Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[CWOyaji]

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?

These are my favorite trees, besides the Alden trees made by Rochester Shoe Tree Co. Shoes are Florsheim 93602s and Peal & Co by Crockett & Jones punch captoes with a fresh JR soles recraft that somebody never never came back to pick up at my cobblers. Luckily in my size.

 

[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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That’s colored leather right? The only reason I’m working on mine is because the catalog told me that it was buck underneath

 

[Nealjpage]

That’s colored leather right? The only reason I’m working on mine is because the catalog told me that it was buck underneath

Yep, white leather. I'm not sure what you call the grain, though. It's certainly not pebble. More like gravel.

 

[suitforcourt]

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?

I also did not buy a pair.

 

[suitforcourt]

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?

I laughed really hard at the "would gladly serve a manslaughter sentence" portion.

I of course wish no ill will towards any member of the brotherhood. But if she is ever charged, have her contact me. I will apply for permission to receive a temporary license in your state and I will defend her pro bono.

I am confident I have a viable defence for her.

 

[mormonopoly]

This week I'm wearing these 1940s Stetson gator/suede spectators. For such a bold shoe, someone really got a lot of miles out of them.

 

[Nealjpage]

These just arrived. I haven't even fully inspected them. Crosby Square French toes. I'm not sure of the vintage. Blind stitched sole is pretty sweet.

 

[mormonopoly]

These just arrived. I haven't even fully inspected them. Crosby Square French toes. I'm not sure of the vintage. Blind stitched sole is pretty sweet.

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Wow, lots of great golden era (in my opinion) shoes coming up in this thread lately! I’d put these as 1940s-early 50s.

 

[CWOyaji]

These just arrived. I haven't even fully inspected them. Crosby Square French toes. I'm not sure of the vintage. Blind stitched sole is pretty sweet.

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I like those too but I'm going to call that a chisel toe, sounds better to me than a square toe.

 

[Hotel Cali]

Some 50s alligator derbies today.

 

[Nealjpage]

Mrs. Nealjpage and I went out for supper tonight (probably to celebrate my not spending $500 on that EG sale, even though I didn't tell her about it) where I had a mediocre steak but it was wonderful because we left the kids somewhere else. Oh, and I wore these Cole-Haan saddles.

 

[smfdoc]

My daughter has corrected me me that underneath they are ivory.
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Ivory is a great description. I was going to say "Bone and black" spectators. They are getting better and will look terrific when you are done.

 

[M635Guy]

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?

Most of my trees are Woodlore Epics, and I recommend them. I have a few pairs where something about the last doesn't play well with that shape, so I use Jos. A. Bank trees - a mix of solid and split-toe.

I created an "Everything You Want to Know" about trees on Reddit's GYW sub a few years ago (not that I know everything), and it generated some great conversation and insight. Here's the (sorta) net for me:

• If heavily-worn (rainy day, hot day, long day, long and hot day , etc.), give the shoes some time to air out before inserting trees. An hour is recommended by many, but sometimes that means I forget and don't get back to them until the next day, so do whatever is consistent with getting trees in the shoes sooner than later. The point is to let as much moisture exit the shoes as possible, and the trees can generally deal with the rest.
• Use unsealed wood trees, preferably cedar as it has excellent moisture absorption and is both anti-fungal and anti-microbial. As a bonus, every few years you can lightly sand the trees to renew these properties.
• Any tree is better than no tree, but it is important to avoid creating a lot of tension in the shoe, especially in the heel area. This tension can stretch the shoe. Split toe is generally better than a solid toe, both for the filling of the toe area and air movement. Avoid trees with a small heel since it can leave the shape in the shoe (many trees make a "handle" out of the heel section). I like a tree with a full, heel-shaped heel (like the Epic). An inexpensive solid tree with a rounded heel is fine (Jos. A. Bank used to have great sales on their trees), and probably 90%+ the value of a spiffy Epic. The key is to not over-size the tree and create tension. I'd much rather have a tree firmly inserted in the toe and have zero tension at the heel than a tree I have to really jam in there. My recommendation would be "When in doubt, size down."

On a side note, it's my understanding that Woodlore makes a massive percentage of the USA-made trees you'll find marketed under other brands. They make a variety of styles, but as recently as a couple years ago the trees you'd find at Jos. A Bank, Nordstrom Rack, etc. were Woodlore-made.

I have so many Epics because MassDrop (now just called Drop) would run what amounted to a Buy-One-Get-One sale, which made them a very decent deal. It looks like they haven't run that deal in a while, so Cedar Elements on Amazon is an option (not Woodlore-made, but nice).

 

[sam67]

Ivory is a great description. I was going to say "Bone and black" spectators. They are getting better and will look terrific when you are done.

Thanks. It's fun, as you know. I have found a little staining, under the white gunk, on the other shoe. So I have to go out and get an eraser this morning. May clean them again after. Think another cleaning is too much? Any comments appreciated.

 

[stook1]

@Oshare Sorry to trouble you with a topic from a couple weeks back. For your new camel Dack's on the subject of the polish that made them looks so super... am I correct in thinking that you used cream polish? I have the same color but only in the wax polish... I think I am going to give it a shot anyway. There's less color in wax polish but we'll see what happens. Just figured I would double check if you happen to drop by.

egh, nevermind... I looked up your post and you specified cream polish already. maybe I will mix something... will see what I have on hand.