Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[eTrojan]

Out for Mother’s Day brunch. Nettleton Algonquins in brown sharkskin make the cut.

if you look at the lacing gap, these are narrow even for me: 13 AAAA. I need to stretch a little. It was a short walk from the car to the restaurant and back, but I’m glad I didn’t have to go to the bathroom during dinner. ????

 

[pasadena man]

Gents, I've been looking for a pair of Edwin Clapp shoes for a while and just grabbed a pair. They so rarely seem to come up. Anyone know anything about this pair? They were marketed as shark but I do not believe they are actually sharkskin. Also in that 3rd pic below, I am slightly worried about that upper eyelet. Difficult to tell if it's discolored or worrisome wear and tear. In any event, I know next to nothing about EC and would be very interested to learn more about this pair if someone is knowledgeable about this maker.

View attachment 1606969

View attachment 1606972

View attachment 1606973

Rare, venerable, very high quality, NE maker that went out of business in the late 60’s I believe. Perhaps most notable today for their surviving exotics. I have some Clapp NST’s in alligator, probably manufactured in the late 1950’s. One of my favorite pairs of shoes. Perfect cult brand for the Vintage Shoes thread.

 

[tocohillsguy]

Maybe this has been previously discussed, but am I correct in my assessment that dress shoe prices (including shell cordovan) are depressed? I would suspect the need for dress shoes (vintage or otherwise) has diminished with the pandemic, and may never fully recover given the increased, long term acceptance of working from home.

 

[smfdoc]

Maybe this has been previously discussed, but am I correct in my assessment that dress shoe prices (including shell cordovan) are depressed? I would suspect the need for dress shoes (vintage or otherwise) has diminished with the pandemic, and may never fully recover given the increased, long term acceptance of working from home.

Lot's of variables and possible answers for your question. Needles to say, this is only my opinion and I have no data to back it up, just general observations. I do think the demand for dress shoes has dropped for reasons that range from Covid, work from home, increased acceptance of casual dress in many work places and a gradual aging and retirement of those who were more accustomed to wearing dress shoes. Demand does affect supply and prices and I think this can be seen in makers like Allen Edmonds, among others, who are adapting by retiring some dress styles such as the MacNeil and reducing costs with either lower MSRPs or frequent sales. AE has also rapidly altered their lineup with "casualizing" their dress shoes with using sneaker soles. They have also moved to dainite soles on many styles. In my own opinion, this makes the shoes more casual. The current landing page for AE does not show a single dress shoe with a leather sole. Other makes are reducing costs by moving or keeping production off shore or reducing quality. As for shell, I have not seen price reductions.

 

[ZePrez]

Fashion trends are difficult to project and even more so to ... control or fashion

I believe however that Allen Edmonds is over-reacting a bit with the sneakerization of their shoes. "Casual" shouldn't be equated with sneakers. In my work environment (IT), it's mostly chinos and shirts... or dress pants and shirts,, for shoes ... Brogues, Chukkas and PTB reign. Then again I'm the boss and that is how I dress...

I may be showing my age but sneakers (and their ersatz) + suits is not my idea of well-dressed..

 

[CWOyaji]

Still some good deals to be found in shell.

 

[suitforcourt]

Maybe this has been previously discussed, but am I correct in my assessment that dress shoe prices (including shell cordovan) are depressed? I would suspect the need for dress shoes (vintage or otherwise) has diminished with the pandemic, and may never fully recover given the increased, long term acceptance of working from home.

Lot's of variables and possible answers for your question. Needles to say, this is only my opinion and I have no data to back it up, just general observations. I do think the demand for dress shoes has dropped for reasons that range from Covid, work from home, increased acceptance of casual dress in many work places and a gradual aging and retirement of those who were more accustomed to wearing dress shoes. Demand does affect supply and prices and I think this can be seen in makers like Allen Edmonds, among others, who are adapting by retiring some dress styles such as the MacNeil and reducing costs with either lower MSRPs or frequent sales. AE has also rapidly altered their lineup with "casualizing" their dress shoes with using sneaker soles. They have also moved to dainite soles on many styles. In my own opinion, this makes the shoes more casual. The current landing page for AE does not show a single dress shoe with a leather sole. Other makes are reducing costs by moving or keeping production off shore or reducing quality. As for shell, I have not seen price reductions.

My opinion and $2 gets you a coffee at Tim Hortons/Dunkin' Donuts.

Prices on ebay have steadily and drastically increased over the last 5 years. I regularly search for vintage shoes. I have a pair of 93602 that I bought NOS back in 2016 for 185. I was going back and forth and finally accepted the advice of our leaders to buy them.

Nowadays, 185 seems to get a pair of dilapidated sheets of leather that went through WW3.

I do agree that the move towards casual footwear is likely permanent. My own purchase have been targeting boots. Even for rebuilds, I am contemplating Vibram wedge soles for the comfort as opposed to the formal leather soles.

Will we see ebay prices depress? Doubtful.

 

[wasmisterfu]

Guess who’s back...
Back again...

Sorry, I had to disappear for a long while; just know it involved an insane amount of work saving (what was) a terribly broken company (which is now not broken).

So, here’s some shoes: they are AE’s; your mission is to identify the model name and number. Know that this one is harder than it first appears. Bonus points if you get the era and catalog entry correct.

I am, indeed, wearing these shoes today. In public.

 

[sam67]

Guess who’s back...
Back again...

Sorry, I had to disappear for a long while; just know it involved an insane amount of work saving (what was) a terribly broken company (which is now not broken).

So, here’s some shoes: they are AE’s; your mission is to identify the model name and number. Know that this one is harder than it first appears. Bonus points if you get the era and catalog entry correct.

I am, indeed, wearing these shoes today. In public.

Guess who’s back...
Back again...

Sorry, I had to disappear for a long while; just know it involved an insane amount of work saving (what was) a terribly broken company (which is now not broken).

So, here’s some shoes: they are AE’s; your mission is to identify the model name and number. Know that this one is harder than it first appears. Bonus points if you get the era and catalog entry correct.

I am, indeed, wearing these shoes today. In public.

Brentwood, 4365? (1977)

 

[tocohillsguy]

Guess who’s back...
Back again...

Sorry, I had to disappear for a long while; just know it involved an insane amount of work saving (what was) a terribly broken company (which is now not broken).

So, here’s some shoes: they are AE’s; your mission is to identify the model name and number. Know that this one is harder than it first appears. Bonus points if you get the era and catalog entry correct.

I am, indeed, wearing these shoes today. In public.

Brentwood 4365? Mid 90's.

 

[stook1]

Guess who’s back...
Back again...

Sorry, I had to disappear for a long while; just know it involved an insane amount of work saving (what was) a terribly broken company (which is now not broken).

So, here’s some shoes: they are AE’s; your mission is to identify the model name and number. Know that this one is harder than it first appears. Bonus points if you get the era and catalog entry correct.

I am, indeed, wearing these shoes today. In public.

Welcome back.

No clue. I thought they were Alden v-tips

I must confess that in your absence I used your crazy gator eyeball square toe abomination picture. I cannot recall if credit was given. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Apologies in advance (or, eh, hindsight).

Carry on.

 

[wasmisterfu]

Welcome back.

No clue. I thought they were Alden v-tips

I must confess that in your absence I used your crazy gator eyeball square toe abomination picture. I cannot recall if credit was given. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Apologies in advance (or, eh, hindsight).

Carry on.

Lol... credit on the eyeball gators?!? For what it’s worth, I’d prefer my name not be credited or associated with those.

 

[wasmisterfu]

Brentwood, 4365? (1977)

Brentwood 4365? Mid 90's.

What if I were to tell you that you both had the model/style number correct... but not the model name?

The plot thickens...

 

[wasmisterfu]

Fashion trends are difficult to project and even more so to ... control or fashion

I believe however that Allen Edmonds is over-reacting a bit with the sneakerization of their shoes. "Casual" shouldn't be equated with sneakers. In my work environment (IT), it's mostly chinos and shirts... or dress pants and shirts,, for shoes ... Brogues, Chukkas and PTB reign. Then again I'm the boss and that is how I dress...

I may be showing my age but sneakers (and their ersatz) + suits is not my idea of well-dressed..

They are overreacting to some extent (potentially alienating their core audience) but the last year of Covid, driving people to sit around in sweatpants, can’t be overstated with regards to business and formal styles, and the companies making such clothes and shoes. It’s been a true garment industry disaster (and not just for menswear).

That said, I do think we’ll see a rebound. Walking through an office building today, I was surprised to see jackets, dress shoes and ties (including a bow-tie, worn by a particularly well dressed young man). I think people are so tired of sitting around in their PJ’s on Zoom calls, they actually want to go out and get dressed up.

As for sneakers (especially with a suit)... they’re just so basic.

 

[sam67]

What if I were to tell you that you both had the model/style number correct... but not the model name?

The plot thickens...

Seneca is all I can find- 2004