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Vintage Florsheim Help!

Spartcom5

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Hey guys picked these up for $25 and then took them to the cobbler who polished them up nicely. Wore them today as is and I put a tongue pad in to stop the slippage in the heel, they feel great, the leather looks to be in great condition, and they're comfy as heck. However the heel is definitely worn down a bit, they slide a little bit but as long as I'm careful I should be fine haha. Any suggestions on who could make a new V-cleat heel, they came with the OG shoe trees but I think I might need newer ones? Also how old do you guys think these are? 80s?


















 

smfdoc

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Hey guys picked these up for $25 and then took them to the cobbler who polished them up nicely. Wore them today as is and I put a tongue pad in to stop the slippage in the heel, they feel great, the leather looks to be in great condition, and they're comfy as heck. However the heel is definitely worn down a bit, they slide a little bit but as long as I'm careful I should be fine haha. Any suggestions on who could make a new V-cleat heel, they came with the OG shoe trees but I think I might need newer ones? Also how old do you guys think these are? 80s?

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I believe the shoe was made in December 1996. The V cleat is set back from the edge of the heel, which they started doing in 1973. So it was made after that date. Second, the shoe label contains "LG" to indicate date. The first character is the month (A=January, B=February, and so on). The second character is the last digit of the year (A=0, B=1, etc). LG means your shoe was made in the 12th month of a year ending in a 6. 1976, 1986, 1996, etc. The "Made in America" label inside the shoe was started in 1993 to help distinguish the USA made Imperials from other Florshiems made in India. In addition, most of the 97625 styles were made in the 1990s. Finally, the style of Florsheim Imperial logo in the bottom of the shoe started in use in May 1996. So the only realistic answer is "LG" or December 1996.

Am I smart? No. I just found this really informative website on vintage Florsheim shoes here. Enjoy your new shoes. For what it is worth, it looks like the heel is in good shape and does not need to be replaced.
 
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smfdoc

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I have occasionally posted some pictures here of older styles that are more than 20 years if age and can thus be considered vintage. As a self serving PSA, I want to mention that I started a SF thread for the discussion and appreciation of all brands of vintage dress shoes. Show pictures, ask questions, share restoration information and post vintage shoes you may have for sale. All are invited to come to browse.
 

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