Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[sam67]

$30 total today. Florsheim Imperial 92604 and a AE Park Avenue

 

[sam67]

Been pretty swamped with work and have fallen behind here, but we're finally out of our unusually long rainy season so I figured it was time to break out the shell again.

Bostonian Crown Windsor LWBs the other day.

View attachment 1437672

Stay well!

I thought shell was ok in the rain?

 

[sam67]

What is this? No other identifiers. Would you assume that is an 11UK? (I didn't try them on)

 

[madhat]

I thought shell was ok in the rain?

Shell is fine, but light rain can cause spotting. Just go stand in a puddle.

 

[Joe Wohkittel]

I was conditioning a pair of shell Florsheim LWBs today and noticed they are cracking around the eyelets. This is the second pair where I've noticed this over as many weeks. I asked myself, is this just the way vintage shell is and I just never paid enough attention?

I carefully inspected the six pairs I own, and sure enough, every pair that are not NOS (4/4) showed small cracks either around they eyelets or in the brogueing. I then turned to ebay for more evidence. of the 16 pairs of LWBs that came up searching for "vintage Florsheim shell cordovan", two lacked sufficient pictures to make a determination, 10 showed cracking, and four did not. Of the four that did not, two were NOS, and two were late 90's or early 2000s models.

So, in the absence of a larger sample, the answer to my question seems to be "yes". If they are worn, and more than 25 years old, there is probably some form of cracking, but it tends to go unnoticed. As long as one does not screw around trying to examine the cracks through flexing them, those around the eyelets and in the brougeing must be fairly stable.

Then again, n = 20 isn't good, and those that don't show cracking may simply sell right away.

 

[suitforcourt]

I was conditioning a pair of shell Florsheim LWBs today and noticed they are cracking around the eyelets. This is the second pair where I've noticed this over as many weeks. I asked myself, is this just the way vintage shell is and I just never paid enough attention?

I carefully inspected the six pairs I own, and sure enough, every pair that are not NOS (4/4) showed small cracks either around they eyelets or in the brogueing. I then turned to ebay for more evidence. of the 16 pairs of LWBs that came up searching for "vintage Florsheim shell cordovan", two lacked sufficient pictures to make a determination, 10 showed cracking, and four did not. Of the four that did not, two were NOS, and two were late 90's or early 2000s models.

So, in the absence of a larger sample, the answer to my question seems to be "yes". If they are worn, and more than 25 years old, there is probably some form of cracking, but it tends to go unnoticed. As long as one does not screw around trying to examine the cracks through flexing them, those around the eyelets and in the brougeing must be fairly stable.

Then again, n = 20 isn't good, and those that don't show cracking may simply sell right away.

For the eyelets, grommets help prevent or slow down the tearing. Sadly, vintage shell is susceptible to these issues.

We enthusiasts keep going back to them, like we go back to an ex-girlfriend. We know the likely results and chance of heart break. Yet we seek it out all the time.

 

[madhat]

For the eyelets, grommets help prevent or slow down the testing. Sadly, vintage shell is susceptible to these issues.

We enthusiasts keep going back to them, like we go back to an ex-girlfriend. We know the likely results and chance of heart break. Yet we seek it out all the time.

You'd think all these people that throw shell in the back of their closets for years, only to have their children sell them off after death, would have the common courtesy to regularly condition them so that bargain hunters don't have to suffer cracked shell! The gall of some people!

 

[Nealjpage]

Not mine but $23 seems like a steal for vintage shark shortwing.

Vintage NETTLETON Shark Skin Black Oxfords,12 AA/B

Shop jtwentyone's closet or find the perfect look from millions of stylists. Fast shipping and buyer protection. (1) Some creases / scratches (2) Patina on the eyelets (3) Heel shaving wear (4) Both back upper rims have tiny cuts & the left shoe rim have a small piece of leather missing. (5)...

poshmark.com

 

[Oshare]

After @suitforcourt and @Thomas Crown wore theirs, I decided to pull out my pair of Golden Harvests as well.

Happy weekend!

 

[happypebble]

So, with all this business about shell shoes cracking, grommets etc: if I were to buy a brand new shell pair, would it be smart to take the new shoes straight to the cobbler for a set of grommets?

 

[Joe Wohkittel]

For the eyelets, grommets help prevent or slow down the tearing. Sadly, vintage shell is susceptible to these issues.

We enthusiasts keep going back to them, like we go back to an ex-girlfriend. We know the likely results and chance of heart break. Yet we seek it out all the time.

A perfect simile, well done sir!

 

[Joe Wohkittel]

So, with all this business about shell shoes cracking, grommets etc: if I were to buy a brand new shell pair, would it be smart to take the new shoes straight to the cobbler for a set of grommets?

I've never had any problems with shell I've bought new, the oldest of which is about 15 years.

 

[Joe Wohkittel]

You'd think all these people that throw shell in the back of their closets for years, only to have their children sell them off after death, would have the common courtesy to regularly condition them so that bargain hunters don't have to suffer cracked shell! The gall of some people!

Ha! I gave my father a pair of AEs for his birthday one year. Like these folks, he put them in the back of his closet and never wore them. When I asked him why he said "they're too nice to wear!", so I told him we'd bury him in them either way, so he wears them now. ?

 

[suitforcourt]

So, with all this business about shell shoes cracking, grommets etc: if I were to buy a brand new shell pair, would it be smart to take the new shoes straight to the cobbler for a set of grommets?

I've never bought new shell. All are used and vintage. One pair was NOS, but same issues.

 

[woofmang]

So, with all this business about shell shoes cracking, grommets etc: if I were to buy a brand new shell pair, would it be smart to take the new shoes straight to the cobbler for a set of grommets?

I agree with Joe here; my oldest pair of shoes is a pair of Alden 994s (Traditional Saddles in Color 8 Shell) that are ~16 years old at this point, and there's not a hint of cracking anywhere (and they have not been babied at all).