Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[suitforcourt]

I’m here to show some solidarity with you, brother. Those 93605s that I picked up on Etsy turned out to be a waste of $54. I soaked them to see if I could straighten the soles, which were totally contorted. I thought I was going to have success but the soak revealed (created?) all kinds of cracks. I REALLY glad I didn’t have them rebuilt. Sad... View attachment 1293041 View attachment 1293042 View attachment 1293043 View attachment 1293045

Use them as rain shoes

 

[friendlygoz]

Use them as rain shoes

Don't think it's even worth it since they need new heels. I may put them up on eBay for some crazy low price.

 

[CWOyaji]

@friendlygoz that is really too bad. It might be best to cut your losses short. Happened to me too.

About a year and a half ago I invested in a full JR & Cat's Paw makeover on these thrifted 93606s.

Everything was looking good until I laced them up and the top facing cracked big time. All along the indented area above.

I gave them a viking funeral of sorts, in one of these solar powered sidewalk trash compacters they have in my town. Not by setting them on fire, though I was tempted to.

Instead, it flattened those heartbreaking PTBs for me late at night. So I got a feeling of catharsis, and no one else had to get their hopes raised and dashed as I did.

 

[suitforcourt]

Don't think it's even worth it since they need new heels. I may put them up on eBay for some crazy low price.

Wait. Why not cut them up for science? Or use the good pieces for watch straps? There are guys in the Facebook groups that convert shoes to other leather goods.

 

[Lmrjfud]

Happy Friday eve.
Vintage Hanover shell today.
I love how basic brown ages.
Apparently, I need to iron these pants.

 

[Nobleprofessor]

I have found a new style I REALLY like!

The AE Winhall. I was not familiar with these before I saw them on eBay.

I conditioned them and shined them a little (more on that later). Anybody know which last these are?

But, I really like the look of these!

 

[Nobleprofessor]

This post has a number of topics. Im putting them all in one post so I don't clog up the page with several posts from just me. It is sort of like the people we all know that send a text then they send another short text and pretty soon in the span of 45 seconds you get 8 texts that could all have been put in one. (Yes, I know I sound like a grumpy old Man, so "get off my lawn").

As mentioned earlier I used some leather conditioner on my Winhalls I just got. I had used this same stuff a week ago and meant to report on it to you all because I was impressed. But, now I probably should include a warning.

I bought a pair of shoes from Undandy. I'm sure most of you have seen advertisements from them on Facebook or online or maybe even on here (?). They probably appeal to a younger demographic than me, but they had some sort of sale and they had custom design shoes and I figured I would try them out. At the time, if you ordered a pair, a free shoe shine kit was included free.

The kit is small and I have TONS of shoe shine stuff - creams, polishes, brushes, etc from buying them all the time when I saw them at estate sales. SO, I had not even looked at this kit from Undandy. But, I decided to take a look at it. Inside were two tins of neutral "wax" and "polish." I read the directions and it said to use the "wax" as a conditioner and leave it on for 5-10 minutes and then wipe off any residue that had not soaked in. I was interested in trying it so I got out a pair of old LWB that seemed a little dry and were not in my typical rotation (in other words, if I ruined them, I was okay with tossing them out).
I put the "wax" on it was a thick leather conditioner that was sort of like the old tins of mink oil I used to rub on my hiking boots in boy scouts. It wasn't quite that thick. But, it did seem to do a good job of conditioning the leather. But, it left a little bit of an odd feeling or residue. It felt similar to the way boots feel after they have been oiled.

Well, last night I decided to try it again and then following it up with my regular polish. I did wait for the wax to soak in and I wiped it off and then waited another 15 minutes before putting on my regular cream polish. The result was that despite the fact that I was using polish I had used before, I could not get a shine. With my big horsehair brush I can usually put a decent on anything. But, with these it just ended up with a semi-matte finish. I assume that the conditioner wasn't completely wiped off or needs to dry and soak for a whole day or some other reason. I do think as a conditioner it worked very well. On my old LWB it seemed to soften and hydrate the leather. But, it definitely made it VERY difficult to shine the shoes.

Ok next topic.

Shoe travel/packing question. I have an 8 day trial starting next week and it is in Seattle, Washington (I live in Memphis, Tennessee). I am going this weekend. So I am going to be gone close to two weeks (maybe a few days less). I was thinking of having a different pair of shoes for every day of trial. But, I realized if I did that and had a few less dressy pair for the weekends, I would packing an entire large suitcase just of shoes. So, I am thinking of taking 4 pair of shoes for Court and 1 pair of casual weekend shoes. I think that's enough. Right? The shoes will still have some rest in between wearings. Obviously I am wearing suits and will be dressed pretty conservatively. This is, after all, Federal Court and I represent a large corporation. So, my thoughts on shoes and suit combos are (I'm spoilering this since the clothing part is off topic):

Spoiler: Shoe suit combo

Subtle grey glen plaid suit with either black cap toes or black LWB or Alden Shell LWB)
Medium Grey solid suit with one of the above shoes.
dark grey subtle pinstripe with one of the above shoes.
Navy Suit with either another black cap toe or a burgundy cap toe or burgundy calf LWB
Blue subtle plaid with a brown shoe probably Florsheim 93602 or 93605
a different solid gray suit with any of the above

So, I think the shoes I would take are

Black Cap Toe (Church's or Vintage J&M)
Florsheim Black LWB Pebble grain
Alden Shell LWB
Florsheim 93602 and 93605

I guess that is five pair.

I had another topic, but I have forgotten.

 

[eTrojan]

This post has a number of topics. Im putting them all in one post so I don't clog up the page with several posts from just me. It is sort of like the people we all know that send a text then they send another short text and pretty soon in the span of 45 seconds you get 8 texts that could all have been put in one. (Yes, I know I sound like a grumpy old Man, so "get off my lawn").

As mentioned earlier I used some leather conditioner on my Winhalls I just got. I had used this same stuff a week ago and meant to report on it to you all because I was impressed. But, now I probably should include a warning.

I bought a pair of shoes from Undandy. I'm sure most of you have seen advertisements from them on Facebook or online or maybe even on here (?). They probably appeal to a younger demographic than me, but they had some sort of sale and they had custom design shoes and I figured I would try them out. At the time, if you ordered a pair, a free shoe shine kit was included free.

The kit is small and I have TONS of shoe shine stuff - creams, polishes, brushes, etc from buying them all the time when I saw them at estate sales. SO, I had not even looked at this kit from Undandy. But, I decided to take a look at it. Inside were two tins of neutral "wax" and "polish." I read the directions and it said to use the "wax" as a conditioner and leave it on for 5-10 minutes and then wipe off any residue that had not soaked in. I was interested in trying it so I got out a pair of old LWB that seemed a little dry and were not in my typical rotation (in other words, if I ruined them, I was okay with tossing them out).
I put the "wax" on it was a thick leather conditioner that was sort of like the old tins of mink oil I used to rub on my hiking boots in boy scouts. It wasn't quite that thick. But, it did seem to do a good job of conditioning the leather. But, it left a little bit of an odd feeling or residue. It felt similar to the way boots feel after they have been oiled.

Well, last night I decided to try it again and then following it up with my regular polish. I did wait for the wax to soak in and I wiped it off and then waited another 15 minutes before putting on my regular cream polish. The result was that despite the fact that I was using polish I had used before, I could not get a shine. With my big horsehair brush I can usually put a decent on anything. But, with these it just ended up with a semi-matte finish. I assume that the conditioner wasn't completely wiped off or needs to dry and soak for a whole day or some other reason. I do think as a conditioner it worked very well. On my old LWB it seemed to soften and hydrate the leather. But, it definitely made it VERY difficult to shine the shoes.

Ok next topic.

Shoe travel/packing question. I have an 8 day trial starting next week and it is in Seattle, Washington (I live in Memphis, Tennessee). I am going this weekend. So I am going to be gone close to two weeks (maybe a few days less). I was thinking of having a different pair of shoes for every day of trial. But, I realized if I did that and had a few less dressy pair for the weekends, I would packing an entire large suitcase just of shoes. So, I am thinking of taking 4 pair of shoes for Court and 1 pair of casual weekend shoes. I think that's enough. Right? The shoes will still have some rest in between wearings. Obviously I am wearing suits and will be dressed pretty conservatively. This is, after all, Federal Court and I represent a large corporation. So, my thoughts on shoes and suit combos are (I'm spoilering this since the clothing part is off topic):

Spoiler: Shoe suit combo

Subtle grey glen plaid suit with either black cap toes or black LWB or Alden Shell LWB)
Medium Grey solid suit with one of the above shoes.
dark grey subtle pinstripe with one of the above shoes.
Navy Suit with either another black cap toe or a burgundy cap toe or burgundy calf LWB
Blue subtle plaid with a brown shoe probably Florsheim 93602 or 93605
a different solid gray suit with any of the above

So, I think the shoes I would take are

Black Cap Toe (Church's or Vintage J&M)
Florsheim Black LWB Pebble grain
Alden Shell LWB
Florsheim 93602 and 93605

I guess that is five pair.

I had another topic, but I have forgotten.

I would probably take two dress shoes and one more casual shoe. Rotate the dress shoes during the week. If I were to add fourth shoe, it would be running shoes to try to get a workout in while I’m away from home (unless there is a pool for lap swimming).

 

[eTrojan]

E. T. Wright 396 shell shortwing. There are a couple brothers who also have this shoe. This pair were originally procured by @davidVC and offered to the only person that might fit a 13 AA.

 

[Jiqea]

The thrifting gods have been kind to me lately. Today I picked up a pair of circa 1959 McHale Black Aleutian Moccasin Bluchers as well as a lovely pair of NOS Boulet "Police Boots". The police boots are nice in that they lack the usual safety toe, so they are sleeker and have more of a dress appearance than the H.H. Brown "Police Boots". They are already in my closet!

The McHale advert is from 1959.

 

[Nobleprofessor]

I would probably take two dress shoes and one more casual shoe. Rotate the dress shoes during the week. If I were to add fourth shoe, it would be running shoes to try to get a workout in while I’m away from home (unless there is a pool for lap swimming).

Ha! The Tennis shoes for a workout made me laugh. But, then I realized you didn’t mean that as a joke. I REALLY wish I was one of those people that liked working out. I wish I used exercise for stress release. But, unfortunately I am not.

Let me put it this way. I’m glad the Dad bod is a thing now. I’m relatively fit. But, I have a dad bod. I have an old fashioned idea about exercise. It is what Ronald Reagan called the vigorous life. My exercise is not formalized. It’s pretty much just doing things that require some physical exertion — like mowing and cleaning gutters and fixing my fence and stuff around the house. It’s too bad I don’t have a horse because then I could ride and clear brush and other vigorous life type stuff. Most of my exercise is probably best described as “work.”

I did quit smoking 9 months and 1 week ago. So, maybe I should start working out because now I can breath.

 

[CWOyaji]

E. T. Wright 396 shell shortwing. There are a couple brothers who also have this shoe. This pair were originally procured by @davidVC and offered to the only person that might fit a 13 AA.

View attachment 1293461
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That’d be me and @Oshare, possibly one other person besides you. They are great looking shoes.

 

[PSU John]

Ha! The Tennis shoes for a workout made me laugh. But, then I realized you didn’t mean that as a joke. I REALLY wish I was one of those people that liked working out. I wish I used exercise for stress release. But, unfortunately I am not.

Let me put it this way. I’m glad the Dad bod is a thing now. I’m relatively fit. But, I have a dad bod. I have an old fashioned idea about exercise. It is what Ronald Reagan called the vigorous life. My exercise is not formalized. It’s pretty much just doing things that require some physical exertion — like mowing and cleaning gutters and fixing my fence and stuff around the house. It’s too bad I don’t have a horse because then I could ride and clear brush and other vigorous life type stuff. Most of my exercise is probably best described as “work.”

I did quit smoking 9 months and 1 week ago. So, maybe I should start working out because now I can breath.

I applaud the quitting smoking - that will make a bigger change in you life than a boatload of vintage shoes. As for exercise, wait until you retire, and it will come naturally to go to gym - did for me at least!

 

[friendlygoz]

@friendlygoz that is really too bad. It might be best to cut your losses short. Happened to me too.
View attachment 1293118
About a year and a half ago I invested in a full JR & Cat's Paw makeover on these thrifted 93606s.
View attachment 1293119
Everything was looking good until I laced them up and the top facing cracked big time. All along the indented area above.
View attachment 1293120
I gave them a viking funeral of sorts, in one of these solar powered sidewalk trash compacters they have in my town. Not by setting them on fire, though I was tempted to.
View attachment 1293121
Instead, it flattened those heartbreaking PTBs for me late at night. So I got a feeling of catharsis, and no one else had to get their hopes raised and dashed as I did.

Thanks for sharing that. Misery love company because it makes the miserable feel better. I feel better for having some company. Thanks.

Wait. Why not cut them up for science? Or use the good pieces for watch straps? There are guys in the Facebook groups that convert shoes to other leather goods.

I love the watch strap idea. Wow. I hadn’t thought of that. Could be sort of awesome. The shell on the left shoe is actually in really good shape. Maybe I should do with @smfdoc did and try to make the strap myself... A member of the facebook vintage shoe group had this made for him:

 

[M635Guy]

Here are my AE Winhalls. View attachment 1292454

That's an interesting pattern - I dig it.