Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[wasmisterfu]

According to his page, the Mason family has owned the company since 1904.

https://www.masoncompaniesinc.com/our-company/history/

https://www.bamason.com/customer-service/faqs/detail/about-us/_/A-1601

Oh man; so it’s like the Florsheim grandkids not giving a crap about what Weyco puts their name on. That’s sad.

LBS shell spectators in their final state

When I bought them
View attachment 1051649

Halfway through
View attachment 1051650

As good as I can get them
View attachment 1051651

Now I'm going to wear the hell outta 'em.

Have a great Friday!

Those turned out great!

 

[wasmisterfu]

I'm sure it is a Conspiracy. They have a whole line of shoes/Boots called Work America. They are clearly prejudiced against Canadians!

At least when you tried to open it, the website didn't say "TAKE OFF HOSER" Or call you a keener.

I sold a couple pair of Mason Executive Imperials a few years ago. I thought (and still think) they were trying to remake a version of Florsheim Kenmoor. They were very sturdy. They would probably be comparable to lesser Florsheims of the 90's. I found a pair at an estate sale that were 12B. They were too long for me. The one thing I noticed was that they were VERY STIFF. The heel counter felt like it was metal it was so hard. I thought if I ever found a pair they would probably last forever, but they were so stiff that my feet would be blistered and sore after wearing them. I do like the idea of making an old school heavy sturdy gunboat. But, the leather seemed a little too cheap. But, the construction seemed very good. I haven't tried another pair since. But, I would be willing to try them again -- at least the LWB. I don't like the look of the other styles they have on the website.

They used to make a nice shoe, but the most recent miChina Mason Executive is pretty depressing stuff. To borrow from DavidVC “it’s a Goodyear welted shoe that you’ll never want to resole”.

 

[CWOyaji]

Speaking of Mason, here's a first look at the shell LWBs that arrived today.

 

[wasmisterfu]

In anticipation of the Chapter 11 filing of Sears, which is rumored to be happening today, a silent tribute.
View attachment 1051827
A very fine quality pair of thrifted Hanover pebble grain PTBs, for Sears, from days of yore.
View attachment 1051828
https://www.forbes.com/sites/paular...-stands-to-win-whatever-happens/#576a9efd5237

IMHO, they’ll ultimately end up in Chapter 7, I’d be shocked if they can raise DIP financing or negotiate with their suppliers, given the state of their assets, prospects or current management team. I’d say they’re going the way of Toys’R’Us in short order. Sad, because for Sears, it’s been one of the most obvious cases of gross (some say intentional) mismanagement ever seen.

Over and over, I’ve walked into their stores and wondered, “how in the world could management allow this store to be so mismanaged”. Haphazard merchandising, no associates to be seen, mislabeled pricing and descriptions, dirty floors and bathrooms - disgraceful store management, and I’ve seen it for years at virtually every location I’ve been to.

These are things that can be corrected quickly with relatively little capital investment, but they require setting standards, defining policies and then enforcing them with discipline. Seriously, where is district and regional management enforcing store hygiene; why isn’t corporate spot-checking stores - I’ve been in management in a retail giant, and this stuff is the bare basics of what it takes to keep stores viable. Sears Holdings was doing this at either Sears or KMart. Hell, there’s even a video, on youtube, of a customer at KMart, walking through an open store, and there are no employees - they just left the store, lights on, music playing, during business hours, with no employee coverage at all!

 

[wasmisterfu]

Posing a question like that here is akin to hanging out in a crack house and asking whether you should take another hit.

I ultimately pulled the trigger, more so because they included the vintage Florsheim shoe trees. $42 all in.

 

[actionjbone]

Crazy Friday at the office, but at least I'm wearing comfy shoes.

Sears LWBs made by Hanover. (They have the distinctive Hanover arch support, that's how I know.)

RIP Sears.

 

[mreams99]

I think Sears is an interesting story.

Many years ago, they were very successful. They had big catalogs and you could buy just about anything (even house kits) and have it shipped to you.

Now there is another company that sells just about everything and ships it to you. And they (Amazon) seem to be very successful.

 

[Shoonoob]

Happy Weekend! The 25.00 mystery box arrived and its time for the "what the heck are these?" show. I am going to break it up into three posts because my phone is being a punk.
The first offering is the only pair in my size and the only ones I can identify. Some very well worn Allen Edmonds "Heather". Very heavy and very blocky cousin to the Leeds? Not graceful.

I think I like them. Especially if I need to kick someone.

Stay tuned for episodes of whipped horse butt

and giant horse butt

 

[M635Guy]

I think Sears is an interesting story.

Many years ago, they were very successful. They had big catalogs and you could buy just about anything (even house kits) and have it shipped to you.

Now there is another company that sells just about everything and ships it to you. And they (Amazon) seem to be very successful.

What's crazy is when they bought Land's End, they got a company that was a real leader in ecommerce. I figured they'd maximize the brick-and-mortar footprint with Land's End, and optimize how Sears did business online through the LE model. But they never really did either in anything more than token ways. LE sorta plodded along and took up some space in Sears stores, and the Sears website is a multipersonality mess. Sad.

 

[friendlygoz]

No dilemma. You are duty bound to buy the pair.

I tried asking this crowd about which pair of shell LWBs I should keep. It’s hopeless. They said both... and I did.

 

[Shoonoob]

I tried asking this crowd about which pair of shell LWBs I should keep. It’s hopeless. They said both... and I did.

That is not a fair comparison. The answer to that question is ALWAYS keep both.

 

[wasmisterfu]

I think Sears is an interesting story.

Many years ago, they were very successful. They had big catalogs and you could buy just about anything (even house kits) and have it shipped to you.

Now there is another company that sells just about everything and ships it to you. And they (Amazon) seem to be very successful.

That’s a good point. They lost sight of what made them successful on multiple levels.

 

[wasmisterfu]

That is not a fair comparison. The answer to that question is ALWAYS keep both.

Yeah, if you have two awesome things, you don’t discard one of them. That cuts your awesome in half, and that’s no good.

 

[wasmisterfu]

I tried asking this crowd about which pair of shell LWBs I should keep. It’s hopeless. They said both... and I did.

 

[Shoonoob]

@wasmisterfu
I was expecting some historical information on the Heathers. Perhaps not a great shoe? Certainly a great movie.