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mreams99

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If they don’t fit well, let me know and I’d be happy to buy them off you (even at a markup + costs [heels, etc.] if you do restoration work on them - actually, especially if you do the restoration work as I trust your skills, with such a pair, more than mine).
I thought you wore 13D.
 

wasmisterfu

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I thought you wore 13D.
My feet are basically uniformly shaped and long with a very low instep. Brannock says 13.5 B/C (meaning 14B or 13C). However, in reality, on Balmoral’s for me its all just a matter of lacing gap. A 13D, just pull it tighter, 13B, it might need a bit more gap. The only shoes where this isn’t true are more modern ones (and certain euro-makes, with high-instep and high-volume) - e.g. AE 201 last I have trouble with, even at a 13C.

That said, I’ve even got a couple of 14D’s that are just fine with a tongue pad. If it’s a Blucher or a Bal, my feet are very tolerant. Derby’s I have a lot more problems with, and loafers are nearly impossible for me to deal with as its heel slip and blister city.

It’s very probable that a 13 A/B combo like those EC’s, will fit me just fine (I have Florsheim 13B’s that fit just great).
 

kilowatts

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They were probably the best shoemaker in America. We’re talking hand lasted


Yup, and the key is the “Urner”. Things seemed to go downhill very shortly after the Urner got dropped.

One of the things I’ve been doing, since I have “access”, is I’ve been looking through the Esquire archive. Now Esquire has always been dreck (I can assure you, having gone through 5 decades of archives). But the advertising, especially the shoe ads from the late 30’s through the early 60’s, are priceless.

One interesting thing is there is a clear price-point stratification that’s much more pronounced than today. Using ~1953 as an example, shoes were in the 8+, 16+ and 25+ dollar price points. AE, French Shriner & Urner, and top-end Florsheim were in that 25 dollars and up range. Regular Florsheim, Weyenberg, etc., were around the 16 and up dollar point. At the bottom were a bunch of shoes we rarely find examples of, with names like City Club. I love the absolutely tactless style of advertising they used (from 1952):
SWErr1e.jpg

Why is she dressed that way? That’s impractical in the extreme, especially if branding cattle at the farm. What does it have to do with shoes? Oh, I get it... best “brand”. Talk about using completely tangential, non-contextualized sex to sell something. I’m sure a lot young men looked at this ad just because “girl!”. Awesome.

Oh, and for @Shoonoob, not sure it’s the same shoe (last and stuff), but here’s an ad from ‘51 featuring the “Heather”:
VrUAFOK.jpg

It’s pretty amusing that they talk about their prices being comfortable, given they were at the top-end of the advertised pricing structure (though, in this ad, I guess they thought it incongruent to list the price).


Hi Guys:

To be perfectly honest I'd buy pretty much anything from her so the advertising sexism clearly works.

kilowatts
 

Shoonoob

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Couldn't not wear them today.
20181015_115509.jpg

Then next pair that gets uncorrected will get a water bath and drying in some stretchers to see if we can eliminate the fine creasing. (that pair will be some CG LB Sheppards that I started stripping last night :hide:)

@wasmisterfu looks like they modified the Heather a bit by the time mine were made for that trendy square toed look.
 

kilowatts

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Further, if you take a look at the eyebrows she's obviously a suicide blond. Dyed by her own hand!

kilowatts
 

wasmisterfu

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Hi Guys:

To be perfectly honest I'd buy pretty much anything from her so the advertising sexism clearly works.

kilowatts
Not sure it’s sexism. More just ridiculous sex placement as a hook. Sexism would be if she were dressed like that... while cooking in the kitchen.

Sexist ads are even more hilarious:
Schlitz-Beer-Ad.jpg

Lol... at least you didn’t burn the beer. Try that one on your spouse sometime.
 

wasmisterfu

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Couldn't not wear them today.
View attachment 1053582
Then next pair that gets uncorrected will get a water bath and drying in some stretchers to see if we can eliminate the fine creasing. (that pair will be some CG LB Sheppards that I started stripping last night :hide:)

@wasmisterfu looks like they modified the Heather a bit by the time mine were made for that trendy square toed look.
Yeah, I guess they’re not the same last or design. Your Heather’s are some kinda store special, infused with 1970’s “improvements”. Man did AE shovel a bunch of ugly models in the 70’s (probably why they almost went out of business). Then again, the 70’s, in general, was full of terrible shoe styles. And sexism pretty much hit its zenith in the 70’s, with this gem of a shoe ad that illustrates absurd sexism (lolwut?!) and absurdly ugly shoes:
f58DSoP.jpg
 

wasmisterfu

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Couldn't not wear them today.
View attachment 1053582
Then next pair that gets uncorrected will get a water bath and drying in some stretchers to see if we can eliminate the fine creasing. (that pair will be some CG LB Sheppards that I started stripping last night :hide:)

@wasmisterfu looks like they modified the Heather a bit by the time mine were made for that trendy square toed look.
So I think the bend in the leather just isn’t that great, and that’s why the fine creasing didn’t relax as much as with my AE’s (that said, they look 100% better). Overall, those turned out pretty damn awesome.
 

wasmisterfu

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Keeping it vintage and shoe related:

0IpDdXi.jpg
See, again, that’s not really sexist, it’s just using sex to sell. But that Weyenberg ad I posted was absurdly sexist (like, huh, my shoes will keep her on the ground, naked, where she belongs? That doesn’t even make sense! I mean she’s gotta get up and make me a sandwich eventually, right?).

Griffin just figured that attractive women in sexy Halloween costumes were a good way to get attention. And they’re correct.
 

wasmisterfu

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I feel that hitting the like button today would be information that gets subpoenaed and used against me in court in the future.
I hope you wouldn't hit like on that Weyenberg one because, well, it's sexist to the point of actual misogyny. The other ones, well that's between you an your legal representation.
 

kilowatts

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I hope you wouldn't hit like on that Weyenberg one because, well, it's sexist to the point of actual misogyny. The other ones, well that's between you an your legal representation.

Hey Guys:

We can say what we like because we have the best in legal representation with Suitforcourt on our side, eh?

kilowatts
 

wasmisterfu

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Hey Guys:

We can say what we like because we have the best in legal representation with Suitforcourt on our side, eh?

kilowatts
Yeah, but when he finds out we can't pay him, then all bets are off.
 

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