Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[kilowatts]

View attachment 1397180

Very cool shoes!

 

[kilowatts]

They’re still technically at the top (along with its sibling, the opera pump). However, outside of certain London and New York institutions, they’re purely optional.

As for the ever more gauche Windsor (née Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) family, and their modes of dress, they’re running around wearing beat-up wingtips with morning coat, which is ridiculous:

If you can’t be bothered to do it right, just don’t do it at all.

Hi Misterfu:
Technically no longer part of the royal gang. However, who the hell knows how those people justify their behaviour but then again as my builder says, “l can’t see it from my house!”. Poor things.
kilowatts

 

[CWOyaji]

Harry should be wearing Alan McAfee wingtips like these. An example of CG (or at least coated leather) done right. They had a hole in the sole when I thrifted them, but unlike our formerly royal friend, I had them redone. As we do. From London, for Bullock & Jones, San Francisco.

Sorry about the haze on the lens, here they are at the office:

It's the Langton

 

[suitforcourt]

Non vintage violation, but a worthwhile one.

We all know that modern day Florsheims are not worth much and constructed poorly. The company is a ghost of its past. Duckie Florsheim is one major exception, along with the first few pairs made in India in the 90s.

I recently e-thrifted these Florsheim custom line boots. I took a gamble for the price. I believe these were tried on and never worn again. So let's analyse.

Leather - Horween, but very very thin. Soft and supple, and cleaned up easily with just some brushing and one dose of Bick 4. The leather feel unconstructed and flimsy relative to my Red Wings and Wolverine 1000 Miles.

Stitching (exterior) - Not bad. See for yourself.

Stitching (interior) - Poorly executed. Sloppy stitch work overall. Things are not lined up.

Soles - Clearly marked as GYW. The outsole stitching is decent. The welt holes are clear and the job was overall well done. Heels are lined up and nailed in.

The boots feel very light. I compare them to my Red Wings and Wolverine 1000 Miles. Even relative to shoes, these feel like feathers. I would not be surprised if torn apart, most of the interior is material like carpet filler, as opposed to cork.

Fit - These are 9.5D. For vintage Florsheim, it's one of the sizes I can fit in. These are snug, so won't be able to wear thick socks with them.

Comfort - Will need to wear a few times to evaluate. Upgrades? I will ask a cobbler to install speed hooks, rubber sole protector, and lulu tips.

Overall? For $65 USD, these aren't bad. GYW boots, by a brand that has some standards. I would never pay full price for these.

 

[ccpl14]

Non vintage violation, but a worthwhile one.

We all know that modern day Florsheims are not worth much and constructed poorly. The company is a ghost of its past. Duckie Florsheim is one major exception, along with the first few pairs made in India in the 90s.

I recently e-thrifted these Florsheim custom line boots. I took a gamble for the price. I believe these were tried on and never worn again. So let's analyse.

Leather - Horween, but very very thin. Soft and supple, and cleaned up easily with just some brushing and one dose of Bick 4. The leather feel unconstructed and flimsy relative to my Red Wings and Wolverine 1000 Miles.

Stitching (exterior) - Not bad. See for yourself.

Stitching (interior) - Poorly executed. Sloppy stitch work overall. Things are not lined up.

Soles - Clearly marked as GYW. The outsole stitching is decent. The welt holes are clear and the job was overall well done. Heels are lined up and nailed in.

The boots feel very light. I compare them to my Red Wings and Wolverine 1000 Miles. Even relative to shoes, these feel like feathers. I would not be surprised if torn apart, most of the interior is material like carpet filler, as opposed to cork.

Fit - These are 9.5D. For vintage Florsheim, it's one of the sizes I can fit in. These are snug, so won't be able to wear thick socks with them.

Comfort - Will need to wear a few times to evaluate. Upgrades? I will ask a cobbler to install speed hooks, rubber sole protector, and lulu tips.

View attachment 1397323 View attachment 1397324 View attachment 1397325 View attachment 1397326 View attachment 1397327 View attachment 1397328 View attachment 1397330 View attachment 1397331 View attachment 1397332 Overall? For $65 USD, these aren't bad. GYW boots, by a brand that has some standards. I would never pay full price for these.

Out of curiosity, do you know the country of manufacture?

 

[eTrojan]

View attachment 1396222 View attachment 1396223
2 of probably my oldest vintage pairs. Allen Edmonds Empire from 1957. They are basically museum pieces at this point as the leather is brittle and the top-lines are extremely rough.

I worked for Allen Edmonds for about 7 years. At one time had over 70 pairs of AE but have whittled my collection down to 3 pairs - these and early 00’s black park avenue.

The Empire is beautiful. I have a pair that I’ve been bringing slowly back to life.

I need to have a skilled cobbler look at a necessary repair before I can wear them. But if he says he can manage the repair, I have every intention of wearing them.

 

[eTrojan]

This is definitely a thing, but I wonder about the shortening of length. I'd expect it to be longer not shorter.
Could this be a case of lock down induced weight gain or increased sedentary habits? Feet could be used to not being in (tighter fitting) dress shoes and now he's noticing a difference?

I think it’s something about how the AE guys read the Brannock. They tried to tell me I was a 12B, despite the fact that they couldn’t find a 12B that actually fit (and they don’t stock A-width in-store).

 

[Hotel Cali]

Out of curiosity, do you know the country of manufacture?

I heard that all Duckie Browns are made in India (with decent quality).

 

[happypebble]

Non vintage violation, but a worthwhile one.

We all know that modern day Florsheims are not worth much and constructed poorly. The company is a ghost of its past. Duckie Florsheim is one major exception, along with the first few pairs made in India in the 90s.

I recently e-thrifted these Florsheim custom line boots. I took a gamble for the price. I believe these were tried on and never worn again. So let's analyse.

Leather - Horween, but very very thin. Soft and supple, and cleaned up easily with just some brushing and one dose of Bick 4. The leather feel unconstructed and flimsy relative to my Red Wings and Wolverine 1000 Miles.

Stitching (exterior) - Not bad. See for yourself.

Stitching (interior) - Poorly executed. Sloppy stitch work overall. Things are not lined up.

Soles - Clearly marked as GYW. The outsole stitching is decent. The welt holes are clear and the job was overall well done. Heels are lined up and nailed in.

The boots feel very light. I compare them to my Red Wings and Wolverine 1000 Miles. Even relative to shoes, these feel like feathers. I would not be surprised if torn apart, most of the interior is material like carpet filler, as opposed to cork.

Fit - These are 9.5D. For vintage Florsheim, it's one of the sizes I can fit in. These are snug, so won't be able to wear thick socks with them.

Comfort - Will need to wear a few times to evaluate. Upgrades? I will ask a cobbler to install speed hooks, rubber sole protector, and lulu tips.

View attachment 1397323 View attachment 1397324 View attachment 1397325 View attachment 1397326 View attachment 1397327 View attachment 1397328 View attachment 1397330 View attachment 1397331 View attachment 1397332 Overall? For $65 USD, these aren't bad. GYW boots, by a brand that has some standards. I would never pay full price for these.

By the way, if one is looking for work boots rather than dress boots, Florsheim's current Utility boots are quite decent.

 

[jpm1]

The Empire is beautiful. I have a pair that I’ve been bringing slowly back to life.

I need to have a skilled cobbler look at a necessary repair before I can wear them. But if he says he can manage the repair, I have every intention of wearing them.

Would love to see pictures!

 

[suitforcourt]

Out of curiosity, do you know the country of manufacture?

India

 

[jpm1]

I think it’s something about how the AE guys read the Brannock. They tried to tell me I was a 12B, despite the fact that they couldn’t find a 12B that actually fit (and they don’t stock A-width in-store).

There are a couple of ways to interpret the brannock. You can take the straight length/width reading or you can take the arch length (heel to ball measurement). Both can be helpful but neither are absolute. Brannock doesn’t account for volume and other fit anomalies.

So while the brannock is a great guide and starting point for fit, it comes down to the ability of the fitter to be able to gauge your foot shape and apply it to knowledge of the particular last fit properties. Some will go longer/narrower, some shorter/wider. In a lot of cases, the length/width measurement is the right way to go too.

In my experience, higher end shoes generally run slightly on the longer side. For a brand like AE that offers an array of widths, to me, it doesn’t make sense to go longer when you have widths available. One exception would be for Bals with high insteps an going wider isn’t enough so adding length is the fix.

I’m a 12C width so I get your struggle with access to sizes/lasts to try at a shop.

 

[jpm1]

Alden 692 Burgundy Calfskin Tassels from 1989

 

[woofmang]

Wearing my early 90s AE Black Cherry Shell Bristols today:

(And an unsolicited plug for Bick 4: I was beginning to worry about these; after a dozen wears or so over about a year's time, the rolls in the vamp were starting to seem very dry, and I was afraid they might crack if that got much worse. Following someone's recommendation - can't recall if it was here or on another SF thread - I picked up a bottle of Bick 4, and after my last wear a couple of weeks ago, thoroughly conditioned them inside and out with it. I let them sit overnight, put their trees back in, bagged them up, and put them up. Today, they're smooth and supple-looking all around. I'm very happy with the results.)

 

[friendlygoz]

I think it’s something about how the AE guys read the Brannock. They tried to tell me I was a 12B, despite the fact that they couldn’t find a 12B that actually fit (and they don’t stock A-width in-store).

I think so too. The sales associate seem to be surprisingly unknowledgeable. When I mentioned that “I have a hard time with the fit on the 5 last,” She said she had never heard of the 5 last. I had to explain to her that that was shorthand for the 65 last.