Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[Oshare]

Thanks for the idea on using insoles. I have a few things I can try, so will see how it goes.

If the extra width becomes a problem, I will happily take them off of your hands...

Thank you kindly for the offer.
Hopefully I won't need to trouble you with it.

 

[meister]

Winthrop 1940s half spades for the famous Liberty House department store in Honolulu (RIP). Nice gear for the Tea Dances at the Royal Hawaiian.

 

[meister]

Alan McAfee navy blue and white spectators prolly from 1950s. When I bought them I thought they were black and got presently surprised.The thin laces are leather.

 

[HalfHuskyBite]

Are there good shoes that are worn out at the thrifts or nothing at all? Milwaukee has been good for my AE thrifting. Guys with high power jobs or white collar jobs will wear the shoes daily whereas in a blue collar industrial city guys will only wear the good pair of dress shoes to weddings and funerals then back in the box. Since AE is seen here as a local company they were the go to for a good quality shoe for important occasions. I have found alot of black Park Avenues in good condition as well as MacNeils. Florsheim also has had a connection here and Chicago obviously so I’ve scored nice vintage Imperials. Only found one pair of Aldens however,black SW bals-very well worn-probably some old rich guy banker bought on a trip to Boston

Thanks. I might make a "trip" to Milwaukee now.

I am running out of space in my apartment for my shoes now. What do you guys do in terms of storage?

 

[suitforcourt]

Thanks. I might make a "trip" to Milwaukee now.

I am running out of space in my apartment for my shoes now. What do you guys do in terms of storage?

I use Ikea Billy shelves

 

[smfdoc]

I've been watching these, going back and forth in my mind...dear Hive Mind, what do you think? Are they ugly or OK? It's those big creases that's making me hesitate--otherwise I might have grabbed this pair already. Thanks for any feedback. https://www.ebay.com/itm/WEYENBERG-...-LACED-AIR-CUSHION-SHOE-SIZE-13D/262806593537

My style sense would make me pass on them. Unless they really get you excited I would recommend you pass, even at that price point. This is a gentle way of saying, "These are not the shoes you are looking for."

 

[Paul902]

Today I took delivery of a pair of made in Canada Florsheim Imperial PTBs that I think are made of water bison leather. I was the only bidder and snagged this on Yahoo Japan's auction site for about $36... quite a deal for Japan's vintage shoes market.

There are some light scuffs, but nothing a little colored cream polish shouldn't be able to take care of.

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Made in Canada maple leaf.

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For some odd reason, the size number has been scratched out. In the auction listing, the seller gave the outsole dimensions and an approximate sizing, which seemed to match my other pairs of vintage Florsheims, so I took a chance and bid. I guess the ambiguity may have discouraged other bidders?

Turns out they are a 3E width and probably size 10 or 9-1/2. Either way, they fit my somewhat wide feet, and at 3E they have a bit of room to spare. I'm hoping the extra width is not a problem.

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Nice find, Oshare! They look identical style to the brown ones that I found, and posted, a week or two ago. Interestingly, the coding is different. Mine being F0797. I think bison, not prairie oxhide.

 

[wasmisterfu]

Winthrop 1940s half spades for the famous Liberty House department store in Honolulu (RIP). Nice gear for the Tea Dances at the Royal Hawaiian. View attachment 1211127
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Gorgeous!

 

[wasmisterfu]

Alan McAfee navy blue and white spectators prolly from 1950s. When I bought them I thought they were black and got presently surprised.The thin laces are leather.

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Ummm... where do you find these gems?

 

[AHS]

Gentleman, I thought you might appreciate these. Just found them while thrifting...

Need to clean them up a bit, but in remarkable condition. Especially considering their age.

AHS

 

[kilowatts]

Florsheim on a 73 degree morning in Texas.

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Ok Guys:

How can anyone in their right mind find anything wrong with those shoes? Outstanding.

kilowatts

 

[wasmisterfu]

Gentleman, I thought you might appreciate these. Just found them while thrifting...

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Need to clean them up a bit, but in remarkable condition. Especially considering their age.

AHS

I’d almost be willing to cut my toes off to wear those. I’m a big French Shriner & Urner fan and those are some outstanding example spectators from the once great brand.

 

[wasmisterfu]

Ok Guys:

How can anyone in their right mind find anything wrong with those shoes? Outstanding.

kilowatts

“In their right mind” would be the operative phrase. Because I can think of a few things the more out there fringes of the shoe world would say:

Not hand-welted,
Gemmed GY-welt shoes are a scam,
Made after 1903 so junk,
Plastic infused corrected grain,
Not Italian,
Not Alden,
Not English,
Not GG or Lobb,
Mine <insert brand> are better,
Welt to big,
270 welt is more elegant,
Blake is more sleek,
Didn’t cost 3 grand, so cheap garbage,
No brown around town.

For the most part, this thread, the slightly more raucous AE thread, and the mostly subdued Alden thread, form a relative sea of tranquility compared to the roiling oceans of obnoxiousness out there.

But head over to AAAC and if you aren’t insulted or belittled within a post or two, then you’re doing it wrong. The single greatest shoe-thread related post I’ve ever read on all the interwebs was during a GYW versus hand-welt flamewar that erupted in a thread perfectly titled “Shoemaking - Best Practices”:

“The level of rabid fanaticism and the absolutely reckless disregard for truth displayed here is nothing short of astonishing.”

And the crazy part is, if you read the thread, that’s an understatement.

 

[happypebble]

My style sense would make me pass on them. Unless they really get you excited I would recommend you pass, even at that price point. This is a gentle way of saying, "These are not the shoes you are looking for."

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Yeah, I was half thinking that. Guess I'll pass, even though I like the Weyenberg brand, and the color of this particular pair...but the creases had me stopped dead in my tracks. Never mind, I'll find something better.

 

[eTrojan]

The most brown of my #8 AE Cambridges.