Australian Members



blahman said:

I'm a 36S person. Unfortunately I have a bit of an aversion to used clothing. The very thought of a likely probability of the jacket having belonged to someone who may very well be in a casket 6ft under right now irks me. Although I like to think I am not superstitious, I have to admit I am a little bit in that regard.

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bah - just burn some ghost money in the gutter outside your house -then put the suit on and light a bunch of firecrackers and bang a saucepan to make a lot of noise and smoke. Then she'll be apples.

Gents would you use shoe trees in leather chukka boots and, if so, what sort? I am using some regular shoe trees, but have a very difficult time getting them in and out. I'm a bit worried I might be doing more harm than good.



California Dreamer said:

Gents would you use shoe trees in leather chukka boots and, if so, what sort? I am using some regular shoe trees, but have a very difficult time getting them in and out. I'm a bit worried I might be doing more harm than good.

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I use shoe trees in every pair of leather shoes that I own, including drivers and boat shoes. I find it keeps them fresh above anything else. Especially in those that I wear sockless. I don't own any Chukkas though so I can't help you there. Perhaps try asking in a general thread, Chukkas are not exclusive to Australia.



jobro said:

I use shoe trees in every pair of leather shoes that I own, including drivers and boat shoes. I find it keeps them fresh above anything else. Especially in those that I wear sockless. I don't own any Chukkas though so I can't help you there. Perhaps try asking in a general thread, Chukkas are not exclusive to Australia.

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I think I just heard fxh's head explode.



fxh said:

bah - just burn some ghost money in the gutter outside your house -then put the suit on and light a bunch of firecrackers and bang a saucepan to make a lot of noise and smoke. Then she'll be apples.

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That's gold.

Someone from work is organising www.ambfa.com to come to work and measure people up.

Anyone used them before?



Teggeh said:

Someone from work is organising www.ambfa.com to come to work and measure people up.
Anyone used them before?

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Nope but I find it amusing that they use Indochino pictures.

I used to put shoe trees in my driving moccasins but not anymore. I think they were stretching the show too much. Besides I found that the upper leather of the moccasin doesn't crease anyway.

Blahman, you may have noticed that I have been exercising a dignified restraint when it comes to poor misguided iGentts here who slip their sweaty toe jam covered feet bare, naked, without socks, into shoes. It wouldn't be so bad if they just did it slopping around at home pretending they are Hugh Hefner but I do understand that some of them even wear this sans sock combination outside the home bedroom into the wider world where they even attempt to mix socially with other humans. It's about as attractive as wearing tight, almost sheer linen linen wide legged shorts without underwear or having a shirt opened down 3 buttons at the front.

What about using something like this then? http://www.ebay.com/itm/320775768930?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Are you saying you wear socks with boat shoes?



appolyon said:

By 'cut' I mean to remove a bit of the polish using the same cloth but this time dipped in a little water (literally mean like get a drop or two of water only).

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OK I've followed your method with the polishing and water 'cutting' and I got very good results. The polish became very smooth had a lot of 'depth' to it. However I just went to buff it with a standard cotton cloth...but I don't think I got the best out of it. Do you use spit or water when doing the final 'buffing'?

[FXH, please stop reading at this point]

Gents, I took a look in DJs at lunchtime today and was pleased to see that DJs have actually started getting some decent models in their Milana line.

Now that it's coming in to summer, Milana have several loafers in stock. I saw the following:
- navy blue, pebble-grain calf leather driving moccasin with a leather lace tie (similar to a sleeker boat shoe);
- suede driving moccasins with a leather lace tie in assorted colours, including taupe/beige, mid-brown, navy and black;
- Unlined, plain vamp loafer in brown calf; and
- Unlined loafer with penny loafer-style strap and some beefroll-style stitching at the side of the strap.

The suede driving mocs, in particular, looked very nice. They were priced at $199 but on sale for $135 or so - a good price given that they look practically identical to the ones that Herringbone is currently selling for $250. They also look significantly better than the Tod's driving shoes that DJs is also selling for over $400.

The unlined loafers also looked very good. I can't remember the price but I may well go back and pick up a pair for summer barbeque/park wear. It's nice to see some good-looking shoes from Milana again, as they've had a run of absolute shockers over the past couple of years.

__PG__ said:

appolyon said:

By 'cut' I mean to remove a bit of the polish using the same cloth but this time dipped in a little water (literally mean like get a drop or two of water only).

Click to expand...

OK I've followed your method with the polishing and water 'cutting' and I got very good results. The polish became very smooth had a lot of 'depth' to it. However I just went to buff it with a standard cotton cloth...but I don't think I got the best out of it. Do you use spit or water when doing the final 'buffing'?

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I don't really like the high gloss spit or bull polish look, but when I used to do it on army boots we used actual spit, in small dribbles, and Kiwi. My understanding is that the moisture thins the polish into a paste and the heat and pressure from your fingers in the rag and rubbing motion produce heat that slightly melts, softens, the wax and pushes it into the leather as far as is possible. We used to always rub in a small circular motion with some pressure until the polish was gone then buff it up, then start all over again. Like most of this stuff it works best building up thin consecutive layers. As I understand it the polishing shines up a hard wax finish. It's the hard wax that is shiney. But I might be wrong that's just how I was taught and remember the " science" . It does seem consistent with what I know about wax and polishing etc in general with wood etc.



jobro said:

. Perhaps try asking in a general thread, Chukkas are not exclusive to Australia.

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True. But I have zero interest in the general threads in Style Forum. Too many smart-arsed tossers there. I am sure I can get all the sensible answers I need in this thread.