Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[John Doe]

The second pair look just like a pair of Sears shoes I have, made for Sears by Hanover.

Thanks. Any idea how old?

 

[suitforcourt]

sorry, but not shell. They have fine cracks on the folds on the vamp. Shell would never do that. Neat shoes though.

View attachment 1487605

I need to get a new phone. My pics of the vamp are blurry.

 

[Nealjpage]

I need to get a new phone. My pics of the vamp are blurry.

Sure. Blame the phone instead of your eyes.

 

[CWOyaji]

Hey now

 

[Nealjpage]

Hey now
View attachment 1487625

I've been watching those.

 

[ccpl14]

Older models from the 90s are most likely made by Rancourt, in particular the ones that have "Made in Maine". Blake stitched but decent quality, uppers are hit and miss, and I've seen some models with corrected grain.

The older, goodyear welted, Cole Haan from the 60s and 70s, under the "Imperial Grade" imprint, these were in fact made in the old Cole Haan factory.

I also read that Hanover made shoes for them at some point but not sure when or what models.

Where was the Cole Haan factory?

 

[WSB17]

Where was the Cole Haan factory?

Also in Maine I believe, but not sure actually..
Maybe they were already commissioning other factories to make their shoes early on.
Here's an Imperial Grade shell cordovan model, goodyear welted (does not look like a Hanover):

COLE HAAN Imperial Grade SHELL CORDOVAN V-Cleat Saddle Shoes Vtg Sz 10.5 B | eBay

Condition is Pre-owned but in overall excellent shape given the age. These are incredibly well constructed. These are rare find as Cole haan simply doesn’t make anything like this anymore!

www.ebay.com

 

[Joe Wohkittel]

Also in Maine I believe, but not sure actually..
Maybe they were already commissioning other factories to make their shoes early on.
Here's an Imperial Grade shell cordovan model, goodyear welted (does not look like a Hanover):

COLE HAAN Imperial Grade SHELL CORDOVAN V-Cleat Saddle Shoes Vtg Sz 10.5 B | eBay

Condition is Pre-owned but in overall excellent shape given the age. These are incredibly well constructed. These are rare find as Cole haan simply doesn’t make anything like this anymore!

www.ebay.com

I posted on this a few weeks ago, but originally, the brand was from Chicago, and these pairs are very rare. I don't know when they moved to Maine. Probably when E.E. Taylor bought them sometime in the 1960s or early 1970s. The pair above is from the Taylor owned period. By the late 70s Taylor had folded and Cole Haan was divested. Nike purchased them in the 1980s and sold them in 2012.

In the late 1990s, they were made in Freeport, ME, but were headquartered in Yarmouth and had some sort of presence in Bar Harbor. By 2000, they stopped production in the USA and did not contract for production in the US again until 2016 with Rancourt to make their "Made in Maine" line. They were standard Rancourt shoes + an extra ~$100 markup and the line only lasted about a year.

 

[Joe Wohkittel]

Happy birthday, brother! What's the model number? I have to find a pair.

Thank you! It is not a standard model number. Besides that date and year code, the only thing stamped is 610989 6.

 

[smfdoc]

I need to get a new phone. My pics of the vamp are blurry.

Sounds like solid logic to me. Who could deny you need a new phone?

 

[Nobleprofessor]

I’m sure some of you have seen this on the Facebook group. I would love to have this! My wife actually said it would be great in a shoe room. But, Pennsylvania is pretty far from Memphis.

 

[Nobleprofessor]

These are really cool vintage Alligator Tassel loafers from Frank Bros in NYC. They are labeled as 11.5C, but they fit more like 11.5D or even 12.

Full disclosure, they are mine. I consigned them. Matthew starts his auctions at 9.99, so they might go cheap.

#1 MENSWEAR Frank Bros. Vintage Brown Alligator Crocodile Tassel Loafers 11.5 CA | eBay

Material Alligator / Crocodile. Maker Frank Brothers. Insole Length 11. Outsole Length 12. Heel Height 1. Condition Pre Owned.

www.ebay.com

 

[Nealjpage]

Speaking of Cole-Haan, these were on my front stoop this morning. At $9.50, I decided that they were worth the gamble.

 

[friendlygoz]

I grabbed these 93602s for my brother for his 50th birthday. They were manufactured in 1968, the year my parents were married. They were on @davidVC ’s list. The quality of vintage Florsheims is generally amazing. But I feel like these are on another level. Notice the tightness of the welt stitching and how it aligns perfectly with the rolling on the welt. I really lucked out on these. The binding is in perfect condition, the uppers are in great shape, and they weren’t worn very much at all. I’m going to clean them up and give my brother the best birthday present he’s ever received.

 

[suitforcourt]

Sadly, Chippewa is another brand that is slowly shutting down US production and moving overseas. The factory that made these recently shuttered, effectively making these vintage.

Maiden voyage for my LL Bean Katahdin, by Chippewa. Took them out to a Hallowe'en farm event. Chippewa boots fit me the best and are very comfortable. Definitely my favourite US made boot brand (I also have Red Wings and Wolverine 1000 Mile).

Given the pandemic, I wear dress shoes less and less. Once the snow arrives, and leaves sometime in May, I will be in boots 99.9% of the time.