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WSB17

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Anyone know anything about the Johnston and Murphy "handcrafted" optima cushion line? What are we talking about here? Is this on par with the Crown Aristocraft, or are we talking about the garbage J&M became?
Can you post a picture ? I'm assuming this is brown label, which is made in Mexico.

It goes: Crown Aristocraft > Aristocraft > Optima

The older Optima, made in the US, was mostly corrected grain, but had some decent quality. Better than what J&M making today.
The made in Mexico and India is lower quality.. nowhere near the Crown Aristocraft/Aristocraft quality.
 

smfdoc

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Anyone know anything about the Johnston and Murphy "handcrafted" optima cushion line? What are we talking about here? Is this on par with the Crown Aristocraft, or are we talking about the garbage J&M became?

JM had many lines. As a general rule I judge the quality of each line by their position in the catalog. There is an older catalog on vcleat.com.
 

smfdoc

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The “GH” project is done and they are on their way back to me.

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Nobleprofessor

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I don’t know anything about Keith highlander. I do think a few have spoken favorably about them. I do really like the black/burgundy Saddle combination.

They do look like CG. But, NOS is hard to find.

Not my listing:


I bought a pair similar to these my freshman year in College (1991). I don’t remember the brand. But, I think they were a good brand. They were $90 and I bought them for a College Debate Tournament. I was so happy with them and I didn’t really have $90 back then.

On the second day of the tournament, I took them off and left them with all of our team stuff at the big room where all the teams gathered. We were going to dinner and lots of people left their files and bags. Someone stole them. I was So mad! It was a dumb mistake to leave them. They might have been Florsheim or maybe Sebago (or some other brand). They were on sale when I got them.
 
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Nobleprofessor

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suitforcourt

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Nobleprofessor

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This seller has some crazy prices. I have watched a couple pairs of his for a long time. I have always figured, if he can get crazy prices for them, good for him.

But, I still don’t understand this pair.


He describes them at a Budapester. I think that is sort of an apocryphal name for the style. I think there are other brands where a gunboat and a Budapester might be different. These do not show the style number. But, aren’t these just a 93602?
 

kilowatts

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This seller has some crazy prices. I have watched a couple pairs of his for a long time. I have always figured, if he can get crazy prices for them, good for him.

But, I still don’t understand this pair.


He describes them at a Budapester. I think that is sort of an apocryphal name for the style. I think there are other brands where a gunboat and a Budapester might be different. These do not show the style number. But, aren’t these just a 93602?
Yeah, I don’t really understand this guy either. He does have a great selection of shoes. Perhaps he has a market in Europe where prices are higher than in N America. He sure does a great job of promoting his wares too.
kilowatts
 

smfdoc

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Magnificent. Now that you've moved into the snowy north, remember to buy rubber overshoes/overboots to protect these beauties.

Nope, for nasty weather I just go for boots. CXL Indy with the all terrain soles.

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Nobleprofessor

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I find myself apologizing for posting black shoes because I don’t wear them that often. But, I have discovered I have more black shoes than I thought. I suppose many of them are neglected because I really don’t wear them as often.

I really like these anyway. I love saddle shoes. Usually saddle shoes have a little more interest because the saddle is typically a different texture/grain and it usually a different color. These are unusual In that way —being black on black.

According to the date code these are either 1966 or 1976. The lettering is old and dark so I think they might 1966.

The style number is very hard to read. It looks like 21323 (or 21322).

I don’t know why my socks look green. They are supposed to be gray.



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smfdoc

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Dropped in to goodwill and found some shell Hanover PTBs. Showing some early cracks, so I picked them up to make watch bands.

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First stop, remove the soles. They take up less room in the suitcase this way.

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stook1

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This seller has some crazy prices. I have watched a couple pairs of his for a long time. I have always figured, if he can get crazy prices for them, good for him.

But, I still don’t understand this pair.


He describes them at a Budapester. I think that is sort of an apocryphal name for the style. I think there are other brands where a gunboat and a Budapester might be different. These do not show the style number. But, aren’t these just a 93602?

This is a budapester in my view... https://www.heinrich-dinkelacker.com/buda-full-brogue-h.html

That said, I try not to be pendantic about such things. Maybe he's onto a better marketing method for his gunboats?
 

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