Advice & feedback please on these 40's spectators..

[PADDY]

Gents.
Just wondering what 'your' first impressions are of these shoes from the 40's?

The chap selling them is after about £70 (double that for dollars), but they are in good nick and look the biz! I'm not sure if I could be going for something with a bit more interest in the leather, having it tooled more into a half brogue, rather than the plain Oxford toe cap look.

Although...I do like the crocodile tooth edging to the toe caps (a nice, fine touch).

Right now, they might just be a tad too steep in price for me, unless they are really worth the buy [huh]

Life's never full of easy decisions!!

 

[cookie]

Those specs

I will be honest with you - they are the toecap style I most like of all those I have posted ...and they look to be in splendid condition. A good shoeshine guy could work on the tops to get the same colour but then again you might like the contrast. Then again they may need some moisture put into the eyelet area of the vamp.:eusa_doh:

If they fit ..buy them especially as converting GBP to USD is so favourable now. I paid AUD140 when bid up for a 1940s pair that have proven to be 1/4 the quality of those. I paid USD85 (42.50GBP) for my brown and cream Broadstreets and it has taken a year to find them and they are not in as good condition as these. I'll be serious. I am/was still thinking of getting a copy of these to have some toecap specs.... as well as traditional brogue types. What will 70 quid buy you in the UK these days going on what I see on cable????

IMO go for it....

 

[Anthony Jordan]

Well, if you don't want them...

Seriously, they are a handsome shoe and look very versatile. Do you know who they made by?

 

[PADDY]

Maker name.

No idea who made them. But I could see a few brown/green DB suits looking mighty fine with them! :eusa_clap

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Write the check, Paddy. What is 70 pounds in the scheme of things? A few months from now, you will regret it. Some things you never get over. lol Just make sure they fit.

Also, this is a very nice style. The plain toes make them for me. Sometimes you don't want the shock of a fully ornate Brogue. These would be very versatile with a khaki colonial style suit or a nice dark dress suit.

Live the dream!

Oh, and make sure the shoe trees come with them.

 

[cookie]

Pinking

I love the pinking (crocodile teeth ...I like that expression!) too!:cool2:

This is the Nunn Bush 1940s alternative if you are lucky enough to have a size 7 foot!!!!



Magnoli has one similar in a variety of colours.

 

[Feraud]

In my humble opinion I would pay the 70 pounds in a second! The edging around the leather is wonderful. The shoe looks to be in v.g. condition.

 

[scotrace]

I like those a lot, Paddy!

They are elegant and a bit understated (as much as specs can be). Look to be in great condition. Snap them up.


And, by the way: Were you looking to US to talk you out of buying SHOES? lol

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Paddy, are they vintage? The shovel/spade sole is a nice vintage touch. Definitely worth the 70 pounds. Is it white leather or white buck skin? Personally i am for some reason obsessed with getting suede/buck skin for the contrasting part. White polished leather just doesn't cut the mustard for me.

bk

 

[cookie]

Buck or Suede

Paddy, are they vintage? The shovel/spade sole is a nice vintage touch. Definitely worth the 70 pounds. Is it white leather or white buck skin? Personally i am for some reason obsessed with getting suede/buck skin for the contrasting part. White polished leather just doesn't cut the mustard for me.

bk

You are right BK... trouble was my 1940s buckskin was starting to tear /fissure with age :rage: and it required a bit of fixing. I found Collonil was a good whitener to use. The alternative is a recrafting with nubuck I suppose?

 

[Mr. Rover]

Awesome! They look nice and sturdy! Get 'em! :eusa_clap

 

[reetpleat]

Paddy, are they vintage? The shovel/spade sole is a nice vintage touch. Definitely worth the 70 pounds. Is it white leather or white buck skin? Personally i am for some reason obsessed with getting suede/buck skin for the contrasting part. White polished leather just doesn't cut the mustard for me.

bk

They look suede to me. I have never seen white leather in a vintage shoe. For good reason I suppose. I am with you, white leather is a tough sell for me.

I would say buy if they fit and you will wear them, you will more than get that price from them. Of course, only if the leather is not al ldried out and ripping apart.

I love this cap toe style too. Only thing I like better is the full white with cap toe and heel only brown.

 

[reetpleat]

You are right BK... trouble was my 1940s buckskin was starting to tear /fissure with age :rage: and it required a bit of fixing. I found Collonil was a good whitener to use. The alternative is a recrafting with nubuck I suppose?

Anybody here use the eraseers and powders on nubuck? Pain in the ass, but worht it. Do not use the liquid if you can help it.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Anybody here use the eraseers and powders on nubuck? Pain in the ass, but worth it.

I use a chalk bag that came with a pair of white bucks I bought many years ago. The shoes are long gone, but the bag remains. Very useful; I hold the shoe upside down and rub the bag along the white suede part. The result is temporary but nice.

.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

They look suede to me. I have never seen white leather in a vintage shoe.

I have, but it's rare. With age, the white leather has usually darkened to a bone color.

.

 

[reetpleat]

I have, but it's rare. With age, the white leather has usually darkened to a bone color.

.

I have owned a few pairs in a pebble finish white. Makes all the difference in the world.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Paddy, those '40s spectators are terrific. The vendor has been trying to sell them on eBay for a long time, with no luck. Apparently, his opening bid price has been turning buyers off.


Nonetheless, these shoes are worth the price. They've been well-maintained or restored, and they have an attractive spade sole. Go for it!

.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I use a chalk bag that came with a pair of white bucks I bought many years ago. The shoes are long gone, but the bag remains. Very useful; I hold the shoe upside down and rub the bag along the white suede part. The result is temporary but nice.

.

Is that like a chalk bag for the hands of the rock climber? I still have one of those hanging around from my climbing days (many moons ago) . . . I once saw a Tibetan thangka painter using a very similar bag to transfer his drawing to a canvas.

bk

 

[Anthony Jordan]

Paddy, are they vintage? The shovel/spade sole is a nice vintage touch. Definitely worth the 70 pounds. Is it white leather or white buck skin? Personally i am for some reason obsessed with getting suede/buck skin for the contrasting part. White polished leather just doesn't cut the mustard for me.

bk

I agree; it's the one thing that I would change about my Alfred Sargent "Melly" co-respondents - the white portion lacks that distinctive suede finish.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Is that like a chalk bag for the hands of the rock climber?

It looks very similar, only smaller. I don't know if the chalk is the same, though. (Maybe the shoe chalk is whiter?)

.