Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[CWOyaji]

Vintage violation for sure but these are the AE Cambridges from a couple of weeks ago. Fellow shoe aficionados, if you can find a pair at a good price, buy them and don't look back.

 

[friendlygoz]

Vintage violation for sure but these are the AE Cambridges from a couple of weeks ago. Fellow shoe aficionados, if you can find a pair at a good price, buy them and don't look back.
View attachment 1629060

I had a pair. They are great. 65 last is a horrible on my feet.

 

[Oshare]

I'm wondering if I should round out my camel skin shoe collection. I have a pair of PTDs and a pair of LWBs. Now these shortwings popped up on auction.

They are by Julius Marlow, an Australian maker I am not familiar with. Some Googling pointed to the Aussie thread here on SF, where people are saying the shoes are garbage... but the vintage stuff was better (surprise, surprise).

This pair has rubber "Crystal Soles" but the interior looks to be cotton drill and I'm wondering if they might be in the vintage category.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[Quantum17]

We fantasize sudden changes in lives because we are bored. What if I win the jackpot? A radioactive spider bites our butts? Invisibility? See dead people?… Everything has been thought of. Originality is rare to come by. Mostly because our predecessors were bored far longer than us. In the olden days, it was easier to entertain. Things were simpler then. All the jester needed was some sort of pretty shiny distracting object, I imagine.

Presenting Florsheim 93605. This pair was my first vintage Florsheim that opened the flood gate. I am not a big fan of wax. For shells that still have acrylic coating, I find baby wipes work well to bring out a good shine. Not to the level of distracting shine, but still pretty shiny.

 

[Nealjpage]

We fantasize sudden changes in lives because we are bored. What if I win the jackpot? A radioactive spider bites our butts? Invisibility? See dead people?… Everything has been thought of. Originality is rare to come by. Mostly because our predecessors were bored far longer than us. In the olden days, it was easier to entertain. Things were simpler then. All the jester needed was some sort of pretty shiny distracting object, I imagine.

Presenting Florsheim 93605. This pair was my first vintage Florsheim that opened the flood gate. I am not a big fan of wax. For shells that still have acrylic coating, I find baby wipes work well to bring out a good shine. Not to the level of distracting shine, but still pretty shiny. View attachment 1629079 View attachment 1629080 View attachment 1629081

Plus it makes them smooth as a baby's butt.

 

[friendlygoz]

I'm wondering if I should round out my camel skin shoe collection. I have a pair of PTDs and a pair of LWBs. Now these shortwings popped up on auction.

They are by Julius Marlow, an Australian maker I am not familiar with. Some Googling pointed to the Aussie thread here on SF, where people are saying the shoes are garbage... but the vintage stuff was better (surprise, surprise).

This pair has rubber "Crystal Soles" but the interior looks to be cotton drill and I'm wondering if they might be in the vintage category.

Thoughts anyone?

View attachment 1629072

View attachment 1629068

View attachment 1629069

View attachment 1629070

View attachment 1629071

If the price is right I say: why not? I also say why not because it’s not my money. But those look cool and it would make you the king of camel skin shoes. ? ?

 

[friendlygoz]

I check eBay incessantly. It’s borderline weird. I’m sure you have my idea what I’m talking about. So Saturday I decide that I’m going to leave my phone alone and get some stuff done around the house. I did. And these these sold. In 9 mins. In my size. That should teach me to abandon my obsession, even for a day.

Florsheim Royal Imperial Leather Shoes 9 D | eBay

Florsheim Royal Imperial Leather Shoes 9 D. Condition is "Pre-owned". Shipped with USPS Priority Mail.

www.ebay.com

 

[right_hook]

I'm wondering if I should round out my camel skin shoe collection. I have a pair of PTDs and a pair of LWBs. Now these shortwings popped up on auction.

They are by Julius Marlow, an Australian maker I am not familiar with. Some Googling pointed to the Aussie thread here on SF, where people are saying the shoes are garbage... but the vintage stuff was better (surprise, surprise).

This pair has rubber "Crystal Soles" but the interior looks to be cotton drill and I'm wondering if they might be in the vintage category.

Thoughts anyone?

View attachment 1629072

View attachment 1629068

View attachment 1629069

View attachment 1629070

View attachment 1629071

Their camel skin uppers look good and interesting. Some questions about rubber soles, plastic (?) welts and fiberboard (?) insoles though.

 

[Oshare]

If the price is right I say: why not? I also say why not because it’s not my money. But those look cool and it would make you the king of camel skin shoes. ? ?

Their camel skin uppers look good and interesting. Some questions about rubber soles, plastic (?) welts and fiberboard (?) insoles though.

The opening bid is only $34 and has a BiN for $49. So this is in "What the h___?" impulse buy territory.

The problem is I have 2 much nicer shoes inbound from the US and Canada (from fellow members) and I'm already on thin ice with spousal customs, so not sure if it's worth the risk for this pair that might be garbage.

Julius Marlow says their Crystal Sole came out in 1946, so the rubber sole doesn't preclude "vintage" status. Taking a wild guess from the tight SPI on the uppers and interior construction materials, I'm wondering if they might be worth a gamble. Still on the fence.

 

[wasmisterfu]

I'm wondering if I should round out my camel skin shoe collection. I have a pair of PTDs and a pair of LWBs. Now these shortwings popped up on auction.

They are by Julius Marlow, an Australian maker I am not familiar with. Some Googling pointed to the Aussie thread here on SF, where people are saying the shoes are garbage... but the vintage stuff was better (surprise, surprise).

This pair has rubber "Crystal Soles" but the interior looks to be cotton drill and I'm wondering if they might be in the vintage category.

Thoughts anyone?

View attachment 1629072

View attachment 1629068

View attachment 1629069

View attachment 1629070

View attachment 1629071

I’m kinda mehhhhhhh on those.

First, the uppers look reasonably well put together, but I’m not crazy about the last. It might be like the old AE 4 last that always looked better on the foot than in pictures, but from the photos they’re very “70’s” looking to my eyes.

Then we have the interiors: the drill lining is fine, but that insole is suspect to me. It’s some kind of cellulose fiberboard, but is it heavy-duty Texon (like what you find in “flexible fiber insole” stamped Florsheim’s, or as the base for Poron insoles in modern shoes) or is it like the hand rip-able paper-board stuff (as found in late-era Hanover/Bostonian miUSA stuff that I sn’t stamped “All Leather”)?

Then we have those soles. Yeah, when it comes to non-leather soles, if it ain’t dainite, I don’t want it (but that’s just me).

I do think these are vintage, probably early/mid 80’s would be my guess. Personally, they’re a pass for me, but then again, my tastes are certainly questionable - so buy’em if you want’em. Just know they’re in the late-era (but not zombie-era of bonded leather horror) Florsheim Blue Label bucket for quality (possibly worse if they cheaped out on the insole, like Hanover started doing towards the end).

 

[Oshare]

I’m kinda mehhhhhhh on those.

First, the uppers look reasonably well put together, but I’m not crazy about the last. It might be like the old AE 4 last that always looked better on the foot than in pictures, but from the photos they’re very “70’s” looking to my eyes.

Then we have the interiors: the drill lining is fine, but that insole is suspect to me. It’s some kind of cellulose fiberboard, but is it heavy-duty Texon (like what you find in “flexible fiber insole” stamped Florsheim’s, or as the base for Poron insoles in modern shoes) or is it like the hand rip-able paper-board stuff (as found in late-era Hanover/Bostonian miUSA stuff that I sn’t stamped “All Leather”)?

Then we have those soles. Yeah, when it comes to non-leather soles, if it ain’t dainite, I don’t want it (but that’s just me).

I do think these are vintage, probably early/mid 80’s would be my guess. Personally, they’re a pass for me, but then again, my tastes are certainly questionable - so buy’em if you want’em. Just know they’re in the late-era (but not zombie-era of bonded leather horror) Florsheim Blue Label bucket for quality (possibly worse if they cheaped out on the insole, like Hanover started doing towards the end).

Thanks for your thoughts on this pair. I'm not immediately taken by them, which is why I haven't hit the BiN button yet.
The medallion isn't the what I'd call "beautiful". The nose is more squarish than what I prefer, but then again the camel skin LWBs I picked up have the same contour and I guess they don't look too horrible when I wear them.

I've got this pair on my watch list. If no one else bids, I may just drop a last second bid for the opening amount. At that price, I wouldn't lose any sleep if they are garbage... I've done worse.

If someone else snaps them up before me, I don't think I'll lose any sleep that way either.

 

[Leiker]

FootJoy shield toe saddle, circa 1970. Build quality is superb.

 

[suitforcourt]

Thanks for your thoughts on this pair. I'm not immediately taken by them, which is why I haven't hit the BiN button yet.
The medallion isn't the what I'd call "beautiful". The nose is more squarish than what I prefer. At that price, I wouldn't lose any sleep if they are garbage... I've done worse.

If someone else snaps them up before me, I don't think I'll lose any sleep that way either.

For a second, I thought you were describing an old flame...

 

[friendlygoz]

The opening bid is only $34 and has a BiN for $49. So this is in "What the h___?" impulse buy territory.

The problem is I have 2 much nicer shoes inbound from the US and Canada (from fellow members) and I'm already on thin ice with spousal customs, so not sure if it's worth the risk for this pair that might be garbage.

Julius Marlow says their Crystal Sole came out in 1946, so the rubber sole doesn't preclude "vintage" status. Taking a wild guess from the tight SPI on the uppers and interior construction materials, I'm wondering if they might be worth a gamble. Still on the fence.

I get that. I’ve been there. I usually try to imagine how bad I’d feel if I didn’t get them. More often than not, the answer is “not that bad at all.” If I have pairs that don’t speak to me I don’t want to wear them that much but I feel like I have to because, well, I paid money for them. But when I wear them I’m not wearing one of 25 others pairs I love. I don’t have an answer, just a mesh through which you might strain your thinking. Good luck.

 

[wasmisterfu]

Formal (black-tie) event tonight, but no patience to haul extra shoes around the city, so these Carlyle’s will have to do double duty:

Spoiler: Vintage violation