Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[instigateur]

Fridays are for Shell. Bostonians

 

[JurassicUtility]

Does anybody here have a sense of how old these shell shoes are? 80s? 70s? Older?



eBay link: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/153559760203

I picked these up on ebay for $140 because they looked too nice to pass up, but I haven't been able to find any information about the shoes or what specific kind of shell it is. Also, does anybody have experience trying to restore or condition leather soles in really old shoes? The upper material seems to be in pretty good condition, but the leather sole seems very stiff and and dried out. Thinking it might be a good idea to give them a glycerin/water treatment like what is detailed here:
https://vcleat.com/nettleton-traditionals-4063-shell-cordovan-restore/

Any advice on how to go about conditioning/restoring these is welcome. So far I've wiped down the uppers with a clean, water dampened cloth, and then allowed them to dry. I then applied a thin coating of lexol conditioner and buffed them with a horsehair brush after that dried. When I wiped them with the damp cloth, I was seeing a significant amount of purple colored dye/pigment transferring to the white cloth I was using (thought it was dirt at first). Not sure if that was old shoe cream, or part of the finish coming off.

 

[kilowatts]

Hi Jurassic:
Welcome to the thread.

Yeah, Lotus; Good quality British high street shoe shop back in the day. They were one of the higher quality shops but I don't believe they made their own shoes. They were famous for selling Veldtschoen country shoes when they were fashionable. My best guess would be that your shoes are late seventies, early eighties based on the faint squared off toe shape.

I think there are lots of posts describing the best way to clean and recondition shell but this is mine:

Clean with a damp cloth and some kind of soap. Dry off and let dry completely overnight. Slather on lots of Lexol in a couple of applications until the shell stops absorbing it quickly. Let rest overnight and then brush like hell for a while. Apply some colored paste polish to fill any dings or scrapes. More brushing. Finish with a tiny bit of wax polish in clear and more brushing and more brushing followed by a buff with an old T shirt.

For the sole edges I like to use a thick construction style permanent felt tipped pen to cover all the scuffs and then add black wax polish to shine it all up. Those sure do look to be fine quality shoes and I think they'll clean up just fine.

Works for me!!

kilowatts

 

[CWOyaji]

Had to pay up for these, but mint C&J captoes in 10D are a slam dunk.

 

[CWOyaji]

Does anybody here have a sense of how old these shell shoes are? 80s? 70s? Older?



eBay link: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/153559760203

I picked these up on ebay for $140 because they looked too nice to pass up, but I haven't been able to find any information about the shoes or what specific kind of shell it is. Also, does anybody have experience trying to restore or condition leather soles in really old shoes? The upper material seems to be in pretty good condition, but the leather sole seems very stiff and and dried out. Thinking it might be a good idea to give them a glycerin/water treatment like what is detailed here:
https://vcleat.com/nettleton-traditionals-4063-shell-cordovan-restore/

Any advice on how to go about conditioning/restoring these is welcome. So far I've wiped down the uppers with a clean, water dampened cloth, and then allowed them to dry. I then applied a thin coating of lexol conditioner and buffed them with a horsehair brush after that dried. When I wiped them with the damp cloth, I was seeing a significant amount of purple colored dye/pigment transferring to the white cloth I was using (thought it was dirt at first). Not sure if that was old shoe cream, or part of the finish coming off.

For the soles, neatsfoot oil would be a good choice for rehydrating them. Lexol makes one that doesn't darken leather, though that may not be a big concern for soles. And, welcome to the thread!

 

[Thomas Crown]

For every time I find a great thrift score,I first have to slog through a Star Wars trash compactor full of this kind of thing

 

[smfdoc]

For every time I find a great thrift score,I first have to slog through a Star Wars trash compactor full of this kind of thing View attachment 1229083

It's like they designed an ugly shoe and then cloned it.

 

[suitforcourt]

It's like they designed an ugly shoe and then cloned it.

Majority of men prefer the disposable, cheaply made, square toed footwear. Good thing we hold the balance of power.

 

[wasmisterfu]

For every time I find a great thrift score,I first have to slog through a Star Wars trash compactor full of this kind of thing View attachment 1229083

Wow. That’s a whole bunch of square toed “dress” shoes. The good news is I think the square bicycle toe is finally dead. I see fewer and fewer of them in the wild, but their extinction can’t come soon enough. Hopefully they’ve all been retired to landfills before the next generation of hipsters start wearing them “ironically”.

 

[Numbernine]

For every time I find a great thrift score,I first have to slog through a Star Wars trash compactor full of this kind of thing View attachment 1229083

At least you found leather. Last time I went out looking for some brown shoes to sacrifice to a dye experiment all I could find were Man Made Materials

 

[friendlygoz]

For every time I find a great thrift score,I first have to slog through a Star Wars trash compactor full of this kind of thing View attachment 1229083

I don't go thrifting often, but when I have, I ONLY end up in the trash compactors of shoes. Did these ever look good? Maybe with baggy jeans... they will be back... they will all be back...

 

[wasmisterfu]

Majority of men prefer the disposable, cheaply made, square toed footwear. Good thing we hold the balance of power.

A lot of the square toe “phenomenon” was simply one person copying another - they were “cool” with the shiny shirt crowd in the late 90’s to mid 00’s. Many 20 something gen-x’ers and early millennials bought them as their first and only dress shoes. They’ve continued wearing them whenever they have an infrequent “formal” event, such as a wedding, job interview or court appearance.

That said, the message about square toed shoes being terminally unstylish has reached critical mass, which is why we now see mountains of them at thrift and Goodwill.

 

[wasmisterfu]

At least you found leather. Last time I went out looking for some brown shoes to sacrifice to a dye experiment all I could find were Man Made Materials

You should try dying Corfam. Don’t just let your dreams be dreams...

 

[suitforcourt]

You should try dying Corfam. Don’t just let your dreams be dreams...

Not that I ever thought much of him. But he has finally jumped the shark.

 

[suitforcourt]

A lot of the square toe “phenomenon” was simply one person copying another - they were “cool” with the shiny shirt crowd in the late 90’s to mid 00’s. Many 20 something gen-x’ers and early millennials bought them as their first and only dress shoes. They’ve continued wearing them whenever they have an infrequent “formal” event, such as a wedding, job interview or court appearance.

That said, the message about square toed shoes being terminally unstylish has reached critical mass, which is why we now see mountains of them at thrift and Goodwill.

I will respectfully disagree. I still see so much square toe or square bicycle toe in the wild, I would be a billionaire if those shoes were pennies.

I can offer no explanation. Or guys with money buying anything with the "made in Italy" tag believing it's gold.

A former classmate of mine (yes, a lawyer) showed me his new shoes the one day while we rode transit to court.

He asked if I was impressed. I said I was not as they were square toed with th slight toe curl. He proudly told me he bought the brand I had talked about once. I had talked about Alden. He had a pair from the infamous Aldo.

I rest my case.