Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[friendlygoz]

12 D for certain!

OK. OK. I’ll keep you guys in mind.

 

[2Deuce2]

OK. OK. I’ll keep you guys in mind.

Us 12 D guys don't see anything in the wild. We can live vicariously through you @friendlygoz and @CWOyaji !

 

[Thrift Couture]

Greetings Gentlemen. I picked this pair up at a bargain, I thought it was a nice looking monkstrap. I'm not sure if they're vintage and they may be a cemented pair, but if anyone has any info I'd love to learn about them. Thank you in advance!

 

[suitforcourt]

Florsheim 93602s in the wild. Bought these NOS condition and worth every penny.

 

[friendlygoz]

Greetings Gentlemen. I picked this pair up at a bargain, I thought it was a nice looking monkstrap. I'm not sure if they're vintage and they may be a cemented pair, but if anyone has any info I'd love to learn about them. Thank you in advance!
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Not sure if they are vintage but they look to be. I love monk straps. They look amazing. Clean them, condition and then polish and those will look sweet.

 

[suitforcourt]

New purchases finally arrived. The first pair is shell 92612. The condition is acceptable. Shell is in decent shape, but heel counters need work. Last owner also removed v-cleats but kept original sole. Weird. The insole covers have also worn off. Sending these off for a full recraft.

Second pair is 33892 which are v-cleats originally, but Florsheim went with corrected grain. Great shape on shoe. Converting these to full rubber soles to use as rain shoes.

 

[Jiqea]

Greetings Gentlemen. I picked this pair up at a bargain, I thought it was a nice looking monkstrap. I'm not sure if they're vintage and they may be a cemented pair, but if anyone has any info I'd love to learn about them. Thank you in advance!
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I have been looking at a pair like this in black on Ebay. Fine looking shoes. Good score.

 

[mormonopoly]

Greetings Gentlemen. I picked this pair up at a bargain, I thought it was a nice looking monkstrap. I'm not sure if they're vintage and they may be a cemented pair, but if anyone has any info I'd love to learn about them. Thank you in advance!
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That era and style of royal imperial is generally cemented.

 

[eTrojan]

I know LA is huge, so local is somewhat subjective, but I've seen a couple guys (@Roycru & pretty sure @smfdoc used them for something) comment positively of Willie's Shoe Service.

Willie's is known. They are the best in town. Bar none. They also make $4k bespoke shoes.

For a resole/reheel on the Florsheim, they want $265. And that's using their stock German soles, not JR. They only use JR on their custom shoes, unless the customer requests them at additional charge.

For a shoe that gets worn 10-12 times a year, that seems overkill.

 

[suitforcourt]

Willie's is known. They are the best in town. Bar none. They also make $4k bespoke shoes.

For a resole/reheel on the Florsheim, they want $265. And that's using their stock German soles, not JR. They only use JR on their custom shoes, unless the customer requests them at additional charge.

For a shoe that gets worn 10-12 times a year, that seems overkill.

Wow, 265 is a lot of money. But if he is good, then it's worth it obviously

 

[DoubleOldFashioned]

(*crossposted from AE appreciation thread)

Picked these shell Polos up off of eBay - they are rare in EEE width (they were made to order in that width, per this ‘93 catalogue) so I’m glad to have them:

Number on the inside leads me to believe these were made in ‘92 and the “FR” stamp on the bottom tells me they’re seconds.

The right shoe had some serious rolls and toe curling, but was in good shape otherwise. The previous owner brushed them a lot, and there didn’t seem to be any real scratches. I decided to use the @davidVC Dunking Method®️ for straightening out shoes.

First, I wiped them out with alcohol and did some UV sanitizing. The shell seemed to have no polish, so I went straight to soaking them. The toe of the right shoe REFUSED to soak in the water; the below pic was after 3 hours. I decided to take them out and let them dry, but there was a dark demarcation between the part that was soaked and the part that did not get soaked.

Back in the water they went. After the second dunking they became fully soaked, and were much better when they dried.

After drying for two days I did another UV treatment, then four rounds of Bick4 (plus a round of Bick4 on the inside) and finished with two rounds of Colonil Neutral cream. The pics don’t show, but the shell has that subtle mottled look that I really appreciate.
I also sanded the edges of the soles and applied new dressing.

They shined up nicely, and you can see the difference in color between the two shoes. The rolls straightened out a good deal and there isn’t any curling of the toes. The dark areas within the rolls lightened up, as well.

This shot really shows how red some older shell can get at certain angles. I look forward to wearing them soon.

Edit: Just did the math - these were manufactured 31 March of 1992, making them just shy of 27 years old.

 

[eTrojan]

Wow, 265 is a lot of money. But if he is good, then it's worth it obviously

You know those are US dollars, not CA dollars, right?

 

[suitforcourt]

You know those are US dollars, not CA dollars, right?

Oh I am very aware. Makes it that much more expensive!

My Canadian cobblers charge between 200-250 Canadian for JR sole recraft.

 

[Thrift Couture]

I have been looking at a pair like this in black on Ebay. Fine looking shoes. Good score.

Thank you Sir! I've had my eye on the black pair as well.

 

[M635Guy]

Wow, 265 is a lot of money. But if he is good, then it's worth it obviously

I'm going Bedos or AHOne before I spend that money. Steve and Aram are both really good. This not a criticism of Willy, but that reflects his rent and a bit of "I can do the work if you can spend the money" price. I'd love to have something his hands have touched, but...