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CWOyaji

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Alden shell chukkas for the trip to the farmers market, on my birthday.
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suitforcourt

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I’m glad I could inspire you! :)

those are GREAT! I guess it’s the bright sun, but they look almost Navy?

You have a cobbler package named after you? Now that’s an honor!
Are those blue shell? If they are black, that’s about the nicest shade of black shell I’ve seen.
Bet you had the best footwear in that McDonald's. Whenever I'm in church I look around to see what the other men are wearing. The conversation in my head is like "let's see... Tennis shoes, nope. Flip flops, nope. Cheap looking oxfords, the like of Aldo and Steve Madden, nope. (look down at my shoes). Mason Executive Imperials? We have a winner!"

Definitely black shell. Maybe in the sun they look navy?
 

stook1

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Alright guys, need a helping hand on a shell restoration issue. It happened to me again! Ok, not exactly, but a while ago I mentioned that I had been working on a pair of shell aldens that I tried to condition and sand as part of the restoration and that I had ended up with this weird matte portion of the shell. For that pair, I came to the conclusion that I over conditioned and they are now sitting waiting for more attention... or just time.

Well... I just e-thrifted a pair of AEs and there is a panel that has a similar issue but a different cause (I think). However, this time I have no idea what the history of the shoe is other than what I have done so far, which isn't that extensive. They looked very similar to the below when I got them. They really do not seem to be overconditioned. I gave the shoes a quick scrub with saddle soap and a wet microfiber. Then I did a coat of a neatsfoot + VSC blend (which, by the way, seems to be a good idea since it makes it much easier to modulate the neatsfoot). I then let them dry for a bit and gave them a brushing with a pig bristle brush. Both shoes look much better at this point except for this one section.

Lotta pics, sorry... just trying to figure out what's up here. I realize they are still a little messy. It really does not feel like buildup of polish or wax or conditioner to me and I got barely any color off at all while cleaning. I don't have the impression that the they have been polished much really.

Thoughts?

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Alright, alright... Finished up this restoration today. Thanks again to those that encouraged me to hit this pair with some acetone and sanding. That did the trick. I also ended up re-dying them. The finish issues are completely gone. I must say they came out pretty darned well! Fun project.

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suitforcourt

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Nealjpage

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@Quantum17 My alligator/shell Cole-Haan did not work out either. Cracks in the alligator skin. The shell cordovan area were perfectly supple. So reptile scale is probably even more prone to drying and cracking than shell.

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The vcleat was well worn also. Interesting that there are 3 nails in the arch area and none on the opposite side.

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What's that I'm wearing while holding the Cole-Haan?

@CWOyaji @friendlygoz Those are my e-thrifted vintage violation AE Shell Cordovan Leeds for $35. I had stripped and dyed them with red dye. But the result seems burgundy with some area Coke red.

View attachment 1598973
What did you use to condition the gator? Is it beyond saving?
 

Bon Vivant Life

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scored these today from bins. is it @Oshare who has a pair of these? these have no model number, and it definitely has not worn away. custom made perhaps?
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any info would be greatly appreciated.
also grabbed these unworn AE Worthington chukkas. Have no idea how to date them. don't know if they are vintage or not, there is a pair on ebay but they have leather soles, not rubber. again, any help/info will guarantee you a spot in my top 3 favorite people of the day, and a 1 in 3 chance of winning $10,000!!!! (last sentence is not true)
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Oshare

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Strange how much wider your older pair look.... Both pairs are glorious, as you know! But more importantly - Trader Joes bag? You can't mean the grocery store in the US??? If you think we should start an import/export business for Trader Joes shopping bags let me know as I have, I think, two or three of them within 15 minutes of my house.

I’ve seen NWT Trader Joe’s tote bags on sale in boutique shops in Tokyo for about 3x to 4x what they sell for in the US. My wife and I love TJ’s and go out of our way to stop by whenever we are in a city that has one.

Unfortunately they are not in Hawaii (my home state). We do have Whole Foods and their tote bags are even more popular and well known in Japan.

Ive seriously thought about a little side hustle selling TJ and WF bags over here:p
 

Oshare

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scored these today from bins. is it @Oshare who has a pair of these? these have no model number, and it definitely has not worn away. custom made perhaps?
View attachment 1599386 View attachment 1599387 View attachment 1599388 View attachment 1599389

Wow! So other pairs exist! Cool unicorn find!

Mine actually have a model number: 9400
... but that doesn't really match up with any known series, so they are probably custom made shoes.

The only real difference I can see between your pair and mine is the color of the welt stitching, and my pair lacks the 5 nails.

Here are some shots of my pair for comparison:

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stook1

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I’ve seen NWT Trader Joe’s tote bags on sale in boutique shops in Tokyo for about 3x to 4x what they sell for in the US. My wife and I love TJ’s and go out of our way to stop by whenever we are in a city that has one.

Unfortunately they are not in Hawaii (my home state). We do have Whole Foods and their tote bags are even more popular and well known in Japan.

Ive seriously thought about a little side hustle selling TJ and WF bags over here:p

That's honestly hysterical. Do people realize what those stores are? I can't even make sense of how this happened! Anyway, I'm buying out the inventory of bags at my Whole Foods and dropping 'em on the classifieds in Japan. This sounds like it'll be great for my shoe funny money.
 

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