Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[CWOyaji]

Early 60’s vintage Phi-Bates for Wingtip Wednesday. These cost $15 and are a good example of how searching for forgotten brands on Ebay can pay off.

 

[Nobleprofessor]

I might be in big trouble. I bought the Tom, Dick, and Harry wingtips. That’s not the trouble. The problem is I looked at the sellers listings. It one of the more spectacular collections I have seen. I emailed back and forth with him and he has 250 more pairs he hasn’t listed yet. He is super responsive and appears to have some amazing specimens. He promised to let me know when he gets something interesting and special in my size. This could get very expensive very fast.

 

[smfdoc]

I might be in big trouble. I bought the Tom, Dick, and Harry wingtips. That’s not the trouble. The problem is I looked at the sellers listings. It one of the more spectacular collections I have seen. I emailed back and forth with him and he has 250 more pairs he hasn’t listed yet. He is super responsive and appears to have some amazing specimens. He promised to let me know when he gets something interesting and special in my size. This could get very expensive very fast.

I have also dealt with the same seller and he is a good guy. Reasonable to deal with and he has an amazing collection of shoes that he is selling. This includes some NOS vintage shoes and higher end shoes from various makers. I have him saved on my Ebay account. Now, if he would just find some in my size....

 

[Nobleprofessor]

I have also dealt with the same seller and he is a good guy. Reasonable to deal with and he has an amazing collection of shoes that he is selling. This includes some NOS vintage shoes and higher end shoes from various makers. I have him saved on my Ebay account. Now, if he would just find some in my size....

What is your size again? I remember it’s EEE? But is it 9 or 10? It maybe just E width?

 

[eTrojan]

Seen here many times before but worth seeing again: Edwin Clapp alligators. View attachment 1278676 View attachment 1278677 View attachment 1278678

I love these shoes. So much, in fact, that I have a pair en route. According to USPS, I should have them Friday.

 

[friendlygoz]

Very cool to see, as always. How have the spot (scale?) repairs you had to do been holding up now that you have a few wears on them?

Thanks for asking. The flaking scale repair had held up just fine. The crack between scales is back. I don’t think there’s much I can do about it.

I love these shoes. So much, in fact, that I have a pair en route. According to USPS, I should have them Friday.

Fantastic! I love them too. Please post pictures when you get them up and running.

 

[smfdoc]

What is your size again? I remember it’s EEE? But is it 9 or 10? It maybe just E width?

11EEE in Alden, 11.5eee in AE and 12EEE in Florsheims.

 

[Nobleprofessor]

11EEE in Alden, 11.5eee in AE and 12EEE in Florsheims.

Dang. I bet that is hard to find

 

[Thomas Crown]

I recently picked up these vintage Nunn Bush longwings that I’m quite pleased with. They seem to be from the 60’s and they compare favorably with my vintage Florsheims. The construction is very good,the stitching is tight and they’re fully leather lined. The logo is older than most I’ve come across and they are “Custom Grade” rather than “Custom Autograph “ as pairs I’ve seen from the 70’s. The main motivation for acquiring these is the fact that they were made here in Milwaukee precisely 7 blocks west of my house. The 1916 factory building still stands and is being converted to office space and affordable housing by city agencies. It’s been a long time since NB made good stuff so it is awesome to find a quality shoe that was made in my actual neighborhood when Milwaukee really WAS the Beer Capitol of the World and Warren Spahn was on the mound for the Braves.

 

[suitforcourt]

I recently picked up these vintage Nunn Bush longwings that I’m quite pleased with. They seem to be from the 60’s and they compare favorably with my vintage Florsheims. The construction is very good,the stitching is tight and they’re fully leather lined. The logo is older than most I’ve come across and they are “Custom Grade” rather than “Custom Autograph “ as pairs I’ve seen from the 70’s. The main motivation for acquiring these is the fact that they were made here in Milwaukee precisely 7 blocks west of my house. The 1916 factory building still stands and is being converted to office space and affordable housing by city agencies. It’s been a long time since NB made good stuff so it is awesome to find a quality shoe that was made in my actual neighborhood when Milwaukee really WAS the Beer Capitol of the World and Warren Spahn was on the mound for the Braves. View attachment 1278982 View attachment 1278983 View attachment 1278984 View attachment 1278985

These look really well made. Thanks for the history info on NB factory.

I have seen a few NB made in Canada. Do you know anything about that? Was it made under license to Dacks?

 

[suitforcourt]

One of my favourite vintage pairs. B Mason Executive Imperials taking me through a snowy day.

Just some VSC makes them glow.

 

[suitforcourt]

I recently picked up these vintage Nunn Bush longwings that I’m quite pleased with. They seem to be from the 60’s and they compare favorably with my vintage Florsheims. The construction is very good,the stitching is tight and they’re fully leather lined. The logo is older than most I’ve come across and they are “Custom Grade” rather than “Custom Autograph “ as pairs I’ve seen from the 70’s. The main motivation for acquiring these is the fact that they were made here in Milwaukee precisely 7 blocks west of my house. The 1916 factory building still stands and is being converted to office space and affordable housing by city agencies. It’s been a long time since NB made good stuff so it is awesome to find a quality shoe that was made in my actual neighborhood when Milwaukee really WAS the Beer Capitol of the World and Warren Spahn was on the mound for the Braves. View attachment 1278982 View attachment 1278983 View attachment 1278984 View attachment 1278985

I've always wondered. How long did it take before the lawyers for the shoe companies using v-cleats, finally said: "This isn't worth it anymore. Scrap them."

A friend was wearing his v-cleats this morning and was slipping and sliding. And his pair has barely 10 wears from NOS.

 

[Nobleprofessor]

I recently picked up these vintage Nunn Bush longwings that I’m quite pleased with. They seem to be from the 60’s and they compare favorably with my vintage Florsheims. The construction is very good,the stitching is tight and they’re fully leather lined. The logo is older than most I’ve come across and they are “Custom Grade” rather than “Custom Autograph “ as pairs I’ve seen from the 70’s. The main motivation for acquiring these is the fact that they were made here in Milwaukee precisely 7 blocks west of my house. The 1916 factory building still stands and is being converted to office space and affordable housing by city agencies. It’s been a long time since NB made good stuff so it is awesome to find a quality shoe that was made in my actual neighborhood when Milwaukee really WAS the Beer Capitol of the World and Warren Spahn was on the mound for the Braves. View attachment 1278982 View attachment 1278983 View attachment 1278984 View attachment 1278985

One of my favourite vintage pairs. B Mason Executive Imperials taking me through a snowy day.

Just some VSC makes them glow.

View attachment 1279156 View attachment 1279157 View attachment 1279156 View attachment 1279157

Boy we got some good looking brown Longwings today! It is a shame that Nunn Bush was a good quality company long ago and then turned into a junk maker. Same thing with Bostonian (and Florsheim for a while).

I have yet to find a pair of B Mason EI in my size. I did thrift one pair that was practically new. They seemed like a stiffer heavier copy of a 70's Florsheim Kenmoor -- that's not such a bad thing. But, they did look like they would be almost painful to wear long enough to break them in.

Breaking in a pair of shoes is something one never hears anymore. Most modern shoes are soft and don't have to be broken in. Of course, most of them are only built to last a few years.

Here is one of my very favorite pairs of shoes. I can't tell the age exactly. They were Made to Order. I would guess they are 60's. I need to get some new heels but I was sort of waiting until I could find a good place to do full soles.







@suitforcourt was saying that the guy down in Florida can brand the soles with the Florsheim logo. Can he replace the insole? On one it is very worn. On the other it is so worn, it is almost gone.

The shoes also have the old school cat's paw heel -- which isn't that unusual. But, I don't remember seeing them exactly like this:

 

[davidVC]

I recently picked up these vintage Nunn Bush longwings that I’m quite pleased with. They seem to be from the 60’s and they compare favorably with my vintage Florsheims. The construction is very good,the stitching is tight and they’re fully leather lined. The logo is older than most I’ve come across and they are “Custom Grade” rather than “Custom Autograph “ as pairs I’ve seen from the 70’s. The main motivation for acquiring these is the fact that they were made here in Milwaukee precisely 7 blocks west of my house. The 1916 factory building still stands and is being converted to office space and affordable housing by city agencies. It’s been a long time since NB made good stuff so it is awesome to find a quality shoe that was made in my actual neighborhood when Milwaukee really WAS the Beer Capitol of the World and Warren Spahn was on the mound for the Braves. View attachment 1278982 View attachment 1278983 View attachment 1278984 View attachment 1278985

Vintage Nunn Bush pairs don't get much love and often rightfully so, but the pairs from the mid-1960s and earlier are excellent. The pairs made after Weyenberg bought the company (1967) are generally mediocre. I assume Weyenberg produced the pairs after that. The logos and numbering changed.

 

[davidVC]

Ebay made a number of changes to the shoe category recently that affected buyers and sellers. Basically new and replacement attributes. It hasn't gone well and more changes are coming. This is an interesting article that discusses some of the issues.

eBay Executive Downplays Impact of Item Specifics Glitch

eBay's Vice President of Seller Experience appeared in a video published on YouTube yesterday where he answered ...

www.ecommercebytes.com