Help identifying a pair of vintage Church's two-eye plain-toe derbys

Hi everyone,

I've recently acquired a pair of vintage Church's, and I'm trying to figure out some things about them. They're two eyelet plain toe derbys, but my google-fu is failing me hard when it comes to more information.

If the picture isn't clear enough, the inside reads:

Line 1: 9. F. 73
Line 2: G010312
Line 3: 4900S (or is that a 5?) S8347 (again, the S may actually be 5)

Based on my searching and the writing inside of the shoes, it looks like they're UK size 9F (so a US 10 D, correct?) on the 73 last. Can anyone help with the other numbers? Or is their a resource out there somewhere that records what the numbers mean?

And did Church's ever make shoes with the Neolite Goodyear heel? Or have the heels been replaced? I know that the vast majority that I've seen have had the split leather/rubber heel, but was that the only way they were made?

I would appreciate any help at all, thanks!



reagank said:

And did Church's ever make shoes with the Neolite Goodyear heel? Or have the heels been replaced?

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Those are replacement heels and not factory. As for the shoes themselves, I am unfamiliar with this model. Welcome to Styleforum.

"CHURCH&CO" on the first photo must be a very very old logo. They are probably before 1940s/1950s. Goodyear is an American company, so I think they were reheeled.



Man Of Lint said:

Those are replacement heels and not factory. As for the shoes themselves, I am unfamiliar with this model. Welcome to Styleforum.

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Thank you so much. I had never seen a heel like that on a pair of Church's, but that doesn't mean a whole lot. They just didn't seem right, but the shoes themselves were so pretty (and priced well) that I couldn't resist.

I just can't seem to find any other models with two eyelets. I'm just wondering about the age.

Thank you so much VegTan, I had not thought to use the logo to get a sense of the age. Maybe that will be a promising approach.

The Goodyear heel pad is an indicator of its age. My gut tells me 1970's,
but I am more likely to agree with VegTan on his guess.
Your question of 'did Church's make their shoes with the Goodyear heel?' would make me answer, no.
However, there is one possibility, and it is a small one..

Church's did purchase a factory in Canada.
In 1948 Church & Co. purchased Canadian shoe maker Dack's but I am unsure as to whether or not it produced shoes (possibly an exclusive small run line) under the Church's name while in Canada, and if so, would they then have employed local materials such as the Goodyear heel in question, in their production?

It will probably lead to a dead end, but if you follow the Canadian chapter of Church's (a.k.a. Dack's & Hartt),
then you can read here where Church & Co. is briefly mentioned:
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/lifestyle/the-ode-dacks-shoes/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church's
http://kickshawproductions.com/blog/?p=2933

Matthew Dack, the grandson of Dack's founder, is a member here. You can message him via his channel on Styleforum, though he has not logged in for a year.
http://www.styleforum.net/u/157240/matthew-dack

Again, it is a long shot that the shoes could have been made in North America.

We have many members who know their Church's history so you may have to be patient whilst we wait for them to ring in on this. Until then, you still have a mystery.

Photos of the soles and inside the shoe bed would help if you could upload for us.

reagank said:

Line 1: 9. F. 73
Line 2: G010312
Line 3: 4900S (or is that a 5?) S8347 (again, the S may actually be 5)

Based on my searching and the writing inside of the shoes, it looks like they're UK size 9F (so a US 10 D, correct?) on the 73 last. Can anyone help with the other numbers? Or is their a resource out there somewhere that records what the numbers mean?

Click to expand...

A resource to tell you what the numbers mean? Have you contacted Church's themselves? They would be more likely to provide accurate information than anyone here.

I'd guess that the sizing is American and not British, given its format. A size UK 9 F in 'Churchspeak' would be a 90F, and I've only ever seen them use a 'standard' format on shoes for the American market, including the models that were made for the McAfee label when it was under Church's ownership.

As CTBrummie suggested, if Church's keeps the document as below, they can identify the date.
http://uptowndandy.blogspot.com/2011/05/vintage-edward-green-for-paul-stuart.html

Here are some pre-Prada's socks in chronological order. I haven't seen yours.