Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[whirlwynds]

Selling a pair of dacks kangaroo oxfords in 9d. If any interest please pm me!

 

[suitforcourt]

I fought the zombies last week.

Tomorrow for dinner, I will be serving Salmon.

You will be hosting some of the greatest living minds, and all you got is salmon? At least make it organic. With a side of waygu T-bone steak. And the finest French wines paired with such proteins.

Now I have to re-assess what I will be wearing to said dinner...

 

[friendlygoz]

They asked for a hipster, modern chauffeur, so I went w/ 93602s in hand-stained brown. I'm driving Madam Secretary in a Tesla, so this outfit totally works. My first pair of vintage Florsheims (from @davidVC list) and the ones that got me hooked. I wore them w/ my new Revtown jeans (holy Hannah, these the most comfortable jeans I've ever worn... wow... use this link to find out more: http://rwrd.io/r9rl4w3 $10 for you; $10 for me; shameless, I know).

 

[davidVC]

You will be hosting some of the greatest living minds, and all you got is salmon? At least make it organic. With a side of waygu T-bone steak. And the finest French wines paired with such proteins.

Now I have to re-assess what I will be wearing to said dinner...

Salmon is just the starter. Bourbon is the main course. But you can have some wine too if you wish.

 

[davidVC]

Great looking Cap Toes! Elegant and understated. When J&M made nice shoes, they were really nice! I wish they still made them like this.

@davidVC what do you think about the Crown Arisotcrafts? I thought they were high quality that almost rivaled AE and Alden. Apparently, they still have a few left.

Fantastic shoes. I recommend them.

 

[actionjbone]

I fought the zombies last week.

Tomorrow for dinner, I will be serving Salmon.

Those are really funny looking shoes.

 

[mreams99]

What kind of leather is on the lower section of these boots?

 

[smfdoc]

What kind of leather is on the lower section of these boots?
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Looks similar to some shark I have seen.

 

[smfdoc]

If I were to drive Ms. Daisy, I would go full cap toe.

 

[actionjbone]

What kind of leather is on the lower section of these boots?
View attachment 1072585 View attachment 1072586

Looks like stingray leather. Stingray is similar to shark, but a little more pebbled. Also commonly has those kinds of color combinations.

 

[mreams99]

Looks similar to some shark I have seen.

I have a few pairs of shoes made of shark, and none look like this. I’m really stumped.

 

[mormonopoly]

What kind of leather is on the lower section of these boots?
View attachment 1072585 View attachment 1072586

My guess is calf embossed to look like shark.

 

[mreams99]

Looks like stingray leather. Stingray is similar to shark, but a little more pebbled.

I have seen several pictures of stingray boots and watch straps. It’s a very unique (and awesome) look. The back of these boots don’t really look like that though.

I may take them to a Red Wing store to ask.

 

[tocohillsguy]

If I were to drive Ms. Daisy, I would go full cap toe.

View attachment 1072609

Are these Aldens?

 

[Oshare]

Question: Has anyone seen this sort of "crackled glass" look on old calf leather shoes, and is there much else that can be done beyond lots of Bick 4 to prevent it getting worse?
Or do I just have some cracked CG coating on my hands? It doesn't really seem like CG, but not 100% sure.

View attachment 1071009

I was looking for a pair of brown chukka boots and picked these up for cheap as beaters on rainy days. After a couple rounds of Bick 4, Saphir creme polish, and different laces they look pretty decent except for the cracked surface if you look closely.

Just out of the box:
View attachment 1071010

After cleaning:
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View attachment 1071012

View attachment 1071013

I had that happen with old, overpolished shoes (from long before I knew how to properly care for them).

A few months ago, I stripped the polish (but not the finish) with Renomat, then rubbed in black VSC followed by black Tarrago cream, and brushed like mad. Took work, but fixed the cracking.

Can't guarantee that's what's going on with yours, but looks similar.

I've seen such "cracked glass" quite a few times on vintage shoes. The problem always was old polish really almost turned into glass and cracked. In such situation I felt a need to strip the leather from old dried waxes. Pure acetone did the trick. Why such strong solution? I like that I dont have to rub too much. Just be sure to condition the leather properly after that.

Update on the John Varvatos chukka boots with the "crackled glass" toe tips.
Thanks to @actionjbone and @right_hook for suggesting it was old polish that had cracked, rather than the leather itself.

Here's what they looked like:

I went at the boots aggressively with Renomat and got a bit worried that I had overdone it when they came out looking like this after drying. It was my first time using Renomat and I thought I had gone too far.

"Crackling" still a bit visible on the toes, but this was as clean as I could get it.

After about 4 applications of Bick 4, they were looking a bit better, but still pretty dull.

Then applied 2 rounds of Saphir creme polish, and WOW they sure look better!

I think I still need to put a little work into them, but they are looking pretty good now and the crackling is unnoticeable.

The leather has an uneven "museum calf" look to it, which I always thought was pretty nice. They are indeed calf leather and not CG (passed the water drop test) and quite comfortable. The down side is that their rubber soles are worn almost smooth and I think they are possibly Blake stitched or just cemented.

Anyone know if you can put a Topy onto a rubber sole? Thinking about what I can do to get a little better traction when the floor is wet.