

When temperatures drop, people trust puffy down jackets and durable boots to keep them warm. What if you could combine the two, creating boots that are soft and comfortable, tough too, and warmer than regular leather? Clarks did just that with their new Wallabee padded boots, which come in two colors, black and khaki.

The Wallabee has always been comfortable, a well-known appeal given to it by its cushioned crepe sole and soft (even leather) upper. They were also cool for a long time, earning placement in reggae and rap songs released by American and Jamaican artists. The Wallabees that Snoop Dogg, Vybz Kartel, or Raekwon wore, however, did not look like these. Then they were leather or suede, much like the basic ones you can still find today.

With these limited edition Wallabees, rather than playing with their shape or proportions, Clarks is playing with materials. The 100% synthetic uppers are probably much lighter than standard suede or leather, but the leather accents at the collar and moccasin toe make the shoe look much more structured than it actually looks. In addition, the quilted effect is not as exterior as on parkas or other down jackets. On outerwear, quilting adds width and dimension, creating sections of the jacket that protrude outward as they are filled with feathers or faux down.

These boots, on the other hand, balance having a larger footprint than the standard Wallabees while being narrower than your traditional padded garments and accessories. They’re only available through BTSN at the moment, but that could change once Clarks’ end-of-season sales end, meaning you might see them on their site soon, too.