Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[woofmang]

Absolutely beautiful shoes!—I love the Bristol,I have some vintage 80’s versions in calf and the leather is buttery soft-I didn’t know they came in shell,thanks for posting!

Thanks! I didn't know the Bristol existed at all until I saw these listed on ebay 2 months ago. Then I had to have them.

 

[Thomas Crown]

Thanks again!

I found the post where @ace13x actually found them in the Spring '95 catalog (although these were made in '93):

Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread 2019 - News, Pictures, Clothing, Accessories, etc.

I'm sure this has been posted on this, or another SF thread, at some time in the past. But was watching an old movie the other night (with Fred Astaire) and thought about it, so posting. Shoe "like" is nothing new.

www.styleforum.net

And yes, I bought them off of ebay, from fellow SFer @Lmrjfud

I remember @Lmrjfud having Bristols,but I don’t remember them being shell—they are very similar to the Leeds but with a single sole and the three decorative stitches on the eyelet tab. The Leeds has been around since the 50’s,it’s possibly the oldest continuous model AE makes

 

[Thomas Crown]

Looking at the old catalogs,the Leeds made its debut in 1963.The Fifth Ave and McAllister date back to the 50’s but were discontinued and then revived later on

 

[woofmang]

Looking at the old catalogs,the Leeds made its debut in 1963.The Fifth Ave and McAllister date back to the 50’s but were discontinued and then revived later on

Maybe the Leeds is the granddaddy of the Bristol, then...

 

[savvysartorial]

Thanks again!

I found the post where @ace13x actually found them in the Spring '95 catalog (although these were made in '93):

Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread 2019 - News, Pictures, Clothing, Accessories, etc.

I'm sure this has been posted on this, or another SF thread, at some time in the past. But was watching an old movie the other night (with Fred Astaire) and thought about it, so posting. Shoe "like" is nothing new.

www.styleforum.net

And yes, I bought them off of ebay, from fellow SFer @Lmrjfud

You're welcome!

Awesome, that's a good link thank you! Having guys share the love in the shoe family!!

Yep, that is them. I think I went through 4-5 pairs of them. Back then I would wear them daily and wore each pair into the ground.

Hahah excellent! Well at least you got your money's worth out of each pair

 

[savvysartorial]

Xpost from AE Thread: For those vintage lovers out there, how is the construction of a Florsheim for Duckie Brown in shell? I am interested in them vs regular old Florsheim (ie gold standard of production from what I hear). How is the quality versus AE & Alden?

I've read that some of the Florsheims seem to run a bit wide. Is this the case? I wear an 11D, which I think I've read I should step down to 11C? Below are two photos of the shoe in question. Production year and fit opinions much needed!!

Thanks!

View attachment 1238690

View attachment 1238691

sole for reference

View attachment 1238692

 

[davidVC]

I regularly get emails from people asking me to appraise shoes they found. They think they found some vintage pair and the shoes are worth a lot of money. Usually I have to tell them:

• Your pair was made in the 1990s or 2000s
• Your pair is worth $25 to $50 on ebay

But today, I received an email with pictures of vintage gold. An unworn spectator Florsheim pair from the 1950s. With their original box.

The red leather looks like horned back lizard or embossed to look like it.

I told them they would likely sell for $300 to $500 on ebay. The size was 8 B which limits buyers.

 

[woofmang]

I regularly get emails from people asking me to appraise shoes they found. They think they found some vintage pair and the shoes are worth a lot of money. Usually I have to tell them:

• Your pair was made in the 1990s or 2000s
• Your pair is worth $25 to $50 on ebay

But today, I received an email with pictures of vintage gold. An unworn spectator Florsheim pair from the 1950s. With their original box.

The red leather looks like horned back lizard or embossed to look like it.

I told them they would likely sell for $300 to $500 on ebay. The size was 8 B which limits buyers.

View attachment 1238727

Wow!

 

[Hotel Cali]

Yesterday wear of the 96624. Hope it's not too boring seeing these LWBs again. I'll wear something different tomorrow. ( Wore some non-vintage GS boots today.)

Regarding the Shoegoo toe layer that I tried, I like them and feel good grip from the toe push off. I recommend as a cheap quick fix toe wears.

 

[mormonopoly]

I regularly get emails from people asking me to appraise shoes they found. They think they found some vintage pair and the shoes are worth a lot of money. Usually I have to tell them:

• Your pair was made in the 1990s or 2000s
• Your pair is worth $25 to $50 on ebay

But today, I received an email with pictures of vintage gold. An unworn spectator Florsheim pair from the 1950s. With their original box.

The red leather looks like horned back lizard or embossed to look like it.

I told them they would likely sell for $300 to $500 on ebay. The size was 8 B which limits buyers.

View attachment 1238727

Man, what I would do to get those in my size.

 

[savvysartorial]

I regularly get emails from people asking me to appraise shoes they found. They think they found some vintage pair and the shoes are worth a lot of money. Usually I have to tell them:

• Your pair was made in the 1990s or 2000s
• Your pair is worth $25 to $50 on ebay

But today, I received an email with pictures of vintage gold. An unworn spectator Florsheim pair from the 1950s. With their original box.

The red leather looks like horned back lizard or embossed to look like it.

I told them they would likely sell for $300 to $500 on ebay. The size was 8 B which limits buyers.

View attachment 1238727

Those are fantastic. 270 welt and so sleek. The stitches per inch on the welt is unheard of!

I've never seen anything like that before. How did you date them? Just your depth of knowledge?

Why would someone have a pair of shoes from the '50s totally unworn?? I never got that. It's like cars from the same era that someone bought and just never drove...

 

[mormonopoly]

Lately I've been wearing one of the rarest and most unique pairs in my collection. These are 1930's Star Brand shoes. They shine brighter with less effort than any other shoe in my collection and I love the art deco style stitching details.

 

[mreams99]

This one, doc?

View attachment 1238579

I really wish these saddles fit you so I could give them a good home!



Those are gorgeous. Look at the wheeling and the stitches per inch on that welt!

Just a faded burgundy shell now?

The Bristol was basically a sleeker Leeds?

The Leeds has been around for a long time. The Bristol did not have as long of a life. As I understand it, the Bristol was made on the 511 at the time that the Leeds was made on the old 8 last. The Bristol also had an additional stitching detail at the front lower portion of the eyestay.

 

[davidVC]

Those are fantastic. 270 welt and so sleek. The stitches per inch on the welt is unheard of!

I've never seen anything like that before. How did you date them? Just your depth of knowledge?

Why would someone have a pair of shoes from the '50s totally unworn?? I never got that. It's like cars from the same era that someone bought and just never drove...

They didn't send any photos of date codes, but that U-Tip spectator style was popular in the early 1950s. So that's how I dated them.

Why unworn? Sometimes people wait for the right time to wear a special pair of shoes. And sometimes that right time never comes.

 

[savvysartorial]

The Leeds has been around for a long time. The Bristol did not have as long of a life. As I understand it, the Bristol was made on the 511 at the time that the Leeds was made on the old 8 last. The Bristol also had an additional stitching detail at the front lower portion of the eyestay.

Good information, thank you!! Interesting that they changed lasts for the Leeds.

They didn't send any photos of date codes, but that U-Tip spectator style was popular in the early 1950s. So that's how I dated them.

Why unworn? Sometimes people wait for the right time to wear a special pair of shoes. And sometimes that right time never comes.

Very good, thank you! I particularly like them myself! Too bad they're too small for me!

I understand that entirely! Then the shoes become someone else's and we get to today! It's a wonder they were never thrown away all this time. Really, really neat.