In 2018, Sebastian Malczewski, a former Wicker Park shoe store owner, founded his own men’s footwear brand, Marc Nolan (borrowing the first names of his mentor and son), with an eye toward fresh takes on classic designs. His Aiden combat boots, which come in invigorating color combos (including the blue upper and white sole shown here, as well as a camo-and-red one), are now available at his store at Oakbrook Center, which opened last fall. They’re just the thing to put a spring in your step as we trudge out of another dreary Chicago winter. $160. 401 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook
Sticky Situation
When photographer Powell Jordano was brainstorming ideas for this month’s piece on the combat-style boots from the men’s footwear brand Marc Nolan, one idea stuck. Literally. He decided to shoot the boots stepping on gum — or rather, imitation gum, to avoid ruining them. To make an authentic-looking concoction, Jordano thought back to the commercials for Gak he’d seen on Nickelodeon as a kid. He looked up recipes online and settled on using glue, soap, and Borax. From there, it was trial and error to find the right balance of elasticity from the soap and stickiness from the glue. For Jordano, conjuring this geeky trick was a joy: “I was always a science kid.” — Isabella DeLeo