Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[actionjbone]

Who says you can't wear black pants with brown shoes?

Taking my new Staffords out for a spin this morning.

 

[Hotel Cali]

Stuart McGuire Lwb today. Fit is nice and roomy. SM D width seems as wide or wider than Flor

sheim E width.

 

[meister]

Cherry pop. First time wearing Shell. Unamed 50s (?) Shell short wing. Label has been lost.

No later than middle 50s with that half spade bump out.

 

[wasmisterfu]

Cherry pop. First time wearing Shell. Unamed 50s (?) Shell short wing. Label has been lost.

You know, I think those are John Ward’s (Melville’s high-end counter-part to Thom McAn).

 

[stook1]

Posting only because I think we've got some big foot guys here that are into shell.... One of y'all should try to get these. I wish they were in my size. These are C&J and similar to the old Marlow wingtips. I'd rock the mismatched colors and love every minute of it.

Peal & Co Brooks Brothers Dark Brown Cordovan Wing Tip Dress Shoes Size 13D New | eBay

<p>Peal & Co Brooks Brothers Dark Brown Cordovan Wing Tip Dress Shoes Size 13D New with Box.</p><p>These shoes are brand new and have never been worn. These were purchased at a sample sale and have minor defects. There is a slight discoloration on each shoe that goes to light brown to dark...

www.ebay.com

 

[aero25]

The (now retired) 3 (73/Bancroft) last is similar to the Barrie in that it has a fairly wide forefoot and toebox. My Broadstreet’s are on that last, and I find I have a fair amount of unused volume up front. For folks with very narrow feet, I could see both the 3 and Barrie lasts being challenging.

I'm on the bigger end of a C width, but have a really low instep. I think the instep is what causes that buckling, because the facings of all my shoes pretty much always fully close.

 

[eTrojan]

The (now retired) 3 (73/Bancroft) last is similar to the Barrie in that it has a fairly wide forefoot and toebox. My Broadstreet’s are on that last, and I find I have a fair amount of unused volume up front. For folks with very narrow feet, I could see both the 3 and Barrie lasts being challenging.

+1 -- My Broadstreets are WAY roomy. And my Barrie lasted Shell LWBs are similarly roomy in the forefoot.

 

[eTrojan]

Posting only because I think we've got some big foot guys here that are into shell.... One of y'all should try to get these. I wish they were in my size. These are C&J and similar to the old Marlow wingtips. I'd rock the mismatched colors and love every minute of it.

Peal & Co Brooks Brothers Dark Brown Cordovan Wing Tip Dress Shoes Size 13D New | eBay

<p>Peal & Co Brooks Brothers Dark Brown Cordovan Wing Tip Dress Shoes Size 13D New with Box.</p><p>These shoes are brand new and have never been worn. These were purchased at a sample sale and have minor defects. There is a slight discoloration on each shoe that goes to light brown to dark...

www.ebay.com

Pretty shoes.

 

[happypebble]

Well, well; look what I found. These eBay photos don't quite do them justice, so I may post a couple of my own. Note to self: 12E seems to work on my 13D foot. What is the proper name for the circles on the heel? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Mens-Shoes-City-Club-Black-Leather-Slip-On-Dress-Shoes-Size-12-E/372648997461?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2648

 

[smfdoc]

Posting only because I think we've got some big foot guys here that are into shell.... One of y'all should try to get these. I wish they were in my size. These are C&J and similar to the old Marlow wingtips. I'd rock the mismatched colors and love every minute of it.

Peal & Co Brooks Brothers Dark Brown Cordovan Wing Tip Dress Shoes Size 13D New | eBay

<p>Peal & Co Brooks Brothers Dark Brown Cordovan Wing Tip Dress Shoes Size 13D New with Box.</p><p>These shoes are brand new and have never been worn. These were purchased at a sample sale and have minor defects. There is a slight discoloration on each shoe that goes to light brown to dark...

www.ebay.com

I don’t really think that the shoes have mismatch color. That is simply the appearance of brown shell when viewed from a different angle. The various pieces they sewed together are from the same shell, with the same color, but they are put together in such a way that they have different amounts of color reflection in the same light. I have some shoes that do the exact same thing. For example, the saddle on those whiskey shell look dark when viewed from the front, the saddle is lighter when viewed from the back. The only change is the viewing angle.

 

[stook1]

LIkewise, mainly reacting to the sellers description and that first photo which shows a bigger difference. I wouldn't hesitate to wear those and I suspect that they will sell for a good price.

I don’t really think that the shoes have mismatch color. That is simply the appearance of brown shell when viewed from a different angle. The various pieces they sewed together are from the same shell, with the same color, but they are put together in such a way that they have different amounts of color reflection in the same light. I have some shoes that do the exact same thing

 

[Numbernine]

Any strong opinions on Lexol NF. I see David used it on some of his restores . Bick 4 leaves a little more shine than I want on my latest project.

 

[actionjbone]

Any strong opinions on Lexol NF. I see David used it on some of his restores . Bick 4 leaves a little more shine than I want on my latest project.

I've heard that Lexol NF is a good way to get the deep penetration of Neatsfoot, but without the possibility of darkening the leather.

I remember someone talking about it here a few months ago, and liking it.

Personally, I don't mind using normal Neatsfoot oil on CXL and less-prime leathers. Whenever I've used it, the darkening is temporary. But I don't typically use it on veg-tanned or exotics.

 

[Strider52]

Came across this pair of Loake black longwing oxfords at the local Value Village a few weeks ago. Loake Customer Service confirmed that the pair was part of Loake Line 718, made in England in 1986 and comparable to today's 202 brogue.

I've recently acquired some shoe care products from a shop in downtown Toronto - Novelty Shoe Repair at 119 Yonge St.; shoutout to Styleforum for that tip - and decided to go for my first attempt at polishing and shining a pair of shoes beyond just my usual layer of conditioner. I started off with a layer of Saphir Renovateur, followed by a layer of Saphir 1925 Black Cream Polish and a layer of Saphir Mirror Gloss Wax. I then applied a few extra layers of the Mirror Gloss to the toe cap, adding drops of water and buffing with my cloth. I also went around the edges with some edge dressing. For a first-time effort, I'm pretty satisfied with the result - the shoes look pretty new and polished, and the toe is, if hardly mirror shined, noticeably more polished. I'm still very new to shoe care, and I would deeply appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism on my process and the end result!

Before:

After:

 

[wasmisterfu]

Posting only because I think we've got some big foot guys here that are into shell.... One of y'all should try to get these. I wish they were in my size. These are C&J and similar to the old Marlow wingtips. I'd rock the mismatched colors and love every minute of it.

Peal & Co Brooks Brothers Dark Brown Cordovan Wing Tip Dress Shoes Size 13D New | eBay

<p>Peal & Co Brooks Brothers Dark Brown Cordovan Wing Tip Dress Shoes Size 13D New with Box.</p><p>These shoes are brand new and have never been worn. These were purchased at a sample sale and have minor defects. There is a slight discoloration on each shoe that goes to light brown to dark...

www.ebay.com

Now watching.