Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[CWOyaji]

These look pretty nice for any 12 D bros. $125 BIN with free shipping, not mine.

ALLEN EDMONDS 9097 MacNeil Burgundy Shell Cordovan Long Wing Oxford Shoes 12 D | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ALLEN EDMONDS 9097 MacNeil Burgundy Shell Cordovan Long Wing Oxford Shoes 12 D at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Nealjpage]

Any 9.5EEE (or EEEE -- I can't remember) guys? Spotted a NOS pair of ET Wright MiUSA boots at Goodwill. Willing to proxy if anyone is interested. Will get a picture tomorrow if there's interest.

 

[suitforcourt]

Any 9.5EEE (or EEEE -- I can't remember) guys? Spotted a NOS pair of ET Wright MiUSA boots at Goodwill. Willing to proxy if anyone is interested. Will get a picture tomorrow if there's interest.

@Lmrjfud

 

[Bopper]

Greetings, my brothers,

I've been watching here for years. I'm also a VCleat fan, and have learned a lot here and by watching the old SF "cloth thread" back when. I'm a bit busy these days, but one day I'm going to learn how to grommet a couple of pairs, or pay to have them done. In the meanwhile, Drive On!

 

[smfdoc]

Greetings, my brothers,

I've been watching here for years. I'm also a VCleat fan, and have learned a lot here and by watching the old SF "cloth thread" back when. I'm a bit busy these days, but one day I'm going to learn how to grommet a couple of pairs, or pay to have them done. In the meanwhile, Drive On!

Welcome to the SF and to this thread in particular. Also a big welcome to any new visitors to the thread who found their way here from the main page link. We are a calm and respectful bunch. Feel free to ask questions and to contribute, but no trolling.

 

[pasadena man]

Welcome to the SF and to this thread in particular. Also a big welcome to any new visitors to the thread who found their way here from the main page link. We are a calm and respectful bunch. Feel free to ask questions and to contribute, but no trolling.

Very well said. And we also try to comport ourselves on this thread...with quiet dignity and grace.

 

[Ulythium]

I agree that dyeing is difficult starting with a black pair. If you screw them up, you can always dye them black again. Starting with a lighter color is always easier, even if that is brown. Stripping brown can get you back to a "walnut" type finish and then you can go with the blue.

Starting with brown
View attachment 1850419

Stripping the right shoe to show the change.

View attachment 1850420

Initial application of blue, which will be purple until they are completely buffed and then sealed with an acrylic like Resolene.

View attachment 1850421

Finished.

View attachment 1850422

So I guess I finally made an account at the right time to catch this comment. I have been diving down the rabbit hole of second hand shoes recently, and am looking to dye a pair similarly( roughly the same base color to finished)

my hand was recently forced on dyeing my first pair (black to black) after snagging a cheap pair of black AE’s that turned out to have really been a poor re-finish of a lighter brown. So I did some digging here and elsewhere, learned to strip them down first, applied two coat of alcohol based leather dye, and then finished with some black shoe cream/polish. Satisfied with the outcome.

I assume one of the alcohol based blue dye’s will do alright, and planned on following up with a neutral or blue cream. I am curious what color you used, and why you sealed with the acrylic vs. being able to re-condition with a cream. Can’t say I know much, so it seems counter intuitive to seal them in the long term instead of regular conditioning.

 

[Oshare]

Any 9.5EEE (or EEEE -- I can't remember) guys? Spotted a NOS pair of ET Wright MiUSA boots at Goodwill. Willing to proxy if anyone is interested. Will get a picture tomorrow if there's interest.

EEE is a bit roomy for me, but with boots with thicker socks for cold weather could be nice.
Would you mind PM'ing me some pictures when you get a chance... if Lmjrfud doesn't jump on them first, of course.

 

[Nealjpage]

EEE is a bit roomy for me, but with boots with thicker socks for cold weather could be nice.
Would you mind PM'ing me some pictures when you get a chance... if Lmjrfud doesn't jump on them first, of course.

I'll try to make it back over there tomorrow and take another look at them.

 

[friendlygoz]

Fifth Street today…

 

[Oshare]

Greetings, my brothers,

I've been watching here for years. I'm also a VCleat fan, and have learned a lot here and by watching the old SF "cloth thread" back when. I'm a bit busy these days, but one day I'm going to learn how to grommet a couple of pairs, or pay to have them done. In the meanwhile, Drive On!

Hello, and welcome to the thread. Thanks for joining us here!

@friendlygoz is the real pro, but I've put grommets on a few pairs and found that it's a very straightforward thing to do.

1. I use wire snipping pliers to clip and snip out the old grommets first.
2. Find the right size and color for your new grommets. I use grommets with 4mm center holes.
3. Choose your grommet tool. I use the 2 piece set of punch and anvil, but the plier-like grommet tool should work just as well.
4. Just set the new grommet and press it into place.

Oh, and I like to use the 2-piece grommets so that both the front and back sides are smooth. I find that the single piece grommets can leave some sharp edges on the underside.

 

[friendlygoz]

Greetings, my brothers,

I've been watching here for years. I'm also a VCleat fan, and have learned a lot here and by watching the old SF "cloth thread" back when. I'm a bit busy these days, but one day I'm going to learn how to grommet a couple of pairs, or pay to have them done. In the meanwhile, Drive On!

Welcome. I’ve put grommets on 8 or so pairs. Here’s my process. I recommend. 8mm out diameter grommets from weaver leather. Let me know if you have questions.

Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

I'm thinking about getting these NOS Footjoy short wing blucher and converting them to street shoes. Probably will be ~$140 after acquisition and Topy conversion. What's your opinion of the color and style?

www.styleforum.net

 

[Oshare]

The made-in-Canada whole cut Oxfords arrived in Tokyo from the UK. These shoes have seen more parts of the world than many people.

I gave them a couple coats of Bick 4 followed by a thin coat of cognac cream polish to lighten them up a tad. The soles are in great shape and I just touched up the edges a little bit with some dark brown edge coloring.

They are a size "510" so I guess that would be a US 10 E? They seem to fit okay, so it's time to take them for their maiden voyage when I get a chance.

 

[suitforcourt]

The made-in-Canada whole cut Oxfords arrived in Tokyo from the UK. These shoes have seen more parts of the world than many people.

I gave them a couple coats of Bick 4 followed by a thin coat of cognac cream polish to lighten them up a tad. The soles are in great shape and I just touched up the edges a little bit with some dark brown edge coloring.

They are a size "510" so I guess that would be a US 10 E? They seem to fit okay, so it's time to take them for their maiden voyage when I get a chance.

View attachment 1851628

10E. I haven't forgotten your black pair of Dacks whole cuts. I just need to get in gear and assemble my boxes for shipping.

 

[smfdoc]

So I guess I finally made an account at the right time to catch this comment. I have been diving down the rabbit hole of second hand shoes recently, and am looking to dye a pair similarly( roughly the same base color to finished)

my hand was recently forced on dyeing my first pair (black to black) after snagging a cheap pair of black AE’s that turned out to have really been a poor re-finish of a lighter brown. So I did some digging here and elsewhere, learned to strip them down first, applied two coat of alcohol based leather dye, and then finished with some black shoe cream/polish. Satisfied with the outcome.

I assume one of the alcohol based blue dye’s will do alright, and planned on following up with a neutral or blue cream. I am curious what color you used, and why you sealed with the acrylic vs. being able to re-condition with a cream. Can’t say I know much, so it seems counter intuitive to seal them in the long term instead of regular conditioning.

Let me start by saying I am NOT any type of leather or dye expert so I stand to be corrected by those who are and that my comments are simply my experience trying to make some blue shoes.

As to color, I used Fiebing's Navy Blue. I initially stripped, dyed several coats, brushed and then conditioned with Bick 4. I think this was very much the process you described with your black pair. I found two problems: First was the shiny purple tone which I did not want. Second was that the dye continued to transfer to laces and pretty much anything else. This was still true on the buffing rag if I used more conditioner or the Collonil neutral polish. The use of the Resolene acrylic sealer was based on a few comments others made about the purple color in their blue projects. So, I gave them an extensive brushing and buffing session and then applied the Resolene. The purple was gone and the dye no longer transferred.

Did I seal them now so that no conditioner can be used? Maybe, I don't really know. For now they look the way I desire and I no longer have my issues. I can always strip the outside to remove the Resolene and then condition if that is needed.