Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[sam67]

Will CG respond to soaking? I'm going to find out. These are a little dinged up but thought I would play with them (Aristocraft captoe) (is there a way to rotate this pic?)

 

[friendlygoz]

A little Dack’s ? shortwing action today.

 

[CWOyaji]

@Nealjpage did you pick up any Eddy Greens at the big piñata busting event this AM?

 

[sam67]

These 50s nunn bush came today and they are in amazing shape. I can’t believe it. No gunk on the leather. Could the dark be CG? Was that used back then? Cleaning the buck is the question. I may try very gently.

 

[stook1]

These 50s nunn bush came today and they are in amazing shape. I can’t believe it. No gunk on the leather. Could the dark be CG? Was that used back then? Cleaning the buck is the question. I may try very gently.
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doesnt really look like cg to me.

 

[sam67]

doesnt really look like cg to me.

Thanks. The toe and heel have a different feel than the vamp. I’m just grasping for an explanation.

 

[Nealjpage]

@Nealjpage did you pick up any Eddy Greens at the big piñata busting event this AM?

Nope. WAAAYYY out of my price range. I can talk my way out of a $50 purchase but Mrs. Nealjpage would gladly serve a manslaughter sentence if I were to drop $500 on a pair of shoes.

You?

 

[mormonopoly]

These 50s nunn bush came today and they are in amazing shape. I can’t believe it. No gunk on the leather. Could the dark be CG? Was that used back then? Cleaning the buck is the question. I may try very gently.
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Definitely no CG on that shoe. The whites do appear to have that typical white polish/paint stuff on them.

 

[sam67]

Definitely no CG on that shoe. The whites do appear to have that typical white polish/paint stuff on them.

Agree. And what’s under the white stuff is not quite white. The heel quarters feel nearly new.

 

[Oshare]

Hi my fellow vintage shoe friends, I am new to vintage shoes..

1. What are the best shoe trees for vintage shoes? (Other than original lasted tree)

2.Are the “shoe tree with spring” (for example Nordstrom generic tree or Woodlore Epic tree) good? I heard that people say the spring would somewhat expand the shoes into a excessive extend.. is it real?

I guess ideally you could use matching branded vintage shoe trees in vintage shoes. I know @Jiqea often does that with his collection, and that definitely takes things up another few notches.

But unless you're going that route, I don't think that there is any 'best' shoe tree for vintage shoes. I just buy spring loaded trees off Amazon in the correct size, making sure that they fill up the shoe's volume and keep them pretty straight.

I think the main thing you want to avoid is a tree that is too large and requires unnecessary force to put in or take out. I did that once with a NOS pair of Hannover LB Sheppard shell PTBs and it cracked the back of the shoe.

 

[Nealjpage]

These 50s nunn bush came today and they are in amazing shape. I can’t believe it. No gunk on the leather. Could the dark be CG? Was that used back then? Cleaning the buck is the question. I may try very gently.
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Nice pickup. What size are those?

 

[sam67]

Definitely no CG on that shoe. The whites do appear to have that typical white polish/paint stuff on them.

It comes off. More of an off - white buck underneath, if you can see it ? I’ll report back in a few days.

wet but improved. Will let it dry and check the residue

 

[sam67]

Nice pickup. What size are those?

My size! 10.5D

 

[Nealjpage]

It comes off. More of an off - white buck underneath, if you can see it ? I’ll report back in a few days.
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I have a pair of NB spectators, probably late '50s. The white was more of an off-white; I didn't know if that was due to age or if that was the true color. White shoe cream was all I could find.

 

[sam67]

I have a pair of NB spectators, probably late '50s. The white was more of an off-white; I didn't know if that was due to age or if that was the true color. White shoe cream was all I could find.

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My daughter has corrected me me that underneath they are ivory.