Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[CWOyaji]

Hi all, long time lurker, first time posting. No photos yet, but a question.

This seems simple but I don’t want to mess around and damage soles if I don’t have to. Do you have any tips for removing the permanent marker price written on the sole at the thrift shop? I just got some loakes for re work and the “$12.99” on the sole is bugging me.

Thanks.

Welcome! If all else fails, sandpaper will remove that. But I would try various kinds of soaps first. There's also a product called Goof Off that is worth a try.

 

[AEShoeMan]

Those are very nicely done. I think you made a silk purse out of a sow's ear, as they say.
I can never get a mirror shine and I've tried, obviously wrongly!

kilowatts

Thanks @kilowatts - the hardest part was not removing the blending of the black polish I did on the very tip of the toe as part of the process.

This was shared previously somewhere around here but this was helpful for me on the mirrorshine (it starts at the 5:32 mark).

 

[Shoenut]

Wrong Thread.

 

[suitforcourt]

I must say, between this thread and the shoe revival one, I receive more updates than CNN and BBC combined.

Keep up the good work, everyone!

 

[ccpl14]

Hi all, long time lurker, first time posting. No photos yet, but a question.

This seems simple but I don’t want to mess around and damage soles if I don’t have to. Do you have any tips for removing the permanent marker price written on the sole at the thrift shop? I just got some loakes for re work and the “$12.99” on the sole is bugging me.

Thanks.

Try rubbing alcohol

 

[wasmisterfu]

Wrong Thread.

But now I want to know what thread and post it was...

 

[Shoenut]

But now I want to know what thread and post it was...

AE Appreciation thread. I get confused in my old age. Lol.

 

[suitforcourt]

AE Appreciation thread. I get confused in my old age. Lol.

I have only owned a few pairs of AE, and currently only have walnut Strand, walnut Cornwallis, and oxblood shell MacNeils.

Other models I decided to sell or trade.

Do you find AE quality has been dropping in the last 3 years? Do you think they are going the way of Florsheim and the other great American companies?

 

[Shoenut]

I have only owned a few pairs of AE, and currently only have walnut Strand, walnut Cornwallis, and oxblood shell MacNeils.

Other models I decided to sell or trade.

Do you find AE quality has been dropping in the last 3 years? Do you think they are going the way of Florsheim and the other great American companies?

A lot of my AE purchases are of older models that they sell pretty low just to get rid off. Case in point. My second’s Mcallister was made in 2012. Bought in 2018. That shoe is better than firsts made now. Better sole and higher quality of Craftsmanship. I have hopes that in the fall AE will make less styles in the US but control quality better. They will produce a lot of updated styles for the younger crowd. I think they are starting to understand what the long term AE customer is looking for but still have to reach a new customer base that is really looking for lighter weight and more padding. I think you will see some good, more bad, and hopefully not too much ugly.

 

[suitforcourt]

A lot of my AE purchases are of older models that they sell pretty low just to get rid off. Case in point. My second’s Mcallister was made in 2012. Bought in 2018. That shoe is better than firsts made now. Better sole and higher quality of Craftsmanship. I have hopes that in the fall AE will make less styles in the US but control quality better. They will produce a lot of updated styles for the younger crowd. I think they are starting to understand what the long term AE customer is looking for but still have to reach a new customer base that is really looking for lighter weight and more padding. I think you will see some good, more bad, and hopefully not too much ugly.

The move to offshore manufacturing has historically signalled the downturn in quality overall. Hopefully AE does not fall into that trap. Otherwise it's hunting for vintage AE!

 

[wasmisterfu]

I have only owned a few pairs of AE, and currently only have walnut Strand, walnut Cornwallis, and oxblood shell MacNeils.

Other models I decided to sell or trade.

Do you find AE quality has been dropping in the last 3 years? Do you think they are going the way of Florsheim and the other great American companies?

IMHO, they’re not going the same route as Florsheim, but Caleres seems to want to bifurcate the line clearly into high-end (miUSA) and low-end (miDR) offerings (something started prior to the acquisition).

I own a lot of AE’s, across 5 decades, and the quality changes occurred roughly 5-6 years ago. If I look at any of my AE’s made in the last 5 years, the build quality is pretty much the same. In fact, my most recent pair (shown below) is actually better finished (tight welt and sole cropping, wheeled welt, beautiful linings), than anything I’ve bought from them since the naughts.

The real problem is that Caleres has taken away a lot of models the AE fandom (including me) really likes, and replaced them with some real duds. Under Caleres, they’ve had maybe one or two good new model, with a whole bunch of crummy ones. They also took away fan favorites like MTO and the occasionally crazy and wonderful Webgems that made AE a lot of fun.

In short, despite perception (which is often skewed on the webs) I haven’t seen a quality drop under Caleres (and maybe just a hint that it’s gone up). AE’s aren’t as well made as they were in the 80’s (their build-quality high-point), but they are (for main-line miUSA) still made of quality materials. While not an Alden (which they’ve never been) they are a full leather shoe that you can wear the hell out of. The real problem is the new styles and design direction is not in keeping with stuff I like, and they’ve killed lots of great classic models (hopefully they’ll bring back someday).

My most recent pair (certainly not junk):

 

[mormonopoly]

Hi all, long time lurker, first time posting. No photos yet, but a question.

This seems simple but I don’t want to mess around and damage soles if I don’t have to. Do you have any tips for removing the permanent marker price written on the sole at the thrift shop? I just got some loakes for re work and the “$12.99” on the sole is bugging me.

Thanks.

I’ve had luck with a mr. Clean magic eraser.

 

[suitforcourt]

IMHO, they’re not going the same route as Florsheim, but Caleres seems to want to bifurcate the line clearly into high-end (miUSA) and low-end (miDR) offerings (something started prior to the acquisition).

I own a lot of AE’s, across 5 decades, and the quality changes occurred roughly 5-6 years ago. If I look at any of my AE’s made in the last 5 years, the build quality is pretty much the same. In fact, my most recent pair (shown below) is actually better finished (tight welt and sole cropping, wheeled welt, beautiful linings), than anything I’ve bought from them since the naughts.

The real problem is that Caleres has taken away a lot of models the AE fandom (including me) really likes, and replaced them with some real duds. Under Caleres, they’ve had maybe one or two good new model, with a whole bunch of crummy ones. They also took away fan favorites like MTO and the occasionally crazy and wonderful Webgems that made AE a lot of fun.

In short, despite perception (which is often skewed on the webs) I haven’t seen a quality drop under Caleres (and maybe just a hint that it’s gone up). AE’s aren’t as well made as they were in the 80’s (their build-quality high-point), but they are (for main-line miUSA) still made of quality materials. While not an Alden (which they’ve never been) they are a full leather shoe that you can wear the hell out of. The real problem is the new styles and design direction is not in keeping with stuff I like, and they’ve killed lots of great classic models (hopefully they’ll bring back someday).

My most recent pair (certainly not junk):

Gents, thanks for the articulate response. I've never been a huge fan of AE, given the vintage choices still available for better price points.

That said, I will keep the ones I have, and maybe add some vintage pairs that I like. Enjoy your Saturday!

 

[wasmisterfu]

Gents, thanks for the articulate response. I've never been a huge fan of AE, given the vintage choices still available for better price points.

That said, I will keep the ones I have, and maybe add some vintage pairs that I like. Enjoy your Saturday!

I will say this, AE’s have always been very different than other makes, especially compared to vintage Florsheim’s or Hanover’s, or even modern Alden’s. They’ve never been as “heavily” constructed; they make them today about the same way they did back in the day: uppers sewn together with thick leather slab insole and gemming, 360 welt sewn to uppers, with cork slop in the cavity, sole sewn to welt. It’s nailless and there is (even today) no proper metal or fiberglass shank. They do add a thin (popsical stick thin) wooden heel base stabilizer (in the mid 90s to mid 00’s they used some kind of synthetic stabslizer placed just above the sole inside the cavity, rather than the wooden one they use now, which is placed on the opposite side of the cork slop, just below the insole).

The result is AE’s made today wear almost exactly like those made decades ago. Whether wearing my 76 MacGregor’s or 2016 Shelton 2’s, they feel remarkably similar - and nothing like a Florsheim or Hanover. I can absolutely see how, if used to the feel of a vintage Florsheim, the AE’s will feel insubstantial (even flimsy), because they aren’t as heavily constructed. I’m sure, to more than a few, they’re not gonna like the AE “feel”. That said, they are, nevertheless, very durable despite their more lightweight construction.

Personally, while I love my Florsheim’s (and will buy more vintage examples) and hope to acquire more Hanover’s, nothing (for my whacked out feet) is more comfortable than a pair of AE’s - and that the comfort level (and information about lasts) is very consistent over time, means I can buy both vintage and new examples with a very high degree of confidence.

 

[wasmisterfu]

The move to offshore manufacturing has historically signalled the downturn in quality overall. Hopefully AE does not fall into that trap. Otherwise it's hunting for vintage AE!

Thing is, Florsheim’s absolute low-point (even lower than their current pretty awful stuff) was during the last years of miUSA for blue-label. Sure, they were GYW, but holy smokes, they were using bonded leather uppers that would literally disintegrate after just a few wearings. Whereas the first years of blue-label miIndia GYW are legitimately much better and, I hate to say it, pretty darn good.

But then, inexplicably, they decided that they needed to further decontent the shoes, so out went the GY welting and any remaining semblance of quality. Even today, when given good materials, the factory in India can produce a very nice shoe for Florsheim, as exhibited by the genuinely non-crap 125th Anniversary Line.

And yet, do they bother to make a proper Imperial or Royal Imperial line? Have the made any effort to court customers who like the stuff they used to make (beyond a token effort like the 125th line)? Nope. They just keep turning out glued garbage and slapdash CG Kenmoors that are a pale facsimile of the once great product they used to make.

It wasn’t the move to India that killed any semblance of quality, it was their willingness to trade their quality image and product for volume.