Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[smfdoc]

I saw this today and had to sit for a while and collect myself.
View attachment 995175

Spoiler: NSFW Carnage

View attachment 995176

Truly there is evil in the world.

I am not sure that these shoes were chewed. It appears to me that the shell started dry rotting and tearing as the owner pulled the laces tight. This led to a tear and the owner had to further snug the laces the next time. Rinse and repeat many times. I think they just eventually tore to the point that they were donated to the thrift store. The lesson is to keep those shoes conditioned.

 

[madhat]

I am not sure that these shoes were chewed. It appears to me that the shell started dry rotting and tearing as the owner pulled the laces tight. This led to a tear and the owner had to further snug the laces the next time. Rinse and repeat many times. I think they just eventually tore to the point that they were donated to the thrift store. The lesson is to keep those shoes conditioned.

Yup. Agreed on what happened

 

[instigateur]

Winery visit on Sunday.

Wearing Dad's vintage Sebago's.

 

[wasmisterfu]

I am not sure that these shoes were chewed. It appears to me that the shell started dry rotting and tearing as the owner pulled the laces tight. This led to a tear and the owner had to further snug the laces the next time. Rinse and repeat many times. I think they just eventually tore to the point that they were donated to the thrift store. The lesson is to keep those shoes conditioned.

Wow. I had a pair of AE shell Cambridges that (being a feckless teenager/young "adult") treated very badly. It was, eventually, a tear that ended their useful lifespan (after a a decade or horrible abuse). But that tear was pretty clean, I've never seen cordovan tear like that. That is pretty brutal.

 

[wasmisterfu]

Yup. Agreed on what happened

See, if we had all just moved to Corfam, none of this would be a problem.

 

[Thomas Crown]

A friend and avid thrifter who is intrigued with my shoe nerdery recently found a $5 pair of very f’d up looking AE Sanfords from the 90’s and presented them to me as a challenge.

They were worn by someone with the apparent habit of scraping the eyelets under a desk or something and nervously rubbing his heels together

Beyond these issues and never having met a shoe tree, the soles were fine and the leather wasn’t cracked outside of some loose brogueing that I remedied with Shoe Goo

then after the standard Bick 4 bath,welt cleaning,edge dressing and dark brown AE shoe cream where needed

The result was quite a contrast as I left one shoe untouched

What a difference a clean welt makes!

 

[Lmrjfud]

A friend and avid thrifter who is intrigued with my shoe nerdery recently found a $5 pair of very f’d up looking AE Sanfords from the 90’s and presented them to me as a challenge. View attachment 995416 View attachment 995418 They were worn by someone with the apparent habit of scraping the eyelets under a desk or something and nervously rubbing his heels together View attachment 995420 View attachment 995419 Beyond these issues and never having met a shoe tree, the soles were fine and the leather wasn’t cracked outside of some loose brogueing that I remedied with Shoe Goo View attachment 995421 then after the standard Bick 4 bath,welt cleaning,edge dressing and dark brown AE shoe cream where needed View attachment 995422 View attachment 995423 The result was quite a contrast as I left one shoe untouched View attachment 995424 View attachment 995425 View attachment 995427 What a difference a clean welt makes! View attachment 995445 View attachment 995428

Your friend owes you a very tall drink.
Nicely done.

 

[smfdoc]

A friend and avid thrifter who is intrigued with my shoe nerdery recently found a $5 pair of very f’d up looking AE Sanfords from the 90’s and presented them to me as a challenge. View attachment 995416 View attachment 995418 They were worn by someone with the apparent habit of scraping the eyelets under a desk or something and nervously rubbing his heels together View attachment 995420 View attachment 995419 Beyond these issues and never having met a shoe tree, the soles were fine and the leather wasn’t cracked outside of some loose brogueing that I remedied with Shoe Goo View attachment 995421 then after the standard Bick 4 bath,welt cleaning,edge dressing and dark brown AE shoe cream where needed View attachment 995422 View attachment 995423 The result was quite a contrast as I left one shoe untouched View attachment 995424 View attachment 995425 View attachment 995427 What a difference a clean welt makes! View attachment 995445 View attachment 995428

Great job. If both looked like the first one you did they would still be on someones feet and not at Goodwill.

 

[Vinilo1969]

Great job. If both looked like the first one you did they would still be on someones feet and not at Goodwill.

That’s quite a renewal of formerly distressed shoes!

 

[eTrojan]

Griffins? V-cleat. Not my shoe, but in a 13 B for others with long skinny-ish feet. Not skinny enough for me.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MENS-VTG-G...THER-OXFORD-DRESS-SHOES-13-AA-B/263779480750?

 

[suitforcourt]

By the looks of it, they are early miIndia Florsheim (they were actually putting some effort in at the early stages of that transition - before they decided to ram the brand into the ass-end of the market).

They certainly aren’t bad looking, and the uppers stitching quality is quite good. Whoever did the outsole stitching did an excellent job from what I can see. I’d keep ‘em for rainy days.

The recraft job was excellent. Here are pics of before and after:

https://www.styleforum.net/threads/...in-montreal-quebec.528739/page-2#post-9306915

 

[suitforcourt]

A friend and avid thrifter who is intrigued with my shoe nerdery recently found a $5 pair of very f’d up looking AE Sanfords from the 90’s and presented them to me as a challenge. View attachment 995416 View attachment 995418 They were worn by someone with the apparent habit of scraping the eyelets under a desk or something and nervously rubbing his heels together View attachment 995420 View attachment 995419 Beyond these issues and never having met a shoe tree, the soles were fine and the leather wasn’t cracked outside of some loose brogueing that I remedied with Shoe Goo View attachment 995421 then after the standard Bick 4 bath,welt cleaning,edge dressing and dark brown AE shoe cream where needed View attachment 995422 View attachment 995423 The result was quite a contrast as I left one shoe untouched View attachment 995424 View attachment 995425 View attachment 995427 What a difference a clean welt makes! View attachment 995445 View attachment 995428

This revival is second to none

 

[davidVC]

Good morning gents!

Shoe care question for you guys -- I have VSC and Renovateur that I use regularly in my maintenance routines, but I hear so many people refer to Bick 4 quite frequently. Question for those of you that are familiar -- how does Bick 4 differ from these and in what applications do you find it works best?

Leather loves Bick 4. The way a dog loves its owner. Or me and my morning coffee.

I prefer Bick 4 to VSC and Renovateur, although I love VSC for shell. Bick 4 is just a great general conditioner. If you had to buy one product, I would recommend Bick 4. It gives the leather a clean, cool feel.

 

[davidVC]

A friend and avid thrifter who is intrigued with my shoe nerdery recently found a $5 pair of very f’d up looking AE Sanfords from the 90’s and presented them to me as a challenge. View attachment 995416 View attachment 995418 They were worn by someone with the apparent habit of scraping the eyelets under a desk or something and nervously rubbing his heels together View attachment 995420 View attachment 995419 Beyond these issues and never having met a shoe tree, the soles were fine and the leather wasn’t cracked outside of some loose brogueing that I remedied with Shoe Goo View attachment 995421 then after the standard Bick 4 bath,welt cleaning,edge dressing and dark brown AE shoe cream where needed View attachment 995422 View attachment 995423 The result was quite a contrast as I left one shoe untouched View attachment 995424 View attachment 995425 View attachment 995427 What a difference a clean welt makes! View attachment 995445 View attachment 995428

Outstanding.

We should have a yearly $5 challenge.

 

[wasmisterfu]

A friend and avid thrifter who is intrigued with my shoe nerdery recently found a $5 pair of very f’d up looking AE Sanfords from the 90’s and presented them to me as a challenge. View attachment 995416 View attachment 995418 They were worn by someone with the apparent habit of scraping the eyelets under a desk or something and nervously rubbing his heels together View attachment 995420 View attachment 995419 Beyond these issues and never having met a shoe tree, the soles were fine and the leather wasn’t cracked outside of some loose brogueing that I remedied with Shoe Goo View attachment 995421 then after the standard Bick 4 bath,welt cleaning,edge dressing and dark brown AE shoe cream where needed View attachment 995422 View attachment 995423 The result was quite a contrast as I left one shoe untouched View attachment 995424 View attachment 995425 View attachment 995427 What a difference a clean welt makes! View attachment 995445 View attachment 995428

Absolutely outstanding job.

But, uhhh, you’re gonna do the left shoe. Right?