Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[stook1]

Agree totally on black shell; if you want true black go calf. If you want a more dynamic black, almost charcoal grey, go shell.

It's hard to describe but I think you nailed it. Strangely enough I think my pics actually capture the color fairly well despite using my phone since I was lazy. I do see pics of black shell sometimes that look more black to me but I suspect that's either due to the conditions or maybe saturation being dialed up a bit.

 

[wasmisterfu]

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This is my pair of Cordwainer Wright PC where the finishing failed. Restored by Tobias Crislip at Wyatt & Dad in Durham.

Nowadays, I think most PC/CG is produced with very cheap and poor quality leather. That wasn’t the case with these or the Berwick that’s for sure. I have a new found appreciation and understanding of PC via vintage collecting.

Those Cordwainer Wright’s are just fantastic!

 

[stook1]

Very nice. Not mine.

BRAND NEW Allen Edmonds Brown Wingtip Boulevard Dress Shoes Sz 10B | eBay

• 360° Goodyear welt construction allows for recrafting to extend the life of the shoe. • Six-eyelet lace-up style.

www.ebay.com

 

[wasmisterfu]

How did you win it?

I came in third place in the 2018 Shoe Restoration Challenge, by taking these poor, sad, end-of-like, Polished Cobbler 1984 Allen Edmonds McAllisters...

... and removing the sadness:

(Note how the McAllister in 1984 had Cotton Drill linings.)

These shoes were on their third set of soles (one full resole and one badly executed half resole) and had a lot of wear on them. They’re still in my regular rotation - they’re almost to the point of needing their fourth set of soles: I’m considering sending them for a full AE recraft, as they definitely need new welts (I’m pretty sure AE will take them, as the original construction of the shoe is still intact).

 

[wasmisterfu]

Very nice. Not mine.

BRAND NEW Allen Edmonds Brown Wingtip Boulevard Dress Shoes Sz 10B | eBay

• 360° Goodyear welt construction allows for recrafting to extend the life of the shoe. • Six-eyelet lace-up style.

www.ebay.com

My nemesis, the one that keeps getting away... The Boulevard, the originator or the 65 (5) last; AE’s other 7 eyelet shortwing Oxford. Extremely awesome, I’ve lost several auctions for excellent examples in my size.

 

[wasmisterfu]

Probably 2001. Wasn't AE still using the "Handcrafted World of Allen Edmonds" in the early 1990s?

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Yup, 2001; besides the insole branding, they slightly modified the upper pattern in 1998 by extending the eyelet tab down to intersect with the wing.

For 1990 and 91, the insoles looked like this:

(My 1990 Manchester’s... literally took the shoe off my foot for the insole photo). They’d dropped the Handcrafted World branding, but kept the horizontal orientation. In 92 they switched to vertical orientation of the logo.

 

[stook1]

My nemesis, the one that keeps getting away... The Boulevard, the originator or the 65 (5) last; AE’s other 7 eyelet shortwing Oxford. Extremely awesome, I’ve lost several auctions for excellent examples in my size.

I'd be bidding but there is zero chance I can fit a B width. Cant imagine there are very many nos pairs around anymore but who knows.

 

[wasmisterfu]

I'd be bidding but there is zero chance I can fit a B width. Cant imagine there are very many nos pairs around anymore but who knows.

Yeah, not many. That said, the 65 last is not one to test out how narrow a width you can go for, so unless you’re sure you can pull it off, you’re right to pass.

 

[stook1]

Yeah, not many. That said, the 65 last is not one to test out how narrow a width you can go for, so unless you’re sure you can pull it off, you’re right to pass.

Hahah, yah not gonna work. I can fit a few 65 sizes but no chance on a B. My ideal size is more like a 9.5EE or 9EEE.

 

[wasmisterfu]

Hahah, yah not gonna work. I can fit a few 65 sizes but no chance on a B. My ideal size is more like a 9.5EE or 9EEE.

I’m a 13C minimum on the 65. The only exception are my competition shoes above - they’re a 13A that’s been massively stretched out by someone cramming WAY, WAY to big a pair of feet into them. I’m gonna guess it was the second owner, the cotton drill is worn through, with a small hole, by a pinky toe on each side; I can’t imagine how uncomfortable that must of have been, yet to have worn a hole through tough cotton drill means the wearer must have done it many times. I prefer a slightly snug fit, but that’s masochistic. On the plus side, as a result, they fit pretty comfortably, albeit with more lacing gap than I like:

This is how a (not weirdly stretched out 13A) 65 last (13D Nuemok), fits me:

 

[friendlygoz]

Dack’s camel ? skin short wings on a sunset picnic.

 

[friendlygoz]

I came in third place in the 2018 Shoe Restoration Challenge, by taking these poor, sad, end-of-like, Polished Cobbler 1984 Allen Edmonds McAllisters...

... and removing the sadness:

(Note how the McAllister in 1984 had Cotton Drill linings.)

These shoes were on their third set of soles (one full resole and one badly executed half resole) and had a lot of wear on them. They’re still in my regular rotation - they’re almost to the point of needing their fourth set of soles: I’m considering sending them for a full AE recraft, as they definitely need new welts (I’m pretty sure AE will take them, as the original construction of the shoe is still intact).

I showed my wife this post because I told her I was interested in entering this year’s challenge so I can get ****** handed to me by people like @wasmisterfu. She looked at the before and after pix and said, “wow! Those are beautiful. That’s amazing. That’s like Cinderella.” Then I showed her your Tony montaña post and she fell over laughing. You have fans in CA.

 

[Nealjpage]

Ok, I can't remember the rule of thumb about Stacy-Adams labeling. Check these out. Listed as patent leather/leather, but they appear to be some sort of CG leather with ostrich. These are the white label. Worth a shot or get my eyes checked?

 

[Joe Wohkittel]

Ok, I can't remember the rule of thumb about Stacy-Adams labeling. Check these out. Listed as patent leather/leather, but they appear to be some sort of CG leather with ostrich. These are the white label. Worth a shot or get my eyes checked?

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The made in USA pairs have a black label with golden lettering.

 

[wasmisterfu]

I showed my wife this post because I told her I was interested in entering this year’s challenge so I can get ****** handed to me by people like @wasmisterfu. She looked at the before and after pix and said, “wow! Those are beautiful. That’s amazing. That’s like Cinderella.” Then I showed her your Tony montaña post and she fell over laughing. You have fans in CA.

Why thank you sir. That said, the guy who, IMHO, should have placed ahead of me in that competition was @Shoonoob and his correctobucks. People really didn’t pay enough attention to what he did there: he had uppers that were kinda not fixable in the traditional sense, so he actually morphed them into a totally different shoe and material. Most creative effort by far, and really just an ugly pair of shoes turned into some really cool.

As for my Tony Montana post, just to be clear, I’m not condoning or recommending the trafficking and distribution of illegal narcotics. Shoes yes, illegal narcotics, not so much.