Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[suitforcourt]

Dear Florsheim family,

Please do bring back the shell long wing. Imagine the pride you will feel when the new owner can open his box and feast their eyes on such shoes. To paraphrase a famous movie, “If you build them, they will sell.”

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If the Florsheim family actually responds, I will have lived a rich life.

 

[stylish_raven]

me too sincerely

 

[Shoonoob]

Les Misters Florsheim,
Please commence production post haste.
Sincerely, Shoonoob

(Of course I was wearing these today)

 

[CWOyaji]

Rain or shine, gonna keep hope alive for the return of the Florsheim 93605.

 

[suitforcourt]

Les Misters Florsheim,
Please commence production post haste.
Sincerely, Shoonoob
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(Of course I was wearing these today)

Florsheim family - please hire @Shoonoob to help with colour combinations and new spectator combos. He is worth every penny.

 

[Lmrjfud]

Messers Florsheim, et. al.,

Not so very long ago your company produced some absolutely stellar footwear.
These were the shoes of the common man seeking to persue his better self.
Look deep inside your corporate sole. (See what I did there?)
Return your brand to its historic roots.
Mr. Florsheim,,, Build this shoe!

 

[Paul902]

You guys are killing me, today. I can only sit back and admire with envy!

 

[davidVC]

Any vintage Florsheim enthusiast will have a Golden Harvest pair near the top of their list. It should be at the top of Florsheim’s list.

This pair was made in 1979.

 

[Thomas Crown]

Called into work so this is as good as they are gonna get this week.
Inspired by Nucky's shoes at the opening of Boardwalk Empire.
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Acetone rub down and a couple coats of Angelus dark brown dye with a paint brush. Bick4, meltonian light brown and dark brown cream for the color blocking and a coat of neutral Lincoln wax.
Will get some more wax, some more edge work and some rubber heels in the future.
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I was away from the thread yesterday so just saw these-were those 93602’s?-incredible!—the brown on darker sections reminds me of the 93639 Chestnut Imperials,I think you may well be the king of customized transformations around here,starting with the homemade suedes in the Challenge!

 

[Thomas Crown]

Not to break from the Florsheim love,but had a chance to get some pictures of the vintage Nettleton shell LWB in natural light

 

[eaeden]

Can you gents fill me in on George Keith Co shoes? Seems to be related to Walk Over shoes, which seems to have been a nicer thing back in the mid-20th century... I just e-thrifted a pair of what I believe to be cordovan brogues they made for an Atlanta shoe store, and as I’m an avid thrift thread + sport coat guy with a weak shoe game, I’d be grateful for y’all’s expertise. Can can tell me more than the surprisingly sparse google results....?

 

[eaeden]

Someone just noted that the creases on the shoe in the right pic make them look more calf than shell, and I sure think he’s right...

So I guess 2 questions now:
1) thoughts on the maker?
2) am I right that these look more calf than cordovan (if so, I can still nix the purchase!)

Can you gents fill me in on George Keith Co shoes? Seems to be related to Walk Over shoes, which seems to have been a nicer thing back in the mid-20th century... I just e-thrifted a pair of what I believe to be cordovan brogues they made for an Atlanta shoe store, and as I’m an avid thrift thread + sport coat guy with a weak shoe game, I’d be grateful for y’all’s expertise. Can can tell me more than the surprisingly sparse google results....?

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[Shoonoob]

I was away from the thread yesterday so just saw these-were those 93602’s?-incredible!—the brown on darker sections reminds me of the 93639 Chestnut Imperials,I think you may well be the king of customized transformations around here,starting with the homemade suedes in the Challenge!

High Praise! Yes they were 93602s. I need a few more pairs to transform so I can match the Thomas Crown collection on the cheap.

 

[Oshare]

Someone just noted that the creases on the shoe in the right pic make them look more calf than shell, and I sure think he’s right...

So I guess 2 questions now:
1) thoughts on the maker?
2) am I right that these look more calf than cordovan (if so, I can still nix the purchase!)

For #2 and judging from the pictures, I was thinking they are not cordovan. There do appear to be slight imperfections in the leather surface, which to me is actually a -good- thing because it means they are likely not some poor quality coated corrected grain leather.

Not sure about #1, as I've never heard of that maker... but they look like they could be decent quality shoes. If the price was acceptable to you, they might be worth keeping?

Here's some history I found, but the walkover.com site is no longer functioning. It is registered to an "HH Brown Shoe Company" which seems to still be in existence: https://www.hhbrown.com/

1758
The Keith family of shoe makers traces its ancestry back to the Reverend James Keith, first Minister of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, who came from Scotland in 1662. Bridgewater was the first interior settlement founded by families from the Plymouth Colony who moved inland. It was here, in 1758, that Reverend James' great grandson, Levi, became the first of the family to make shoes, in a small ell attached to his house where he conducted a tannery. Both Levi's son Benjamin and his grandson, Ziba, learned the art of shoe making at early ages and followed the family trade in the cold winter months. Ziba's son Franklin received his training in the "Old Red Shop" as the ell of the house was known. It was Franklin who was the first of the family to depend solely on shoe making for his livelihood.

1874
Keeping with the family tradition, Franklin passed his knowledge on to his own son, George Eldon, who began making shoes at the age of ten. Years later, in 1874, with $1,000, George Eldon set up his own enterprise. He hired 10 employees, and thus began the business that was to become Walk-Over, and would soon be a respected household name the world over.

1883
The Northern Pacific Railway was completed, an important milestone in the development of the American west. This time of expansion and discovery marked the beginning of an era that would bring forth some of the most hardworking, rugged styles in Walk-Over’s history, from engineer to tanker boots.

Today, the iconic styles of the Walk-Over Vintage Collection reflect the authentic detail and character of these archival 19th and early 20th century designs.

1899
The thriving business was gaining a reputation for its value and integrity, and Mr. Keith wanted to brand the company with a name that would reflect its growing prominence. Discussing it with his wife one evening while she was reading the newspaper, the headline caught his eye: "America's Cup defender 'Columbia' wins in a Walk Over Sir Thomas Lipton's 'Shamrock'". Strength, straight-forward simplicity, and clear-cut victory - "Walk-Over" said it all, and thus was born the first brand name in men's footwear in the country.

1920
Over the next few decades, through the 1920s, Walk-Over shoes were sold in 102 countries and 46 exclusive Walk-Over stores worldwide. Mr. Keith's vision, energy, and innovation were unprecedented in the shoemaking industry. Surrounding himself with dedicated employees, he built a company based on respect for all with whom he dealt. As he said, "No person ever attained success by creating enemies."

1950
The seeds of success that were planted in the 19th century and sewn in the first part of the 20th continued to flourish. By mid-century Walk-Over was still a prominent presence worldwide, a veritable household name from Boston to Belgium, San Diego to Switzerland. The source of this success transcended the quality, comfort and durability of the shoes. The spirit was writ large, literally, in the magazine published by the company, Walk-Over Shoe Print, which covered issues relating to the company, the shoemaking industry, and general social concerns, and embodied the way Mr. Keith’s vision went beyond the immediate needs of his personal business.

1970
As the 1950s came to a close, shoe manufacturing standards began to fall. Mass marketing demands on volume and low price lured manufacturers into forfeiting production quality. The George E. Keith Company, however, resisted the temptation to follow suit and continued to produce the highest quality footwear for many of the world’s finest brand names and retailers to the same standards of excellence on which Mr. Keith had built the Walk-Over business.

1980
After nearly a century of shoemaking excellence, Walk-Over was a premier brand of men’s footwear, the epitome of which were the tailored business shoe and the classic buck. These iconic styles represented the direction the company would take as it stepped into the future with an emphasis on the dress side of casual and the casual side of dress.

1990
With the introduction of a complete line of women’s shoes, Walk-Over continued its commitment to producing the highest quality footwear, and it continued its tradition of innovation, developing high performance and waterproof performance shoes to meet modern technological demands.

"today" (circa ???)
Although rich in history and steeped in tradition, Walk-Over Shoes are manufactured to meet the demands of the 21st century, and the slogan, "Made to a Standard. Not a Price," that has been the guiding principle of this American tradition since its humble beginnings in the "Old Red Shop" persists today, and the company is setting new standards in style, durability, and comfort for today and beyond. 250 years and counting, Walk-Over shoes are still manufactured in the United States and they're emblematic of America's creative, entrepreneurial, and can-do spirit.​

 

[CWOyaji]

HHBrown is owned by Berkshire Hathaway AKA Warren Buffett IIRC