Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[aero25]

I boomarked this site a few months ago, expecting that I'd get a heel or two replaced soon and wanted to use a SSIA member cobbler in an attempt to find a local guy that isn't a hack. It appears that the search isn't working for me anymore. Can one of you gents give it a try?

Shoe Service Institute of America - shoe repair

shoe repair information for the shoe service industry and consumers

ssiamembers.com

 

[wasmisterfu]

I just saw someone else's old post on this that confirms what you just said. So there is no way to really confirm the year on the newer shoes after 2008? I guess this means there will only be 2 pair I will need to check when I get home, as all my others were made after 2008.

Confirms what you said:

Markings in ae shoes

I informed about the markings in AE shoes. I got a very good answer I want to share here: The coding inside the shoes tells quite a bit of information regarding the shoe. If you look at your strand, you stated the markings are as such: 8.5 D 22643 II 6155 COMB. 4613 On the top line, 8.5 D is...

www.styleforum.net

They’re from the last 5-6 years. If you flip’em over and take a pic of the soles (provided they’re original) I can nail it down a bit further.

 

[wasmisterfu]

I boomarked this site a few months ago, expecting that I'd get a heel or two replaced soon and wanted to use a SSIA member cobbler in an attempt to find a local guy that isn't a hack. It appears that the search isn't working for me anymore. Can one of you gents give it a try?

Shoe Service Institute of America - shoe repair

shoe repair information for the shoe service industry and consumers

ssiamembers.com

So they’re web server is improperly configured and blocking the submission to the search controller (most likely there was an update or redeployment that disabled the post verb for that node of the site.

In laymen’s terms, it’s broke and someone needs to fix it.

 

[aero25]

So they’re web server is improperly configured and blocking the submission to the search controller (most likely there was an update or redeployment that disabled the post verb for that node of the site.

In laymen’s terms, it’s broke and someone needs to fix it.

Thanks for the confirmation. Bummer, I had some free time this weekend to go cobbler hopping.

 

[actionjbone]

So they’re web server is improperly configured and blocking the submission to the search controller (most likely there was an update or redeployment that disabled the post verb for that node of the site.

In laymen’s terms, it’s broke and someone needs to fix it.

Have you tried SSHing in through a standard port and checking whether they're using default credentials?

 

[suitforcourt]

I boomarked this site a few months ago, expecting that I'd get a heel or two replaced soon and wanted to use a SSIA member cobbler in an attempt to find a local guy that isn't a hack. It appears that the search isn't working for me anymore. Can one of you gents give it a try?

Shoe Service Institute of America - shoe repair

shoe repair information for the shoe service industry and consumers

ssiamembers.com

Site isn't working. @Cobblersunny or @Timeless-guy - can you let Jim McFarland know that the search function is faulty?

 

[suitforcourt]

Thanks for the confirmation. Bummer, I had some free time this weekend to go cobbler hopping.

Where do you live? I have tried US cobblers in Buffalo NY and St. Paul Minnesota.

Eventually, I want to try Bedos and B Nelson.

 

[Thomas Crown]

Yowza! I didn’t know AE had so many offerings (standard or MTO). I guess slim chance I would find MTO shells on eBay.

Oh,they’re out there-I found these trunk show MTO Norwich in bottle green shell for $70–and I think it was @smfdoc who found AE Chesters in alligator !

And since we’re on a non vintage but still awesome American shoe theme...Here are today’s arrivals from David’s watchlist-Alden mocha suede SWBs

 

[Cobblersunny]

Site isn't working. @Cobblersunny or @Timeless-guy - can you let Jim McFarland know that the search function is faulty?

SSIA Member Shop Locator - Shoe Service Institute of America

Find an SSIA Member Near You Use the locator below to find the SSIA member repair shops nearest you. If…

www.ssia.info

 

[Cobblersunny]

SSIA Member Shop Locator - Shoe Service Institute of America

Find an SSIA Member Near You Use the locator below to find the SSIA member repair shops nearest you. If…

www.ssia.info

 

[wasmisterfu]

Have you tried SSHing in through a standard port and checking whether they're using default credentials?

I hate to say it, but I don’t care enough to fuzz test the http side of it, port scan it, or probe the SSH daemon for weaknesses, of fingerprint the TCP stack implementation to identify the host OS age and predisposition to vulnerabilities. I’m too lazy to even look up the net block owner to see where the thing is hosted. It’s old and busted. Hopefully it will evaporate as part of the ephemeral web. Or someone else will fix it.

This is what happens when you’ve spent most of your 44 years in front of these machines, ya just don’t want mess with other peoples busted up stuff (cause you gotta enough of your own).

 

[aero25]

SSIA Member Shop Locator - Shoe Service Institute of America

Find an SSIA Member Near You Use the locator below to find the SSIA member repair shops nearest you. If…

www.ssia.info

Ahhh, it's a new page! Thanks for the link!

Edit: What sort of place do I live in? A metro area of about 5 million and not one member.

 

[Thomas Crown]

Keep in mind, some of what I say applies more to calf than Horween shell.

Based on owning AE’s across 6 decades, they hit a quality high-point from roughly 82-92. Primarily, the materials used were better than those of the 60’s and 70’s and general workmanship is extremely good on 80’s examples. While I love many of the styles of 60’s and 70’s (including hold-over 40/50’s models, like my all-time favorite MacGregor wingtips), when John Stollenwerk bought AE from the Allen’s in 1980, he took the company up-market and subsequently the quality of the leathers used (even the Polished Cobbler CG stuff) are incredibly good, some of the best stuff I’ve ever seen on any shoes. When it comes to NOS and near NOS stuff, if it’s in my size and it has the big block letter Allen Edmonds logo on the insole, I’m probably a buyer.

By the mid-90’s workmanship (due to substantial increases in production) began to slip, but was still pretty damn good and the leather quality was still excellent).

Things degraded a bit further in the 2000’s, but some of that had to do with the tanning industry simply not producing the quality of leather that was once available. Hell, the bend of leather used Alden, Church’s, etc., in the 00’s and 10’s isn’t comparable to that used by AE in 80’s through mid 90’s.

Today, I think AE quality is hit or miss, depending on how stretched production is. The last pair I bought (last year) were pretty damn good; the pair just before that, I haven’t been all that impressed by. The leather they use on their “bench-welt” (aka real AE) line is still good, but finish can be iffy. While the shoes are still made the same way, things like SPI are down from 15 years ago. Some of this is the whole industry - things like outsole stitching are purposely made chunky, prominent and obvious because you’re supposed to see it, versus AE’s 80’s and 90’s tendency toward obfuscating the top outsole stitch by using a very tight stitch, channeling the welt top and tightly cropping the edging. As for uppers, nobody does uppers stitching today like they did in era’s past.

So yeah, based on my experience, there are notable differences in quality across decades. While I’m still a contemporary AE customer, the 80’s stuff is my favorite decade (even if my favorite model was discontinued before the start of the Stollenwerk era).

That said, I saw a pair of Cambridge’s in my local store a few months ago, and they were still pretty damn nice (to nice for me, since I’m still atoning for what I did to my pair of Cambridge’s). But I’m always looking for a pair of NOS or lightly worn 80’s or early 90’s examples because they never made them better than they did in that era (IMHO).

I agree with @wasmisterfu on this point,the 80’s-90’s AE stuff is a cut above. I compared a pair of black shell MacNeils recently,one pair NOS from 2012 and another gently used from 1994.It was no contest,The older pair had much better stitching with a significantly higher per inch count as well as noticeably superior shell though both,of course are from Horween. The newer pair do have JR soles and are unquestionably very nice shoes but the verdict is in. The newer pair I was able to sell for about $50 more than I paid and I’m more than happy with my black shell Nettleton LWBs while the older Macs were a $25 Christmas present for my brother.

 

[madhat]

Ahhh, it's a new page! Thanks for the link!

Edit: What sort of place do I live in? A metro area of about 5 million and not one member.

There's only three listed in texas. Six hours is closest for me, in Colorado

 

[ProfilaBinding]

Nope, those were made after 2008 once they’d discontinued the 4 digit date code. Based on insole branding those were made between 2013 and early ~2017. That other number after 5805 style/model number is the “case code” and the preceding number 8 on the second line is the set or pair number (e.g. this is pair 8 of 12 in case/lot 710328).

I just checked my gator (or croc) Park Aves. The 4-digit number is 5362. If the first two numbers indicate the week of the year, that would be impossible to have 53 weeks in a year. The last number is 2, so if that indicates the year, it would likely be 2002. There's no way these could have been made in 2012 based on the insole. I also checked my Delray shoes, but sadly, there is no 4-digit code. They have a white insole, so maybe they were made in 2008 or 2009, or after the black insole period in 2011-12.