They are soft. That makes them feel good on your feet. These palomino colored moccasins are custom made. When you go to the shop, you take off your shoes and they trace the shape of your foot on paper. This blueprint for your pair begins the process. The leather is seductive. It's hard not to stroke it. It's tactile, like the softness I once felt inside a horse's ear.
They lace up and afford ankle support. I love that they go perfectly with blue jeans. I wear them daily from Spring 1967 to early 1969, when I alternate them with Frye boots.
"Moccasins by White Hawk", were made by artisan Win Fairchild, owner of Fairchild Woodcraft, a Blackfoot Indian crafts store in North Hollywood, California in the 1960s-1970s.
These Moccasins make a statement. They are part of the uniform that says I work for the counter culture. They say count me in as one who values social change and social justice. I'm aware of cultural appropriation. Though at the time the term wasn't used. To consume and display something from native culture was something that showed no harmful intent. Not then. My intentions were always respectful. I wanted those mocs for the way they looked, and what they say.
The soles of the moccasins have a thin hard rubbery soul. No leather touches the ground. I walk mostly on pavement, so the soles take some wear and tear. Eventually, after about 5 years, the leather under my big toenail on the right foot wears thin. A small hole emerges. This pinhole size breach remains tiny, but concerning. I can stick a small piece of duct tape underneath, invisible, matching color. Eventually, the years take their toll and because I have a full-time teaching job, I wear them less and less. Over the next 5 decades, I move a few times, and these Fairchild Moccasins get buried deep in my closet. One day, I realize I no longer have them. I could never trash them, not me. I must have laid them to rest with some sort of ritual, but I can't recall how. Repression is a defense mechanism, isn't it.
I don't think they are available anymore. In retirement, I have lots of opportunities to wear a pair daily. I'll look into this, with no expectations, but fond memories.
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