Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[pasadena man]

$275 in American money. The soles were $90. I’ve been wearing them the last several days including tonight in the rain and feel very sure-footed, even on steep steel stairs like these. View attachment 2085071
It’s an industrial environment. These boots are not going to be coddled.
View attachment 2085073

Beautiful boots. Let me see if I understand. You get what for most people would be apex grail footwear at a highway robbery price. However, you don't cosset it. Rather, it is your second, "work" wear pair which you are using in industrial environments awash in caustic chemicals like jet fuel.

Well played sir, well played. You live a sartorial life I could only dream of.

 

[clazbaugh]

New-to-me, late 1990’s shell Leeds
View attachment 2085423

Nice hat!

 

[CWOyaji]

Beautiful boots. Let me see if I understand. You get what for most people would be apex grail footwear at a highway robbery price. However, you don't cosset it. Rather, it is your second, "work" wear pair which you are using in industrial environments awash in caustic chemicals like jet fuel.

Well played sir, well played. You live a sartorial life I could only dream of.

Well, they say you only live once.

I think shell shoes are a good choice for wet weather, since they're less porous. This is after four days of ramp work, including occasionally kicking heavy rubber chocks out from under the landing gear of wide body jets in all the elements, natural and man-made.

One of these had a heavy hitch tongue fall on it last night and for a moment I wished the boots had steel toes, but the apparent scratch buffed right out. Shell is an amazing material.

 

[CWOyaji]

I'm not going to stop until I find a pair of Alden Indy shell boots and set them up the same way. Then I'll reassess my strategy.

 

[Oshare]

Maiden voyage for another 'questionable taste' pair I bought during the height of the pandemic lockdown, when I spent far too much time surfing online auctions for shoes.

I call these my "Party Florsheims". They are real leather, model 19031, designed by Duckie Brown, made in India Florsheims with a laser cut pattern on the uppers.

Last night was the first Winter Ball for my alumni association since the pandemic started, so I figured it was the right opportunity to break these out and take them for a spin.

Here's a daytime photo I posted when I first got them.

And wore it with this dark suit with a paisley liner, paisley tie, and paisley pocket square.

 

[dougc33]

Maiden voyage for another 'questionable taste' pair I bought during the height of the pandemic lockdown, when I spent far too much time surfing online auctions for shoes.

I call these my "Party Florsheims". They are real leather, model 19031, designed by Duckie Brown, made in India Florsheims with a laser cut pattern on the uppers.

Last night was the first Winter Ball for my alumni association since the pandemic started, so I figured it was the right opportunity to break these out and take them for a spin.

View attachment 2085895

Here's a daytime photo I posted when I first got them.

View attachment 2085897

And wore it with this dark suit with a paisley liner, paisley tie, and paisley pocket square.

View attachment 2085899

 

[dougc33]

View attachment 2085903

 

[eTrojan]

Beautiful boots. Let me see if I understand. You get what for most people would be apex grail footwear at a highway robbery price. However, you don't cosset it. Rather, it is your second, "work" wear pair which you are using in industrial environments awash in caustic chemicals like jet fuel.

Well played sir, well played. You live a sartorial life I could only dream of.

If I recall, shell cordovan was used widely in horse farming/equestrian boots that saw a lot of mucky conditions. For a long time, it was a work-specific material, not the highfalutin' stuff we chalk it up to be.

 

[eTrojan]

Maiden voyage for another 'questionable taste' pair I bought during the height of the pandemic lockdown, when I spent far too much time surfing online auctions for shoes.

I call these my "Party Florsheims". They are real leather, model 19031, designed by Duckie Brown, made in India Florsheims with a laser cut pattern on the uppers.

Last night was the first Winter Ball for my alumni association since the pandemic started, so I figured it was the right opportunity to break these out and take them for a spin.

View attachment 2085895

Here's a daytime photo I posted when I first got them.

View attachment 2085897

And wore it with this dark suit with a paisley liner, paisley tie, and paisley pocket square.

View attachment 2085899

That is awesome on so many levels.

 

[pasadena man]

Maiden voyage for another 'questionable taste' pair I bought during the height of the pandemic lockdown, when I spent far too much time surfing online auctions for shoes.

I call these my "Party Florsheims". They are real leather, model 19031, designed by Duckie Brown, made in India Florsheims with a laser cut pattern on the uppers.

Last night was the first Winter Ball for my alumni association since the pandemic started, so I figured it was the right opportunity to break these out and take them for a spin.

View attachment 2085895

Here's a daytime photo I posted when I first got them.

View attachment 2085897

And wore it with this dark suit with a paisley liner, paisley tie, and paisley pocket square.

View attachment 2085899

Seem like the ideal shoes to take you to...Funky Town!
Although it is unclear if the guy in the video is wearing Florsheims.

 

[eTrojan]

Dr Scholl’s COPEG derbies.

 

[friendlygoz]

Florsheim Beacons today

 

[WoolyLamb]

Florsheim Beacons today

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Wonderful dark brown color

 

[smfdoc]

Happy Friday forum pals. I am still amazed that there was a time when a man could drive down to his local Florsheim store, lay down some money and leave with a pair of these shell LWBs. A better time.

 

[memoriastoica]

Florsheim 93605's have landed!