Rewaxing is not a maintenance chore. It is the mechanism by which the jacket lasts forever. John Barbour understood this when he designed it. Most of his customers understand it when they've owned one long enough.
When every competitor moved production overseas, Red Wing stayed. Not out of nostalgia — out of the belief that the boots they made in that factory were worth what they cost to make there.
Jacob Davis had a problem: the pocket corners on work trousers kept tearing under the load miners and laborers put on them. The copper rivet was the solution. The 501 grew around it.
Not because she can't afford to change it. Not because she hasn't thought about it. Because it was right the first time and she had the discipline to leave it alone.
The Samba has been in continuous production since 1950. It survived decades of obscurity, two corporate overhauls, and every sneaker trend in between. It did not survive being popular.