Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[Jiqea]

Born in the early days of WWII. A pair of survivors.

Canada entered the War on September 10, 1939. Virtually all the large Canadian shoe makers very quickly shifted large parts of their capacity to producing military footwear. I wonder if the stamping of the exact date of production in these shoes was some sort of wartime requirement. I have not seen this before.

 

[suitforcourt]

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my “grail” pair getting some cleanup time.
These were NOS that I paid a pretty penny for, but oh so worth it.
Florsheim 97626.

Good to see you back, old friend. Any other new additions lately?

 

[stook1]

Anyone recognize the maker of these shoes based upon the markings?

Separately, are these usable given the condition of the soles? Or are the soles shot and I'd need to do an immediate resole? I don't think I have seen surface cracking quite this extensive before and not sure if there is still life in them.

Basically, I like the shoes but not enough to have to do a resole right away. ? I'm thinking best to avoid but... maybe I'm wrong about the soles.

thanks gents!

 

[sam67]

Anyone recognize the maker of these shoes based upon the markings?

Separately, are these usable given the condition of the soles? Or are the soles shot and I'd need to do an immediate resole? I don't think I have seen surface cracking quite this extensive before and not sure if there is still life in them.

Basically, I like the shoes but not enough to have to do a resole right away. ? I'm thinking best to avoid but... maybe I'm wrong about the soles.

thanks gents!

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Is that Church's? What is in the footbed?

 

[smfdoc]

Anyone recognize the maker of these shoes based upon the markings?

Separately, are these usable given the condition of the soles? Or are the soles shot and I'd need to do an immediate resole? I don't think I have seen surface cracking quite this extensive before and not sure if there is still life in them.

Basically, I like the shoes but not enough to have to do a resole right away. ? I'm thinking best to avoid but... maybe I'm wrong about the soles.

thanks gents!

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I think the sole is old and the heel looks aged and hard as a rock. But, you can wear them a while and just see how they hold up. You might be surprised how long they last.

 

[CWOyaji]

I would guess Alfred Sargent. If you buy them, I recommend slathering a lot of neatsfoot oil on the soles, which will darken them but it won't matter. Then wear them and see how long they last.

 

[Lmrjfud]

Good to see you back, old friend. Any other new additions lately?

I just might have a little gift for you, if you have room for another black LWB that is. I will PM some picks when I finish with the restoration.

 

[Lmrjfud]

How are the areas around the lacing? It is my understanding that with vintage shell there is often dry rot in the smaller strips of cordovan.

Thankfully I don’t see any dry rot issues on these. The lace area is still supple and whole.

 

[stook1]

Is that Church's? What is in the footbed?

I would guess Alfred Sargent. If you buy them, I recommend slathering a lot of neatsfoot oil on the soles, which will darken them but it won't matter. Then wear them and see how long they last.

Thanks guys they are a pair that were made for Lefcourt, which was a mens store in NYC that’s long defunct. I’ve been talking with the seller about them. I think they are 60s but they are pretty rough and probably a bad move but I just like them.

My guess was C&J but I think AS or Church’s could be possible. Didn’t get any hits on the last number… will mull it over more, the insoles look decent it’s mainly that outsole that’s giving me pause and the work needed on the uppers.

oops, on mobile and the @smfdoc quote didn’t work for some reason

thx guys for the assistance

 

[suitforcourt]

I just might have a little gift for you, if you have room for another black LWB that is. I will PM some picks when I finish with the restoration.

You're asking a vintage shoe addict if he has room for another pair of black LWBs? Come on man, you've been out of the loop for too long.

 

[Vincent George]

Happy Monday! (Hanovers.)

 

[sam67]

Happy Monday! (Hanovers.)

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And to you (Florsheim)

 

[DWH]

Hello, fellow footwear fanatics—I recently got a couple pairs of vintage shell dress shoes. One was listed as calfskin and very poorly photographed but being Hanover and having the weird seams I figured it was likely a black shell LWB. The other pair is a JM Crown Aristocraft tassel loafer. The tassel loafer had a lining issue even though uppers were in good vintage shape. I’ll focus on the JM in this post.

I didn’t know anything about JM shoes but I’ve learned a little in the last week. One thing I thought about asking on this forum was whether or not they used Horween. I also wondered about the tassels themselves: are they shell also? I feel like Alden uses calfskin for the decorative piece but these looked like a shell that was split or shaved down.

So instead of asking I went about using the search function and didn’t find anything—I’m sure it’s there somewhere—so I decided to find out by taking them apart. That’s right. I’m currently taking the shoes apart. Here’s a couple pics to show my progress.

 

[stook1]

Hello, fellow footwear fanatics—I recently got a couple pairs of vintage shell dress shoes. One was listed as calfskin and very poorly photographed but being Hanover and having the weird seams I figured it was likely a black shell LWB. The other pair is a JM Crown Aristocraft tassel loafer. The tassel loafer had a lining issue even though uppers were in good vintage shape. I’ll focus on the JM in this post.

I didn’t know anything about JM shoes but I’ve learned a little in the last week. One thing I thought about asking on this forum was whether or not they used Horween. I also wondered about the tassels themselves: are they shell also? I feel like Alden uses calfskin for the decorative piece but these looked like a shell that was split or shaved down.

So instead of asking I went about using the search function and didn’t find anything—I’m sure it’s there somewhere—so I decided to find out by taking them apart. That’s right. I’m currently taking the shoes apart. Here’s a couple pics to show my progress. View attachment 1742817 View attachment 1742818 View attachment 1742819 View attachment 1742820 View attachment 1742821 View attachment 1742822

I am pretty sure that Alden tassels are shell, actually. I can't tell whether your pair's tassels are shell from the pics but you're stressing me out with the deconstruction! That looks like a nice pair. Curious what you find.

 

[JFWR]

Dare I say I will be trying my hand at some edging this evening.

On the shoe stand are (top) a pair of NOS black "Escort" oxfords built by Scott-McHale in 1941 for sale by Eatons ; (middle) a pair of mid 1950's Tyrol spectators made in Montreal (hand welted Norwegian); and below a pair of NOS ventilated spectators made by Scott-McHale in 1936/37 at their Tillsonburg factory.

The Escort Oxfords were made 81 years ago today. Happy birthday my darlings!!

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...Edging, huh? Man, you don't need to share that much personal info with us. That's really a private matter!