Shoe Damage Report & Shoe P0rn Central - Part II

[Frank the sheep]



thanks for sharing! Glad to see those good quality shoe trees as well

It seemed to be a reasonable investment compared to the cost of the shoes

 

[isshinryu101]



thanks for sharing! Glad to see those good quality shoe trees as well

It seemed to be a reasonable investment compared to the cost of the shoes

darn right! Keep 'em conditioned & polished & they'll last a lifetime... or 3.

 

[dm2703]

I've got a serious problem with these tan aldens i bought 1.5 years ago. i've been trying to darken them (from orange- tan to orange-brown) and frankly they look so bad now that they're unwearable. i've done this experiment several times and it's built up fairly ugly looking polish atop the leather. i took some tape to reveal the true color. apparently the leather itself hasn't really changed color despite my efforts. can anything be done to save these shoes?

 

[chogall]

what do you want to do with them? i.e., do you really want to make them dark brown or you want to reverse course and return them to a tan color?

should've use leather dye instead of polish/cream to make them darker.

just strip off the polish to return them to the original color.

 

[dm2703]

Yeah. I melted it away with scorching water and saddle soap. about 70 percent back to original color. thankfully the leather isn't as damaged as i thought it would be.

 

[Gdot]



I've got a serious problem with these tan aldens i bought 1.5 years ago. i've been trying to darken them (from orange- tan to orange-brown) and frankly they look so bad now that they're unwearable. i've done this experiment several times and it's built up fairly ugly looking polish atop the leather. i took some tape to reveal the true color. apparently the leather itself hasn't really changed color despite my efforts. can anything be done to save these shoes?

Wow, I didn't know it was possible to get that much polish onto a shoe. That's going to be a fun job to strip them.

Did you use paste wax or cream polish?

You should move this post over to the shoe care thread. This thread is intended for pretty pictures of new or special shoes.

 

[mcarthur]



good looking monks
who is maker?

 

[mcarthur]



Hey man, I don't design 'em, I don't make 'em, I just unearth 'em. Thanx

keep up the good work

 

[mcarthur]

ravello lhs
argyle otc

 

[Slewfoot]

My one year old daughter's new shoes...she got style...and more balls than I do wearing button boots.

 

[etb]

Nice! Are those on the 238 last?

I have decided guys, what do you all think about these?

 

[SpooPoker]



My one year old daughter's new shoes...she got style...and more balls than I do wearing button boots.

SF daughters FTW

 

[Gdot]



My one year old daughter's new shoes...she got style...and more balls than I do wearing button boots.

AWWWWWWW~I bet they look great on her!

 

[mr monty]



The support comes from handling and comparing hundreds of pairs of Vintage US shoes (1920's thru 1950's). Also, look at the vintage catalogs and compare the price ranges of various makers.
Edwin Clapp, Crosby Square, City Club, Stetson, and Florsheim (ESPECIALLY in the 30's & 40's) ALL sold Top Tier US made shoes. 100% hand welted, exquisite closed channel soles, the whole works.
Look, this is NOT to take away from Alden as a SOLID maker. The fact is that they didn't even market to the Top US Market at the time. I'd LOVE to throw up some articles of support here, the truth is that there are so few people that really study vintage shoes. The only way to learn about 'e, is to buy them & handle them for yourself.
I DID do a photo comparison of a recent Alden Longwing shell gunboat & a Vintage Florsheim model. I'll post that in the next coupla weeks.
AGAIN, this is not "Alden Bashing". They were just not considered a top US maker until the rest of the top ones went out of business (or outsourced to China & India).

What about vintage Stacy Adams? They were priced as high end shoes.

http://www.sockmansocks.com/vintage_stacy_adams_shoes.htm

 

[Gdot]



What about vintage Stacy Adams? They were priced as high end shoes.
http://www.sockmansocks.com/vintage_stacy_adams_shoes.htm

That's some great stuff! There was so much more freedom of design in that era, more experimentation, than we have going on right now.