Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[davidVC]

@MJMcRibb - did you sell that NOS golden harvest pair? That was a pretty amazing find.

 

[Thomas Crown]

Wow. That is an impressive collection of vintage shoes. Its like the 1968 Florsheim catalog (the good parts) in real life.

Thanks David,honestly it was your blog that I have to thank/blame for helping to focus/enable my relatively recent pastime/addiction for this incredibly interesting and rewarding subject. It has been also quite enjoyable nerding out with the guys on this thread. Sometimes(actually often) I may buy superfluous shoes I don’t need but it’s all pretty damn positive-you made another convert to “keeping ‘em flying”! good work all.

 

[wasmisterfu]

BTW, the AE Chesters fit and closed wonderfully. Very supple leather, despite their appearance.

View attachment 1003163

Oh man... aren’t those just fabulous.

 

[Vinilo1969]

View attachment 1003015 With all this talk of longwings and Florsheims I fjgured it was time for some intense shoe Appreciation(particularly for @suitforcourt )- the vintage Florsheim family photos: View attachment 1003016 the Shells and Royals—from the top:1967 burgundy shell LWB Imperial, 1976 black shell LWB Imperial, 1978 burgundy shell PTB Imperial, 1966 Royal Imperial Stratford,1967 Royal Imperial Concord
View attachment 1003017 Imperial Kenmoor LWBs-from top:1973 black,1967 hand stained brown,1976 golden harvest,1970 chestnut,and the 1966 forest grail,er-green
Enjoy!

Wow! Superb collection!! And forest grail is right!

 

[Vinilo1969]

Florsheim Golden Harvest today.

 

[instigateur]

More Wingtips!

Barrie LTD LWB

 

[AEShoeMan]

View attachment 1003015 With all this talk of longwings and Florsheims I fjgured it was time for some intense shoe Appreciation(particularly for @suitforcourt )- the vintage Florsheim family photos: View attachment 1003016 the Shells and Royals—from the top:1967 burgundy shell LWB Imperial, 1976 black shell LWB Imperial, 1978 burgundy shell PTB Imperial, 1966 Royal Imperial Stratford,1967 Royal Imperial Concord
View attachment 1003017 Imperial Kenmoor LWBs-from top:1973 black,1967 hand stained brown,1976 golden harvest,1970 chestnut,and the 1966 forest grail,er-green
Enjoy!

That is a fantastic collection @Thomas Crown -- incredible! Thanks for sharing!

 

[ccpl14]

View attachment 1003015 With all this talk of longwings and Florsheims I fjgured it was time for some intense shoe Appreciation(particularly for @suitforcourt )- the vintage Florsheim family photos: View attachment 1003016 the Shells and Royals—from the top:1967 burgundy shell LWB Imperial, 1976 black shell LWB Imperial, 1978 burgundy shell PTB Imperial, 1966 Royal Imperial Stratford,1967 Royal Imperial Concord
View attachment 1003017 Imperial Kenmoor LWBs-from top:1973 black,1967 hand stained brown,1976 golden harvest,1970 chestnut,and the 1966 forest grail,er-green
Enjoy!

I think I have a touch of the vapors

 

[Timeless-guy]

@Timeless-guy and @nickV should have answer as they are both skilled cobblers.

Impossible is a very strong word......
Tods can be resoled, perhaps not exactly as they were originally, such as with bonded, one piece, proprietary, rubber soles.....but often, in a manner that is a structural improvement to the original. Such as with a Blake/McKay stitch incorporated.
The shoes in the picture show no real obstacle that couldn’t be overcome.
Important to understand that there almost certainly would be a change to the feel and performance of the shoes thereafter...

 

[MJMcRibb]

@MJMcRibb - did you sell that NOS golden harvest pair? That was a pretty amazing find.

I did. Thinking I probably went a little low for how quickly they sold, but for what I paid, I can't complain.

 

[CWOyaji]

My local cobbler is a great conversationalist, works by himself and is getting close to retirement, best I can tell. The displays are dusty and there isn't a lot of foot traffic. But his shop is next to the best coffee shop in town so I find myself giving him more work to help keep the lights on and because it's so convenient. Unfortunately his sole stitching machine conked out and the guy who repairs it comes by only about twice a year, all the way from Chile. I swear I'm not making this up. So there are certain jobs he can do and some he can't. But he gets first crack at all of them. Like putting new heels on my 93602's and 97625's. Made them look and feel like new again, even though they're from 1980 and 1991, respectively.

He also does a lot of repairs of other leather goods. I bought this crocodile belt in Saigon on my last trip to visit my daughter, who is a teacher there. The clasp that came with it kept popping loose. So I thrifted a brass belt buckle, dunked it in ketchup for a day to remove a little tarnish, wiped it clean and had him stitch it on.

I really like the result. And if you are ever in Tan Son Nhat Airport waiting for your flight, don't hesitate to pick up one of these. They are sustainably farm raised, high quality and great value.

 

[suitforcourt]

My local cobbler is a great conversationalist, works by himself and is getting close to retirement, best I can tell. The displays are dusty and there isn't a lot of foot traffic. But his shop is next to the best coffee shop in town so I find myself giving him more work to help keep the lights on and because it's so convenient. Unfortunately his sole stitching machine conked out and the guy who repairs it comes by only about twice a year, all the way from Chile. I swear I'm not making this up. So there are certain jobs he can do and some he can't. But he gets first crack at all of them. Like putting new heels on my 93602's and 97625's. Made them look and feel like new again, even though they're from 1980 and 1991, respectively. View attachment 1003663
He also does a lot of repairs of other leather goods. I bought this crocodile belt in Saigon on my last trip to visit my daughter, who is a teacher there. The clasp that came with it kept popping loose. So I thrifted a brass belt buckle, dunked it in ketchup for a day to remove a little tarnish, wiped it clean and had him stitch it on. View attachment 1003670
I really like the result. And if you are ever in Tan Son Nhat Airport waiting for your flight, don't hesitate to pick up one of these. They are sustainably farm raised, high quality and great value.

Thanks for the write up. I love reading about cobblers.

Question: why use ketchup on the buckle?

 

[kilowatts]

Thanks for the write up. I love reading about cobblers.

Question: why use ketchup on the buckle?

I think you can also use Coca-Cola with the same result!

kilowatts

 

[CWOyaji]

Thanks for the write up. I love reading about cobblers.

Question: why use ketchup on the buckle?

There is a mild acid in it that brightens up brass. Check Youtube, there are videos that show before and after results.

 

[suitforcourt]

I think you can also use Coca-Cola with the same result!

kilowatts

There is a a mild acid in that brightens up brass. Check Youtube, there are videos that show before and after results.

I knew the coca cola method. And now I know the ketchup way!