Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[Jiqea]

A few of the Thrift stores in Canada are re-opening. Today I found this pair of 93605's, which are quite a rare find in Canada. They don't look half bad after a little one hour clean-up with Lexol, Bicks 4, Collonil and edge dressing. It was nice to get out looking for some shoes!

Before

After

 

[madhat]

Is it this one? In the jar?

Amazon.com: Collonil 1909 'Supreme Creme' Polish Protects & Revives Variety of Colours Leather Shoes : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry

Amazon.com: Collonil 1909 'Supreme Creme' Polish Protects & Revives Variety of Colours Leather Shoes : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry

www.amazon.com

That's it. @smfdoc makes some wickedly glossy LWBs with that.

 

[smfdoc]

That's it. @smfdoc makes some wickedly glossy LWBs with that.

Such as these Alden 975s I am wearing today. YMMV.

 

[eTrojan]

Is it this one? In the jar?

Amazon.com: Collonil 1909 'Supreme Creme' Polish Protects & Revives Variety of Colours Leather Shoes : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry

Amazon.com: Collonil 1909 'Supreme Creme' Polish Protects & Revives Variety of Colours Leather Shoes : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry

www.amazon.com

Yes. That is the magic pudding. Great stuff for a high shine.

 

[hamercha]

Black cap toes with jeans. Who says it can't be done?

Canadian made Dacks. These are 8.5G which is a snug fit. Likely closer to 8.5EE or a tight 8.5EEE.

Wishing you all a great week ahead. I hope everyone is staying safe during this turmoil. View attachment 1398921 View attachment 1398922

How do you compare this Dack's quality to vintage Florsheim ?

 

[suitforcourt]

How do you compare this Dack's quality to vintage Florsheim ?

Vintage Florsheim still better. I am saying that with my head, and not my heart.

As a Canadian, I am very fond of the domestic vintage brands. Majority were decimated.

The one advantage of Dacks is the variety of skins. Hippo, rhino, seal, giraffe, are just some of their offerings.

The overal details, stitch count, and craftsmanship, has to go Florsheim. When I compare my Canadian shoes to the classic Florsheims in my collection (93605, 93606, 93602, and 92604), it is not even close.

Dacks was still well made and durable. I would say more like Johnston Murphy of the day.

 

[ccpl14]

Such as these Alden 975s I am wearing today. YMMV.

View attachment 1399012

View attachment 1399013

Beautiful photo. Was that just using your phone?

 

[hamercha]

Vintage Florsheim still better. I am saying that with my head, and not my heart.

As a Canadian, I am very fond of the domestic vintage brands. Majority were decimated.

The one advantage of Dacks is the variety of skins. Hippo, rhino, seal, giraffe, are just some of their offerings.

The overal details, stitch count, and craftsmanship, has to go Florsheim. When I compare my Canadian shoes to the classic Florsheims in my collection (93605, 93606, 93602, and 92604), it is not even close.

Dacks was still well made and durable. I would say more like Johnston Murphy of the day.

Thanks. How is this particular pair? Is it comfortable? The last of this looks very nice for the wider feet.

 

[ccpl14]

It looks like you really cleaned out the vamps. What process and poisons did you use? Give us a rundown. Talk dirty to us.

Thanks. I do think they're much improved.

I kind of fumbled my way to it: First I went at them with acetone and a towel to remove the dye that I applied, followed by acetone and a toothbrush to get the creases.

This wasn't the best way to go however, as I found what you really want to do is go at a very small part at a time quite vigorously with the toothbrush dipped in acetone, followed by a quick wipe of the "sludge" left behind with a rag. Keep working in very small sections as you go around the shoe, cleaning up as much as you can with the rag. You can't really get it all however - there is residue left behind no matter what you do. It's messy and time consuming, not gonna lie.

I let them rest a bit and then tried to clean them up with mineral spirits, but I found that it wouldn't touch the acetone/dye/gunk residue, so I did a last pass with acetone once more, which got them pretty clean.

So I think it would be best to do the hard toothbrush scrub first, followed by a final acetone wipe to get the last of the residue. You'd save a round of acetone this way - and you use a hell of a lot of acetone - which can't be good for the leather in the long term. (Or you, I guess)

I did give them the water droplet test, and I do think I'm down to bare leather now. I did 2 rounds of Bick 4, just out of pity for the leather.

For next steps, I have some of the lower end Saphir light brown cream, but I was thinking of getting a pig bristle brush from the Hanger Project during the current sale and adding in a Saphir Medaille d'or light brown (or cognac?) jar while I'm at it. I don't have any colored Collonil creme, just the neutral stuff.

Thoughts?

 

[friendlygoz]

Is it this one? In the jar?

Amazon.com: Collonil 1909 'Supreme Creme' Polish Protects & Revives Variety of Colours Leather Shoes : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry

Amazon.com: Collonil 1909 'Supreme Creme' Polish Protects & Revives Variety of Colours Leather Shoes : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry

www.amazon.com

yes.

 

[stook1]

Gents,
I hinted at an interesting "barn find" pair of Florsheims when I posted the 93602s that I cleaned up over the weekend. In short, I was not entirely sure what I was getting with this pair. Most unfortunately, they are not my size and for almost the first time ever I am actually posting a pair of shoes that I will be selling shortly. For now, please enjoy the shoe Appreciation.

 

[stook1]

Thanks. I do think they're much improved.

I kind of fumbled my way to it: First I went at them with acetone and a towel to remove the dye that I applied, followed by acetone and a toothbrush to get the creases.

This wasn't the best way to go however, as I found what you really want to do is go at a very small part at a time quite vigorously with the toothbrush dipped in acetone, followed by a quick wipe of the "sludge" left behind with a rag. Keep working in very small sections as you go around the shoe, cleaning up as much as you can with the rag. You can't really get it all however - there is residue left behind no matter what you do. It's messy and time consuming, not gonna lie.

I let them rest a bit and then tried to clean them up with mineral spirits, but I found that it wouldn't touch the acetone/dye/gunk residue, so I did a last pass with acetone once more, which got them pretty clean.

So I think it would be best to do the hard toothbrush scrub first, followed by a final acetone wipe to get the last of the residue. You'd save a round of acetone this way - and you use a hell of a lot of acetone - which can't be good for the leather in the long term. (Or you, I guess)

I did give them the water droplet test, and I do think I'm down to bare leather now. I did 2 rounds of Bick 4, just out of pity for the leather.

For next steps, I have some of the lower end Saphir light brown cream, but I was thinking of getting a pig bristle brush from the Hanger Project during the current sale and adding in a Saphir Medaille d'or light brown (or cognac?) jar while I'm at it. I don't have any colored Collonil creme, just the neutral stuff.

Thoughts?

Your process is pretty much the same that I used in the past. Different shoes/leather seem to require some on the fly adaptation of what is require to strip them (at least based upon the 3 pairs I have done, which is not much). You are not intending to dye them, I take it? I don't believe I have saphir's light brown on hand but I do have cognac. It's pretty light and might be a good option to use. I would start with the lightest polish you have try a little spot and see how it looks. You will likely want to use some blend of colors to get more depth.

 

[smfdoc]

Beautiful photo. Was that just using your phone?

Yes, just an iphone 10 on portrait mode. That is why i place then on the rail, with foliage nearly 20 feet behind. Portrait mode can then blur the background to get that look. It will not work if the background it too close to the shoes.

Gents,
I hinted at an interesting "barn find" pair of Florsheims when I posted the 93602s that I cleaned up over the weekend. In short, I was not entirely sure what I was getting with this pair. Most unfortunately, they are not my size and for almost the first time ever I am actually posting a pair of shoes that I will be selling shortly. For now, please enjoy the shoe Appreciation.

Great find and the new owner will be lucky. Please feel free to post before and after shots of any vintage shoes, not just the ones you intend to keep.

 

[suitforcourt]

Thanks. How is this particular pair? Is it comfortable? The last of this looks very nice for the wider feet.

This is a snug fit, which some people like. I have another pair with a different last, also 8.5G. Much wider and I prefer that fit as I enjoy the wiggle room for my toes.

Otherwise, shoes are comfortable. I believe Dacks used a high quality leather sole. Most used pairs I see still have lots of life in the soles. Even though heels are shot.

 

[stook1]

The one advantage of Dacks is the variety of skins. Hippo, rhino, seal, giraffe, are just some of their offerings.

I love giraffes. Don't think I could do it... Have to be honest, I have never seen or heard of giraffe being used for shoes or any other garment.