Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice



smfdoc said:

Interesting version of a u tip. I would love to see them with better light and know who made them. Are these and the spade shoes something you have had forever or do you gradually pick them up along the way?

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Had a pair of vintage foot joy loafers (with original bags) delivered yesterday. The level of construction actually surprised me with these shoes. The quality of leather is also top notch. I would assume that these are from the 70s/80s.



smfdoc said:

Interesting version of a u tip. I would love to see them with better light and know who made them. Are these and the spade shoes something you have had forever or do you gradually pick them up along the way?

Click to expand...

Been buying them every so often since early 2000s. Those above are Canadian. The suede is very fine quality like snufff suede.

meister said:

smfdoc said:

Interesting version of a u tip. I would love to see them with better light and know who made them. Are these and the spade shoes something you have had forever or do you gradually pick them up along the way?

Click to expand...

Been buying them every so often since early 2000s. Those above are Canadian. The suede is very fine quality like snufff suede.

Click to expand...

Love, love, love them.

How did I spend my Labor Day? Working on shoes of course. Here are a before and after photos of a pair of 1960s Florsheim Imperial 93606 Shell Cordovan shoes that I fixed up.

I cleaned them with wipe of a damp cloth and a good brushing. Then some strong chemicals (Saphir Reno'Mat). For conditioning, right shoe got Lexol NF. The left shoe I used Bick 4. Both did a good job but I prefered Bick4. I also worked the Shell Cordovan with back of spoon when conditioning them. The spoon eases some of the rolls in the Shell. I followed with a tiny amount of Allen Edmonds Cordovan Cream.

Before:


After:

davidVC said:

How did I spend my Labor Day? Working on shoes of course. Here are a before and after photos of a pair of 1960s Florsheim Imperial 93606 Shell Cordovan shoes that I fixed up.

I cleaned them with wipe of a damp cloth and a good brushing. Then some strong chemicals (Saphir Reno'Mat). For conditioning, right shoe got Lexol NF. The left shoe I used Bick 4. Both did a good job but I prefered Bick4. I also worked the Shell Cordovan with back of spoon when conditioning them. The spoon eases some of the rolls in the Shell. I followed with a tiny amount of Allen Edmonds Cordovan Cream.

Before:


After:

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Wow, I'm inspired. I've got to pick up some saphir renomat. Great job and thanks for sharing.

Love the vintage advertising. Allen Edmonds presenting "The shoe of tomorrow!"

The story of true devotion of a man to his Florsheim Imperial wingtips and his willingness to stand up to his wife. For the sake of argument, I will assume that these are vintage shoes that were made in the US as opposed to India when production was shipped over seas. Its hard to have any allegiance to those.

Ventilated Mesh Spectators such as these were made in America and sold under different manufacturers names appear to have been made by two firms, Jarman or Roblee under contract by other manufacturers such as, in this case, the retailer Permacount. They were brought to market under the labels of myriad shoe stores small and large, coast to coast. Production of this type of Spectator began in the 1930s and came to an end in the 1960s. This shoe is believed to have been made around 1935.

Barclay shoes were a brand of men's dress shoes created by the Endicott Johnson shoe company starting in 1948 when the company took out a trademark on the Barclay name. Barclay wingtips were made in the USA of leather uppers and soles, with the balance, such as the rubber heel, being man made materials. The Endicott Johnson company was a true company town where its 20,000 employees worked for the company, could purchase homes from EJ and even received their healthcare and entertainment from the company. Mr. Johnson died in 1948 and various relations ran the company as it declined until outside management came in during 1957. The workforce declined in numbers and the tannery closed in 1968. At its peak, EJ was making 52 million pairs of shoes per year! Many were less expensive work shoes, but some of the reliable dress shoes and these still appear on Ebay with little to no wear. These made in the USA NOS wingtips, for example, went for $17 plus shipping. I am looking forward to finding s pair in my size for further examination as they could be a really durable shoe at a bargain price.

I wanted to share a wonderful #8 shell PTB sold by Barrie Ltd. that I picked up on Ebay. Barrie sold this 10.5 EEE beauty before they closed in 2004. The actual age of the shoe is not known and it was apparently made in England, likely by Cheaney & Sons. The Barrie store sold fine menswear to Yale students for over 70 years and had all of their shoes produced for them by other top shoemakers. It is a standard PTB, with the exception of the stitching detail on the side of each lace area, as shown in the images. My estimate is that they were worn 10-15 times, as indicated by the clean interior label. The shoe gods did not smile on me and the 10.5 just would not work with my size 11 feet. I expect that it will be relisted on Ebay within the next week, so look for it if you are a 10.5. As for me, I am now on the lookout for a size 11, but doubt that I will ever locate another one like this.

I sold a pair of NOS Roblees a while back.




I sold them because I prefer my own Adelaide style ones I wear in summertime



meister said:

I sold a pair of NOS Roblees a while back.

I sold them because I prefer my own Adelaide style ones I wear in summertime

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The brougue and medallion really take those shoes to the next level, compared t the ones posted earlier. Great shoes!

Not quite vintage, but these shoes can see it just down the road. It's Throwback Thursday (c) which called for black Saddlehorn leather, PTB Fultons with Othello soles, exposed eyelets, padded insole and contrast stitching. Discontinued in 2006. The three leaves on the ground represent all of the "fall" Los Angeles will receive.

David at V-cleat.com, dropped me an email to point out some new old stock Hanover long wings in my size on Ebay. They lasted for another 12 seconds and are now on the way. This made in the USA shoe was comparable to other well made shoes of its day and I will give a fuller report when they arrive.

Gave the Crosby Spades a run today despite no brown in town edicts