Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[M635Guy]

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.

As a guy who travels a lot, I'd pack no more than two pairs and travel in a pair that is comfortable as a third pair if possible (or just wear sneaks). My suggestion would be to alternate the 93605's and the black cap toes. All of those won't get through the TSA on your feet (even with Pre), so if that bugs you definitely don't travel in a third pair. I'll occasionally wear my AE Strands or my newer nubuck Strandmoks through the airports since they don't have metal shanks, and pack one or (rarely) two pairs of dress shoes. I did throw my AE chukkas in my briefcase for my recent trip to Japan, and had my GS cap toe boots packed, wearing some sneakers for the flying and on the weekends.

 

[friendlygoz]

Mid 80s AE Boulevards today.

 

[Hotel Cali]

Stuart McGuire beater for wet weather. I like the rust burnt orange color since it similar to my sweater.

Toe area fits well but heel area is too roomy and heel slips. Anyone has a good custom solution instead of some sticker padding?

 

[smfdoc]

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

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:
View attachment 1293545

Oh, I like that strap. I will look for one from some dead shoes at goodwill.

 

[friendlygoz]

So my sons and I dissected the shoes. I intended to save the uppers for a possible watch strap but the shell was so dry it sort of fell apart. I know that many of you have warned against buying old, beat up shell shoes. I was going to have better luck, I told myself. Wrong... so wrong.

One thing that become really clear when taking these apart is just how well made they are. You can feel it when you wear vintage Florsheims, but, man, the construction and materials are amazing. It’s actually hard to destroy them even with knives and pliers. At least we had some old fashioned fun destroying something. One of my sons used nails to try to put the soles back together. Send your cobbler needs his way. He’s 7 so you can trust him.

Here are the pix. WARNING: these pictures may cause emotional and/or psychological harm to shell lovers.

 

[friendlygoz]

What do you think of these Stuart McGuire lizard skins? Seller offered them for $82 shipped. I've been interested in adding some lizard skin shoes. From the pictures, it looks like they are well hydrated.

Stuart McGuire Brown Lace Up Genuine Alligator Leather Shoes 9 *RARE | eBay

Stuart McGuire Brown Lace Up Genuine Alligator Leather Shoes 9 *RARE. Condition is Pre-owned. Shipped with USPS Priority Mail.

www.ebay.com

 

[davidVC]

Mid 80s AE Boulevards today. View attachment 1293561

That's a sharp looking pair. Boulevards are one of AE's best models.

 

[friendlygoz]

That's a sharp looking pair. Boulevards are one of AE's best models.

Thanks. I grabbed them off your list. I really like them. There was another pair on eBay is darker brown and probably a decade older. I should have grabbed those too...

 

[smfdoc]

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

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:
View attachment 1293545

A link to the facebook group that does the watch straps would be appreciated.

 

[friendlygoz]

A link to the facebook group that does the watch straps would be appreciated.

This is the guy who made it: https://www.facebook.com/BeckettLeatherGoods

He charged $150 to make the band.

 

[Oshare]

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.

Very nice!

I really like mine which are actually labeled as Bostonian Crown Windsor, but we've come to the determination that they are the same shoes.

And by the way, I just wore mine yesterday, too. Sadly no photos.

 

[Lmrjfud]

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

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:
View attachment 1293545

You know what bothers me about this picture?
That watch strap was made from a pair of shell in my exact size!!!

 

[suitforcourt]

You know what bothers me about this picture?
That watch strap was made from a pair of shell in my exact size!!!

I know the pair that became the watch strap. The cracks were horrific. You wouldn't have wanted them. Even for free.

 

[tcbinnc]

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

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:
View attachment 1293545

Wow, the strap is really nice. If left to me, I would be thinking, "Now, how am I gonna cut enough around all this broguing?". Duh, you don't.

 

[friendlygoz]

I know the pair that became the watch strap. The cracks were horrific. You wouldn't have wanted them. Even for free.

The cracks in mine were horrific too. I assumed there was no way to make them into a watch strap and not worth the $150 to find out.