Show us your SHOES !!!

I do the same and then I kick myself in the head for finding amazing shoes that fit me in Deadstock condition that can't buy because shipping kills any possible deal and then I will have to pay high taxes on Customs. Like this pair I didn't get to buy for that reason:





NOT MINE just showing the pictures. They got sold for peanuts, less than 50$.

 

Actually, narrow vintage shoes in size 10.5 are out in abundance. Normal and wide widths are more difficult to obtain. You just have to search eBay regularly.

 

Pictures of two of my pairs. The boots are way too narrow for me to use them:





I haven't shined the brown ones yet. I already showed them here when I got them but I conditioned with the tips from LuvMyMan and they feel like new.

 

I ran onto these Tretorn Swedish Winter Army boots from 1965 in a local thrift yesterday. They suffer from some severe musty/mildew smell, but the leather seems undamaged. I wore them today to see if use and airing would fade the smell. Jury is still out on that.
P1220222 crop by Michael A2012, on Flickr
P1220224 crop by Michael A2012, on Flickr
I think there is an old thread around here somewhere specifically about this boot. They are labeled at size 280 which I guess translates to 11 US. And that is my size. They are sized for heavy socks. I'm wearing silk liner socks under fairly heavy ragg wool and there is still a bit of room to spare. In any case, if the smell goes away, or I an get rid of it, I think these might make a real play for my favorite winter footwear. I have a bunion that was bothering me yesterday in pac boots with a heavy sock and the felt liner. In these I've had no pain whatsoever and they are surprisingly light as well. Textured rubber bottom with lug sole and heel. Leather lining on the rubber part and thick leather uppers. If my opinion holds up with more wear I think I'll be looking for some more of these.

Michael

 

Really? I haven't seen any on eBay. Plus the few I've seen are WAY too expensive for me to afford.

 

You need to keep looking and you need to know your measurements. Often vintage sizes 11 fit like modern size 10.5. Often listings are without size but with measurements. Also, take a look at Etsy and scan your local Goodwills regularly. 10.5 is about the most common size today. You have to be prepared to shell out some money for NOS vintage shoes in great condition. The price usually will still be way below that of modern shoes in comparable quality. If you are looking for five dollar bargains you need an experienced eye and look for badly presented or mislisted auctions, be prepared to do some rehab for the shoes and it is still possible not to find any in your size.

 

Just so you know I've been looking on Ebay and Etsydaily for 1 year now and have only come across a few pairs in my size that were the right measurements, good condition and fairly priced. I had to pass on some of them because couldn't afford at the moment or were too expensive but you have to be patient. I look on Etsy and Ebay daily without any expectation and waiting to be surprised

 

My original Vasque hiking boots bought new in downtown Oakland, CA back in 1972. (oh my, dating myself a bit!) Amazingly they still fit.

 

Florsheim Lexington Wingtip Oxford. Retail 110. 9.99 thrifted. I think these are from the 80's.


These are currently my favorite shoes I own. Allan Temple Imperials. Made in England. I couldn't find anything on these shoes other than one other listing of them for sale with no further info. If anyone could tell me what era they are from and what the leather is I'd appreciate it. I found them in great condition just extremely dusty in a closet at a tag sale. $7 later they are my favorite shoes.

 

Close 2nd fav, these Florsheims I got yesterday and after some conditioner, lanolin and polish looking much better. If anyone could tell me the era they are from or any more info I'd appreciate it. Inside says Florsheim Shoe Imperial Quality and it does have the little blue window on the inside. 7.99 thrifted.

Before:


After:








Pics were taken right before I laced them up, went with the bar lacing

 

The heel plates on those show up fairly well, they are not late model Florsheims, maybe early 1960, or even older. They have a similar look to the style as some Footjoy shoes, which in my opinion, is a great look to it. Great find on all the shoes you have posted!

 

From the recent AE factory seconds sale - red Neumok




Cheers!
David

 

White Florsheims I was fortunate enough to receive from my neighbor. Made in Italy appears on the inside and on the sole yet yesterday for the first time I was able to make out that on the heel of the sole there is a gold Florsheim logo. I wasn't aware they made shoes in Italy and if anyone could shed light on the era I'd appreciate it. Been conditioning them, just need a good polish now.






They remind me of these shoes posted earlier but appear older. Everyone was bashing the shoes posted below and the owner eventually agreed and gave them away. I disagree. I think both pairs are great for summer and summer suits

 

Here's a new addition to my collection: deadstock A.S. Beck white bucks. They have a smudged date stamp inside, I think it says July 5, 1941. I haven't done anything to clean them up yet, so they are understandably a little dirty still.

 

⇧ Outstanding find. They are fantastic. Congrats and enjoy.

 

The white spades are a great score

 

GRAND shoes!

Just Grand shoes! Can not wait to see them being worn. Wear them in pride.




Are you going to treat the "white bucks?" If so how?

I picked up a pair, very similar, a couple years ago and the leather is drying out. The soles soak up conditioner like parched animals in a desert.

Pics:






The shoes are at my cobblers waiting for me to decide what rubber heels to out on and if I wish to put a rubber sole protector on. My cobbler is patient as I consider options.

Thanks in advance. Best, Eric -

 

I found an awesome site that helps you date vintage Florsheims. I was able to date those black wingtip ones I listed above to January of 1961. Here is an excerpt from the site:

"10 1/2 D – Size information. US sizing
654543 – An order/sequence number but I don’t believe the value is unique. The same number should appear in the left and right shoe
15 – Factory/manufacturer code (pretty sure)
93631 – This is the model number (Golden Harvest)
GH – Month/Year code (more on this below)

Date of Manufacture
Florsheim used two letters on the shoes to represent the year and month. 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).

So in the example above, GH would be July of the year 7. Is that 1997 or 1987 or 1977 or 1967 or 1957? I am guessing it is 1977. This was a model produced in the 1960s and 1970s and this particular shoe has a post-1973 v-cleat (more on that later).

Unfortunately for us, Florsheim decided to use a single character to represent the year. So its difficult to date Florsheim shoes to the year without knowing the years the model was produced."

Link here:http://vcleat.com/florsheim-model-numbers-1950s-90s/

 

Thank you! Mine are not too dry at all, but I will be applying cadillac conditioner to the insides of the shoes. To clean the outside, I'll use a white chalk bag.

 

Thanks for the info.

Best, Eric -