Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[sam67]

Black cordovan. Alden 993. Part of me asks what is the fuss? But these are second hand and showing some age/fading. So will they not respond to brushing like the #8 (which is the only other I've worked on)? There is some improvement in the shine but I was looking for more. One shot inside, one out so -1 for comparisons. Still some of that cloudy look. Thanks for any comments.

 

[Nealjpage]

The Fairfax I know of (a great looking brouged wholecut made in the 2000’s) was built on the 65 last. I don’t know anything about a 25 last.

Ah, I was misreading the label inside the shoe, then.

 

[wasmisterfu]

AE’s history is very remarkable no doubt. Makes present day AE very sad to see. There is almost nobody left there in management capacity from even the Grangaard era let alone John’s time.

I would be very surprised if AE still makes shoes in Port ten years from now. Their path mirrors J&M more and more with each passing year. Who knows how long Calares will hold them either. I don’t think their investment been very fruitful.

Not to be contentious, but if I could count the number of times someone has said something similar to this, over the last 20 years, I’d be at a big number.

I’ll tell you this much, Grangaard and crew did good and bad things for AE. Quality under Grangaard took a steep nosedive as he pushed production past capacity at Port Washington. Frankly, my two Calares era pairs are actually much better executed than the late Grangaard-era pair I have.

I’ll also tell you this much: AE probably wouldn’t have survived this period under private equity. Without the pockets of a multi-billion (revenue) corporation behind them, they’d almost certainly be facing bankruptcy with little reorg potential (e.g. little in the way of DIP financing options). I think it’s highly likely we’ll see one or more of the other smaller shoe companies fold during this mess. As of right now, apparel companies are bleeding red-ink, shoes are no exception. While I have no love for Caleres, AE (and Port Washington production) stands a much better chance of survival today, under Caleres, than had they stayed independent or in Private Equity land.

Just IMHO, 2cents, etc..

 

[wasmisterfu]

Black cordovan. Alden 993. Part of me asks what is the fuss? But these are second hand and showing some age/fading. So will they not respond to brushing like the #8 (which is the only other I've worked on)? There is some improvement in the shine but I was looking for more. One shot inside, one out so -1 for comparisons. Still some of that cloudy look. Thanks for any comments.
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993 is still dead sexy.

 

[jpm1]

Not to be contentious, but if I could count the number of times someone has said something similar to this, over the last 20 years, I’d be at a big number.

I’ll tell you this much, Grangaard and crew did good and bad things for AE. Quality under Grangaard took a steep nosedive as he pushed production past capacity at Port Washington. Frankly, my two Calares era pairs are actually much better executed than the late Grangaard-era pair I have.

I’ll also tell you this much: AE probably wouldn’t have survived this period under private equity. Without the pockets of a multi-billion (revenue) corporation behind them, they’d almost certainly be facing bankruptcy with little reorg potential (e.g. little in the way of DIP financing options). I think it’s highly likely we’ll see one or more of the other smaller shoe companies fold during this mess. As of right now, apparel companies are bleeding red-ink, shoes are no exception. While I have no love for Caleres, AE (and Port Washington production) stands a much better chance of survival today, under Caleres, than had they stayed independent or in Private Equity land.

Just IMHO, 2cents, etc..

I agree with your points wholeheartedly. Stories of AE’s demise have been going of for a very long time. Some points were/are valid and many takes were completely unfounded.

I love AE and want nothing more than for them to succeed. With that being said, from what I have seen and heard, we will be looking at a very different company in the near future. Better? Worse? TBD I suppose.

 

[Nealjpage]

Out thrifting. Hmm, what have we here? Fu not for you. (Or me)

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8.5 to 9.5, maybe??

 

[madhat]

Black cordovan. Alden 993. Part of me asks what is the fuss? But these are second hand and showing some age/fading. So will they not respond to brushing like the #8 (which is the only other I've worked on)? There is some improvement in the shine but I was looking for more. One shot inside, one out so -1 for comparisons. Still some of that cloudy look. Thanks for any comments.
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All shell definitely responds to brushing, but sometimes product is necessary.
A bit of natural or black cordovan cream will get them popping. That said, know that black shell is a deeper almost grey-black jelly bean rather than straight up black of calf.

 

[sam67]

All shell definitely responds to brushing, but sometimes product is necessary.
A bit of natural or black cordovan cream will get them popping. That said, know that black shell is a deeper almost grey-black jelly bean rather than straight up black of calf.

Thanks. Of course I don't have any cordovan cream. These have a bit of renovateur on them.

 

[smfdoc]

Medallion suggests Hanover

Oh, yes it is. Not a big mystery, but fun to stumble on to some shell to play with. Sadly, on closer inspection, they have led a hard life.

 

[smfdoc]

8.5 to 9.5, maybe??

Hard to say as the size is worn away. I can only read the last portions of "Combination last." Exterior sole size is 12 inches by 4.25 inches.

 

[jpm1]

Some Alden history for today - “DeRosa”.

Whether it be a cap toe, nst, u-tip or otherwise, Alden has many versions of the DeRosa Blucher. It is characterized by this particular heel counter/overlay with the rectangular stitching at the base of the heel.

DeRosa was the name of the guy who designed this pattern and that rectangle was his signature. Alden purchased the pattern from him in the 1940s or 50s and kept the name and the stitch signature as an homage.

 

[stook1]

AE was already in trouble pre-pandemic but this period will certainly not help matters.

I think the time for them to double down on MiUSA and raising the bar on quality has long since passed but I certainly could be wrong. They have already stripped down every aspect of the shoe from components to the grade of leathers. Not sure it’s possible to turn back now.

Maybe. There's not really anything stopping them from going more upscale. I just think they are in no mans land at the moment. Who is buying $400 mainline AE at this point? I'm not. Who's buying their imported shoes for whatever -- $300ish. Not me. I'll buy their shell deeply discounted but that's about it. I actually think AE still represents decent value if you factor in the the store presence and size selection. But at least for me, at retail, there isn't enough value in the product or, frankly, interesting designs for me to make a purchase. AE reminds me a lot of the US car companies. Too much baggage, product isn't focused enough or compelling enough with a handful of exceptional models that get lost among a lot of very mediocre product.

By the way, as an aside, AE seems to be in the midst of getting rid of the Independence line... so I probably have no idea what I am talking about.

 

[wasmisterfu]

I agree with your points wholeheartedly. Stories of AE’s demise have been going of for a very long time. Some points were/are valid and many takes were completely unfounded.

I love AE and want nothing more than for them to succeed. With that being said, from what I have seen and heard, we will be looking at a very different company in the near future. Better? Worse? TBD I suppose.

Thing is, like Florsheim’s of old, AE’s (even of recent Port Washington vintage) are generally well made and of solid materials, so despite fairly small overall production numbers, there’s a pretty big supply of miUSA AE’s on the secondary market (going back a long way). So if Caleres loses their minds and shuts miUSA (highly unlikely, IMHO, given that luxury brands trade on their historical status, where they’re made, etc.), or they suddenly decide everything is a wingtip sneaker (much more worryingly possible), there’s a big supply for us shoe-doomsday-preppers (aka everyone on this thread).

 

[jpm1]

No doubt. Just depends how much capital they are willing to throw behind it after 3 consecutive years of significant compounding decreases.

 

[sam67]

993 is still dead sexy.

I'll have a 994 coming later today, I hope.