Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[Oshare]

Personal preference, but I think the rolls are pretty minimal and would instead try to gently brush off the orange peel texture on the vamps, near the stitching. I think rolls add character. As long as they’re not deep enough to trap grit in the creases, which can turn abrasive and cause cracking, I won't push smoothing them out. Here's that pair of 93605s from last week.
View attachment 1541632
Bossy people on Facebook were telling me to rub them with a deer bone, but I don't feel like it.
View attachment 1541633
These trees fill out the vamps but aren't chunky enough to crack them.
View attachment 1541634
Easy does it with old shell. I've only treated them with running water, VSC and Leather Milk so far.
View attachment 1541635

Yeah, I got a deer bone on the advice of internet experts, but to me it does very little for rolls. If anything, it helps to smooth them out a bit before you take a photo, but as soon as you put the shoes on and take one step, the rolls come right back.

 

[Oshare]

Attn 9.5D brothers... never seen shark Florsheim Imperial short wings. Wow. Not my listing.

https://posh.mk/ti74hjR4hdb

Interesting that the description says "new in original box" and the box pictured is an Allen Edmonds box...

Yeah, I saw those on David's watch list the other day, but something seems odd. (not just the box)

The leather has this sort of weird texture to it, on top of the wavy shark skin texture. It's especially noticeable on the photo of the back of the shoes. It has this sort of fine dimpled texture, almost like it's "printed".

Or does shark skin look like that sometimes?
I only have 1 pair of shark skin shoes (Footjoy saddle shoes) to compare against, but mine are completely smooth aside from the shark skin waviness.

But, at any rate, the price is in "sleeping on the couch" territory.

 

[Oshare]

Well, my wife did some shopping of her own last night -- picking up a nice, lightly used, Loewe leather coat. So I figured I would make a couple purchases of my own.
Besides, I hadn't made any shoe auction purchases since last June, so I felt I would be safe.

First up: Plugging the 7-eyelet hole in my collection. These are Florsheim Royal Imperials that had been on my watchlist forever. They were listed at an attractive price, but the shipping situation always put me off. Still, I kept coming back to them, and finally decided to pull the trigger before I regretted missing them forever.

Although Florsheims, they seem more English style to me. Possibly from the 90's, they are smooth leather and a sort of cross between a brogued shortwing and an austerity brogue. I couldn't make out the model number from the photos, but I'll see if I can get that info once they arrive. Hopefully I can clean up the creases on the vamp.

The 2nd hole I decided to plug was the one I never knew I had -- I picked up those Florsheim party shoes after receiving a lower price offer from the seller.

So, what's the story on these?

I mean, what's the model, age, etc.? I've never seen anything like those before.

They are not vintage, but they are Florsheims... by Duckie Brown, so I guess they are from the early 2000s?

It seems that there is a thin layer of leather that was laser cut with a paisley pattern, that is then laid on top of the uppers. The uppers, lining and sole are leather, but made in India.

Not sure if/when I will ever wear these, but I have a custom made suit that I had done while living in Singapore which has a satin blue paisley jacket lining that my wife dislikes. These shoes could be a good match for that suit. ?

 

[Nealjpage]

Personal preference, but I think the rolls are pretty minimal and would instead try to gently brush off the orange peel texture on the vamps, near the stitching. I think rolls add character. As long as they’re not deep enough to trap grit in the creases, which can turn abrasive and cause cracking, I won't push smoothing them out. Here's that pair of 93605s from last week.
View attachment 1541632
Bossy people on Facebook were telling me to rub them with a deer bone, but I don't feel like it.
View attachment 1541633
These trees fill out the vamps but aren't chunky enough to crack them.
View attachment 1541634
Easy does it with old shell. I've only treated them with running water, VSC and Leather Milk so far.
View attachment 1541635

So slightly larger trees took 'em out.

 

[eTrojan]

Re above: I just love my black Executive Imperials. I look at them and can see very little difference in quality between them and my Florsheim 92604s. Makes me want a pair of Velvet Eez.

The Velvet-eez are really, really comfortable. They have a springy, cushioned insole that is still spring and cushiony after all these years. My Hanover shell saddle oxfords are a distant second place, and third place isn’t close.

 

[friendlygoz]

Well, my wife did some shopping of her own last night -- picking up a nice, lightly used, Loewe leather coat. So I figured I would make a couple purchases of my own.
Besides, I hadn't made any shoe auction purchases since last June, so I felt I would be safe.

First up: Plugging the 7-eyelet hole in my collection. These are Florsheim Royal Imperials that had been on my watchlist forever. They were listed at an attractive price, but the shipping situation always put me off. Still, I kept coming back to them, and finally decided to pull the trigger before I regretted missing them forever.

Although Florsheims, they seem more English style to me. Possibly from the 90's, they are smooth leather and a sort of cross between a brogued shortwing and an austerity brogue. I couldn't make out the model number from the photos, but I'll see if I can get that info once they arrive. Hopefully I can clean up the creases on the vamp.

View attachment 1541737

View attachment 1541738

View attachment 1541740


The 2nd hole I decided to plug was the one I never knew I had -- I picked up those Florsheim party shoes after receiving a lower price offer from the seller.

They are not vintage, but they are Florsheims... by Duckie Brown, so I guess they are from the early 2000s?

It seems that there is a thin layer of leather that was laser cut with a paisley pattern, that is then laid on top of the uppers. The uppers, lining and sole are leather, but made in India.

Not sure if/when I will ever wear these, but I have a custom made suit that I had done while living in Singapore which has a satin blue paisley jacket lining that my wife dislikes. These shoes could be a good match for that suit. ?

I like the logic: your wife’s purchases are a license for your purchases. My wife does the same thing. If she’s enthusiastic about a new pair - “ those are beautiful!” - I know we are about to get a Nordstrom box on the porch.

 

[friendlygoz]

It’s on... I’m doing grommets and I’m doing them myself. Two pairs of my vintage shell have very small cracks around the eyelets. I’m not taking any chances.

Removing the old ones was easier than I thought. I used a solution of alcohol and water and soaked the leather around the eyelets with a Q-tip. Then I used a micro cutter to bend the sides and slowly pull them out. Steve from Bedo’s does the process in a video. I copied that. I actually think that’s probably the hardest part. Now I just need to find the right size grommets. I’m thinking 4 mm is correct. @suitforcourt: do you what the inner diameter is on the grommets you’ve have installed? More to come...

 

[sam67]

I’m still working on this with acetone. They were a burgundy brown train wreck when I found them. Can I put navy dye on these? I mean, how much more messed up can They get? Have a brand recommendation?

 

[Quantum17]

Tomorrow is Opposite Day. It’d be funny if somewhere out there, anthropologists discovered an anti-Bayesian tribe deep in the Amazon. They would basically believe if something happens too many time in a row, the opposite must soon occur. According to this tribe, tomorrow the sun will rise on the West, fishes walk on land, and Sponge Bob wears circle pants. Every tomorrow would be Opposite Day ? Mild comedy, I admit. Just hoping to get a snort from statisticians out there.

Though I believe I’m most creative on the day of lottery drawing. Imagination runs wild. What I would do with the sudden fortune?!?!? I would be a just and benevolent ruler of the world. Or at the very least, a good Batman.

The inevitable despair would hit home when someone else won the jackpot. It happened too many time in a row. Yet, I am still the anti-Bayesian fool eagerly buying more lottery. I have convinced myself the $2 ticket was not entirely for the wish of fortune, but largely for a brief joyful moment of fantasy.

Maiden voyage to my red Florsheim oxfords. Lovely shoes. Definitely among my favorite ?

 

[Quantum17]

It’s on... I’m doing grommets and I’m doing them myself. Two pairs of my vintage shell have very small cracks around the eyelets. I’m not taking any chances.

Removing the old ones was easier than I thought. I used a solution of alcohol and water and soaked the leather around the eyelets with a Q-tip. Then I used a micro cutter to bend the sides and slowly pull them out. Steve from Bedo’s does the process in a video. I copied that. I actually think that’s probably the hardest part. Now I just need to find the right size grommets. I’m thinking 4 mm is correct. @suitforcourt: do you what the inner diameter is on the grommets you’ve have installed? More to come... View attachment 1541788 View attachment 1541789 View attachment 1541790 View attachment 1541791

You are amazing. Good luck ?

 

[woofmang]

I’m still working on this with acetone. They were a burgundy brown train wreck when I found them. Can I put navy dye on these? I mean, how much more messed up can They get? Have a brand recommendation?
View attachment 1541793

I'd guess that Navy would give you a really muddy result with those, but I have no experience to suggest that's true, so take my guess with a shaker of salt...

 

[Nealjpage]

Snowy day here in southern Oregon, so I donned these no-name chukkas and this antique cruiser/Mackinaw jacket I found at Goodwill salvage and good Lord what is all over the mirror?

 

[sam67]

I'd guess that Navy would give you a really muddy result with those, but I have no experience to suggest that's true, so take my guess with a shaker of salt...

You’re probably right. The same crossed my mind. I should stick with a brown.

 

[mormonopoly]

Here's another new addition to my collection. These are 1950s Florsheim not quite longwing ventilated spectators. They have a lot of miles on them, but the uppers are still in pretty good shape.

 

[sam67]

Here's another new addition to my collection. These are 1950s Florsheim not quite longwing ventilated spectators. They have a lot of miles on them, but the uppers are still in pretty good shape. View attachment 1542362 View attachment 1542363 View attachment 1542364 View attachment 1542365

How do you find all these old shoes? Wait. Don’t tell me. I have a Enough of an obsession already