Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[suitforcourt]

Shell Yumas in my size. I can’t do it...$399 starting bid. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/223774537529

You can. And want to. But you are prompting us to enable you so you can avoid blame with spousal customs.

So I will take the bait.

You need this pair. NOS Yuma is both rare and an essential piece to any true enthusiasts' collection. Don't let money hold you back from being your true self.

 

[tcbinnc]

Holy smack do I love that color!

I am impressed how well the laces match, too.

 

[Philby]

Goodyear welted or blake stitched pair of shoes I bought NWOT squeaks incessantly. Pretty certain the source of squeaking is in the sole (between the different layers) under the toe. Cobbler says it is likel< glue come lose and there is little point in opening it up, will probably get better soon. Has anyone made similar experiences?

 

[suitforcourt]

Goodyear welted or blake stitched pair of shoes I bought NWOT squeaks incessantly. Pretty certain the source of squeaking is in the sole (between the different layers) under the toe. Cobbler says it is likel< glue come lose and there is little point in opening it up, will probably get better soon. Has anyone made similar experiences?

2 pairs of AE squeak in heel area for me. A recraft will likely take care of it.

 

[ccpl14]

View attachment 1290351
These are marked 93631. Perhaps Florsheim made a run of these...
Spologies if they were commented on already. I am about 100 pages behind and was looking backwards.

Thanks. Gives me a good reference.

 

[friendlygoz]

You can. And want to. But you are prompting us to enable you so you can avoid blame with spousal customs.

So I will take the bait.

You need this pair. NOS Yuma is both rare and an essential piece to any true enthusiasts' collection. Don't let money hold you back from being your true self.

so I’m enabling the enablers... very meta.

 

[M.Photog]

Wondering if anyone here has any experience with the product mentioned in this video.

Leather 'N' Rich

Blackrock is made following my grandfather's recipe. One jar of Blackrock will: Clean, Soften, and Preserve All Finished Leather Remove Scuffs Genuine Carnauba Wax buffs easily to a shine Easy To Use and Economical Will not change color or shade of leather Best on Finished Leathers, Exotic...

www.blackrock-leather.com

 

[M.Photog]

You can. And want to. But you are prompting us to enable you so you can avoid blame with spousal customs.

So I will take the bait.

You need this pair. NOS Yuma is both rare and an essential piece to any true enthusiasts' collection. Don't let money hold you back from being your true self.

Are you as persuasive on the really big items, like cars? It is fairly easy for one more pair of shoes to blend in with the crowd. BMW automobiles are a little harder to conceal.

 

[CWOyaji]

Wondering if anyone here has any experience with the product mentioned in this video.

Leather 'N' Rich

Blackrock is made following my grandfather's recipe. One jar of Blackrock will: Clean, Soften, and Preserve All Finished Leather Remove Scuffs Genuine Carnauba Wax buffs easily to a shine Easy To Use and Economical Will not change color or shade of leather Best on Finished Leathers, Exotic...

www.blackrock-leather.com

A passing familiarity . Coincidentally I have a pair of vintage 1988 Florsheim 93602s taped off and waiting for a breezy day to get to work on. Their color had gotten dull, so I removed as much as I could with saddle soap and brushing. Now it's time for my first experiment with the industrial strength chemicals, followed by walnut leather dye and some dark burnishing around the brogued areas. If it ever stops raining...

 

[Nobleprofessor]

Anyone pick up a pair during Black Friday craziness?

Oh I agree. I wish there had been a way to avoid retail on this pair, but I have been looking for them for several years. Whiskey shell LWBs.

View attachment 1289994 View attachment 1289995

I didn’t get any shoes on Black Friday. But, I did just have a seller give me a great offer on some spectacular shoes!

I’ll just provide three words and I’m sure most will understand my absolute need to get them.

1. Alden
2. SHELL
3. SADDLE

AND @smfdoc those are stunning shoes in such an amazing color! How do I get on the list of people who can get those in my size!

 

[smfdoc]

I didn’t get any shoes on Black Friday. But, I did just have a seller give me a great offer on some spectacular shoes!

I’ll just provide three words and I’m sure most will understand my absolute need to get them.

1. Alden
2. SHELL
3. SADDLE

AND @smfdoc those are stunning shoes in such an amazing color! How do I get on the list of people who can get those in my size!

The short answer is to contact multiple ALden retailers and tell them what you are looking to get and ask to be contacted should they be putting in an order together. Be patient as this is a slow process.

 

[woofmang]

Wondering if anyone here has any experience with the product mentioned in this video.

Leather 'N' Rich

Blackrock is made following my grandfather's recipe. One jar of Blackrock will: Clean, Soften, and Preserve All Finished Leather Remove Scuffs Genuine Carnauba Wax buffs easily to a shine Easy To Use and Economical Will not change color or shade of leather Best on Finished Leathers, Exotic...

www.blackrock-leather.com

I bought a jar based on that video and have used it on a couple of pair of boots. It's not the greatest-smelling stuff, but it seems to work as advertised as far as moisturizing the leather and buffing out to a subtle shine. At $10 (plus ~$4.00 shipping), I think it was well worth the money.

 

[Nobleprofessor]

I bought a jar based on that video and have used it on a couple of pair of boots. It's not the greatest-smelling stuff, but it seems to work as advertised as far as moisturizing the leather and buffing out to a subtle shine. At $10 (plus ~$4.00 shipping), I think it was well worth the money.

You used the key words for me “subtle shine”. I have some shoes that look better with a subtle - almost matte - shine. I remember when I first learned (on many shoes) it is better to NOT shine the whole shoe.

My choice for today doesn’t leave me that option since they are CG. BUT, despite being CG they seem to be quality shoes. These are vintage Johnston Murphy shortwings. They are from the time when J&M still made them in the USA. I remember these shoes being the choice of businessmen. I can’t imagine how well J&M was doing in the 80’s through 90’s when they made good shoes in conservative styles that every lawyer and banker and general manager wore. How has J&M fallen so much?

Anyway, here is my choice for today. No non-sense conservative style dependable black wingtip. Wear them to Court or funerals or a board meeting or a Church.

 

[mormonopoly]

I’ve been wearing this 1940s Dobson perforated spectators lately. They’re in pretty rough shape, but finding a pair like this in my size is impossible, so I’ll take it.

 

[Nobleprofessor]

I’ve been wearing this 1940s Dobson perforated spectators lately. They’re in pretty rough shape, but finding a pair like this in my size is impossible, so I’ll take it. View attachment 1291402

Those don’t look like rough shape to me! Especially considering they are 80 years old. It’s almost impossible to find them in ANY size.

As part of my closet/shoe reorganization I went through my shoes to eliminate some and organize store the others. So, I figured out my list of styles Manufacturers/Brands.

Here is my list:

21 Florsheim

14 AE

11 ALDEN

10 Johnston Murphy

7 Cole Haan/Bragano

5 Footjoy (dress not Golf)

4 Brooks Brothers

3 Hanover

3 Sperry

2 Nettleton

2 Church’s

2 Bass Weejuns

1 Trickers

1 Gucci

1 Paul Stuart

1 Crocket Jones

1 Nike

1 ASICS

1 Lucchese

1 Chester Barrie

8 Independent store brands by unknown manufacturers (3 are English from Northhampton) the others are probably a combination of Florsheim and Hanover.

The collection is 85% vintage with the oldest from late 50’s.