Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[smfdoc]

Made in Belgium Nettletons? The seller doesn't give much info, but my guess is that these are fairly recent.

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The liner looks pretty modern.

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I read Nettleton went under and then they later revived the brand. Not sure where any or all of their newer shoes are made.

 

[suitforcourt]

Made in Belgium Nettletons? The seller doesn't give much info, but my guess is that these are fairly recent.

View attachment 1672349

View attachment 1672350

The liner looks pretty modern.

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View attachment 1672348

View attachment 1672347

I read Nettleton went under and then they later revived the brand. Not sure where any or all of their newer shoes are made.

I read the same thing. Another shoe enthusiast owns both American and Belgian made pairs. Sadly, his assessment is that the modern Belgian pairs are a mere shadow of the American ancestors.

Same path as Hartt where the current ones are made in Spain and are just over priced garbage.

 

[JustPullHarder]

Made in Belgium Nettletons? The seller doesn't give much info, but my guess is that these are fairly recent.

View attachment 1672349

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The liner looks pretty modern.

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I have a pair. Decent shoes but nothing special design wise. Materials are good.

 

[Thrift Couture]

These may not be vintage, but we can drop them in the “They don’t make’em like they used to” file. Not bad after a quick lace change and wipe down with Bick 4, VSC.

 

[stook1]

Really nice pair of McHale bombers. Not my listing. Btw, I think that they are on the newer side and not 50s but I'll defer to @Jiqea given that he knows about 8000x what I do about these.

Rare Vintage JOHN Mc HALE 50s Brown Leather V Cleat Brogue Dress Shoes Sz-10.5 | eBay

This is a pre-owned pair in good overall condition and sold as is.

www.ebay.com

 

[Jiqea]

Really nice pair of McHale bombers. Not my listing. Btw, I think that they are on the newer side and not 50s but I'll defer to @Jiqea given that he knows about 8000x what I do about these.

Rare Vintage JOHN Mc HALE 50s Brown Leather V Cleat Brogue Dress Shoes Sz-10.5 | eBay

This is a pre-owned pair in good overall condition and sold as is.

www.ebay.com

That is a nice pair. Late 60's or very early 70's. Certainly not 1950's. Pretty aggressively priced. If I didn't have three pairs in my size already I might make a lowball offer. I have bought from this vendor in Kenya before without any difficulties. The shoes arrived fast but were shipped in a padded plastic bag rather than a box.

 

[friendlygoz]

In honor of the pair I didn’t buy yesterday… early 1990s AE Chester in brown suede… dang, the fit on these is fantastic

 

[suitforcourt]

NOS, American made shoe trees under Florsheim label. Plus 2 pairs of Alden Indys. Great experience buying from Gary Maestas.

 

[CWOyaji]

Celebrated burning off a lot of pounds by buying a new crocodile belt, and a jar of Reptan to make it look awesome.

Along with some Nettleton gators I had laying around.

Reptan really works.

These have the original soles and heels, have barely been worn and definitely were not made in Belgium.

Also, be sure to search for "vero coccodrillo" sometimes. Sellers often don't know it's just Italian for "genuine crocodile" and assume it's a brand name. I just bought another brand new croc belt, in brown, for $35. The seller has a couple more. Be sure to size up (i.e. if you wear 34W, buy a 36 belt).

Spoiler: Have a look

My fat burning machine: the Trek Madone, Alberto Contador edition. This bike is almost ten years old now. Time flies.

 

[stook1]

Martin Dingman belts are pretty nice. I have a couple as well, albeit not fancy croc ones.

 

[CWOyaji]

.

 

[kilowatts]

Hey Suit:
How do you find your Alden Indy boots?
Kilowatts

 

[friendlygoz]

Celebrated burning off a lot of pounds by buying a new crocodile belt, and a jar of Reptan to make it look awesome. View attachment 1672905
Along with some Nettleton gators I had laying around.
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Reptan really works.
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These have the original soles and heels, have barely been worn and definitely were not made in Belgium.
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Also, be sure to search for "vero coccodrillo" sometimes. Sellers often don't know it's just Italian for "genuine crocodile" and assume it's a brand name. I just bought another brand new croc belt, in brown, for $35. The seller has a couple more. Be sure to size up (i.e. if you wear 34W, buy a 36 belt).

Spoiler: Have a look

View attachment 1672917
My fat burning machine: the Trek Madone, Alberto Contador edition. This bike is almost ten years old now. Time flies.
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Congrats on all fronts. Good for you!

 

[eTrojan]

Ooooooh…..white loafers!! #tempting

 

[suitforcourt]

Ooooooh…..white loafers!! #tempting

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