Year Of The Shoe (for me)

[AimlessWanderer]

One parcel received, opened, and shoes tried out.One parcel received, opened, and shoes tried out.

Sorry, not the greatest pic. I'll take a better one another time.

I ended up wearing them for about five hours straight, right out of the box. Perfectly fine for a steady day, staying in one location, but not a shoe I'd want to walk a mile or more in. A decent thickness of synthetic sole on a leather mid-sole, but not a huge amount of tread.

To be honest, I wasn't as enamoured with them as I thought I'd be, but wasn't particularly disappointed either. For £24, they're certainly good enough. A perfectly acceptable low-budget slip-on (it's not very practical to use the buckles, but they're mounted on elastic, so you can just slip them on and off), and about on a par with the other pair of slip-ons that I've had for a few years. Part of the "meh" feeling, might just be because the shoe buying binge has pretty much burnt itself out. Every box is ticked (for now) on the needs and wants list, so the eagerness has somewhat fizzled out.

I think they'll be a decent shoe, and I should get my money's worth out of them, providing the elastic on the buckles holds up. I can see that being a potential fail point, but one I may be able to work around should things go awry. This feels more of a general everyday shoe, rather than a dressy shoe though, kind of a bit like the brown embossed "woven look" shoes towards the top of the page. They look OK, but don't "feel" dressy. Not a shoe I'd be worried about nephews and nieces standing on, or spilling ice cream on, but not a workhorse mile-clocking shoe either. Just a simple comfy lazy day shoe for when the summer shoes are hibernating, and for shopping or visiting family in, so long as I'm not planning on walking there and back. All three pairs, these monks, the faux weaves, and the original twin gusset slip-ons, all feel of the same ilk.

I'm glad, in a way. All my decks, sandals and cupsole trainers, won't be at the front of the queue in cooler weather, and it's nice to have a few pairs like these for when not much is happening. On fair weather days from autumn through to spring, i.e. not big boot weather (rain or snow and ice), I think these three pairs will all look much better with the heavy trousers (moleskins and cords) than a pair of deck shoes or cupsole trainers! So really, I may have filled a void I hadn't yet realised was there.

This new non-driving lifestyle is really taking some time to figure out

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Pics another day, but everything is finally here.

There was no ambivalence on opening the box of black weave shoes, like there was on the monks in the post above. They look every bit as good as the sales photo. Not tried them on yet though, Rough health day.

I also have the saddle soap and purple dye, so I can attempt the colour tweaks on the disappointing Amen brogues, and the toning down (rub-off finish) of the navy/olive brogues, over the next few days.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Better (well, slightly better) pics of the more recent "bargain hunt" additions. As you can tell, they've all seen a bit of active service already.

	Hotter Harbour £100 £45
	Pavers Faux Weave Derby £60 £24 Silicone laces added to convert to slip-on
	Pavers two-tone (navy/olive) Oxford Brogues £60 £24
	Pavers Double Monk Brogues £89 £25
	Jones Bootmaker "Albie" Woven derby £90 £35

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Colour changes so far...

Padders Lunar

Before	After

Samuel Windsor Cumbria Boot

Before	After

Two more colour changes planned...

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Heading in the right direction...

The navy and olive brogues are incredibly fickle, and vary significantly in appearance, depending on the light. This is what they looked like originally, in indoor ambient light.

Two rather different appearances, right? Now the same shoes outside in diffused sunlight.

Really quite bright!

I decided to give one of the shoes (right foot) a polish with black hi-gloss polish. I think is has helped, but there's more to do to get them where I want them.

	Right shoe polished in black, and left shoe as received, in all three photos.

The polish has muted them a little, but not yet to a level I'm happy with. I'll keep giving them a polish and brush over several days, and see if I can generate the subtlety that I think will work best with these shoes.

It may be that I need to give them a good clean with saddle soap. I think the spray on shine that they leave the factory with, may be hampering the black poilsh from doing its thing.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Oops! Wrecked them... or have I?

I gave the left shoe (the one I didn't polish) a good clean with saddle soap, to take the lacquer off. It seems the navy wasn't colour fast.

This might work in my favour though, and add to the toned down effect. I'll do the same on the other shoe, probably tomorrow, and then polish both with renovating polish, which has a higher dye content. If that leads to a "nearly black" finish, with just a hint of colour shining through in bright light, I've achieved what I wanted.

Worst case scenario, is I dye them again myself. I already have the bottle of aubergine that I'm planning to use on the other shoes. That might work well with the navy, assuming the navy hasn't lost too much colour. If it has, I'll re-dye that too.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

The darker areas actually ended up drying down to close to the original colour, with just a very slight tide mark. The other shoe has since had the same saddle soap treatment, and been allowed to fully dry. Both shoes have also had their first coat of black Cherry Blossom renovating shoe polish, and are showing promise of ending up how I want them. More coats will be needed though before they're ready to show. Maybe another coat of the renovating polish, followed by a coat of Hi Gloss.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Just about there, I reckon. It needs a final buff up, but the colours are nicely subdued now. The green peeks through occasionally, but in other light, they are pretending to be black.

I'll try to bull up the tips with a bit of neutral polish. That might just let a hint of blue peek out. After that, I'll just brush them, and if they do need a bit more of a shine I'll use neutral again.

With a bit of wear time, they might get a little brighter, particularly on the creases, and the more they're worn, the more base colour should come through. If/when they get too bright, I'll break out the black polish again.

 

[johnniegold]

What a great variety of shoes.

The color change on those Samuel Windsor boots is awesome.

Try not to get too lost in the zen of bulling the captoe on those wingtips.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

What a great variety of shoes.

The color change on those Samuel Windsor boots is awesome.

Try not to get too lost in the zen of bulling the captoe on those wingtips.

Thanks Bob

Once they have been final polished, and the disappointing Amen tan/brown shoes have turned purple, I'll put together a summary post of where I'm now at.

 

[johnniegold]

Aside from their functionality, shoes are also about having fun with color, styles, materials, patina, etc.

And of course… bulling.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Aside from their functionality, shoes are also about having fun with color, styles, materials, patina, etc.

And of course… bulling.

For me, this year's shoe madness is partially a voyage of discovery.

A few years ago, my brain went haywire. Complex neurological issues, impacted my vision, balance, spatial awareness, body clock, coordination, and left me with chronic migraines, and other intermittent dysfunctions. One of the many knock on effects, was a complete loss of self-identity. Every marker of who I was as an individual was robbed from me. Working, driving, social interactions, outdoor pursuits, ability to be a fully functional son, brother and uncle, all gone.

As I gradually adjust (VERY slow process) to the change in circumstances and abilities, there's also a need to figure out who is left. Friends and family see this new guy as a continuation of the old guy, but I don't, and I'm kind of figuring it all out from scratch.

I've started writing, occasionally dabbling with musical instruments, partially as brain retraining exercises, but also looking for new hobbies to replace the old. Also, a new self-appraisal of what I can do and might now enjoy.

Overhauling the wardrobe due to weight gain, helped in terms of partitioning past from present, and shoes became part of that. Trainers certainly don't fit with the fat hairy cripple look, or at least, they didn't feel like "me" anymore.

But what does feel like "me"? Who am I now? What do I connect with?

My physical foundation of where I meet the floor, became a bit of a focus, then an obsession. I've kind of burnt out that hunger now, and don't crave new and different as much as I was doing over the last few months, but the journey isn't completed. I need to spend time with the new acquisitions, break them in, and see which do and don't fit the new lifestyle, and which I do and don't connect with.

Some people try to read the character of others from their shoes. In a way, that's exactly what I've been trying to do to myself.

 

[johnniegold]

How apropos that shoes played a large part as you began taking steps on your path towards re-discovering yourself.

Here’s to you continuing to make great strides.

Nicely done.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

After trying to bull them up with neutral wax, I realised I was just clogging all the brogue holes with wax, and had to sit there with a mechanical pencil trying to clear them all again. Once I'd given them a brush to clear the debris, I just gave them a light buff with a dry microfibre cloth. Not mirrors, but good enough for me.

The last few days have been quite overcast, so I had to fall back on a bright torch to show the colours do still emerge in bright light, but no longer have that "clown shoe" look.

The next colour change project is now being lined up. The disappointing two-tone shoes from Amen have had a good scrub with saddle soap, and I'm now just waiting for them to thoroughly dry.

The areas which look undyed, are what I'll be attacking with TRG Easy Dye in aubergine. I don't know how much better it will make them, but I'm looking forward to trying it.

The main thing I'm unsure about, is the brogue holes. I don't know whether to leave those showing the natural leather colour, or try using a syringe, to "spot" colour the leather beneath. There's a risk it could bleed into the brown trim, but then again, there's a risk that might happen when dying the large areas anyway...

 

[StillShaving]

After trying to bull them up with neutral wax, I realised I was just clogging all the brogue holes with wax, and had to sit there with a mechanical pencil trying to clear them all again. Once I'd given them a brush to clear the debris, I just gave them a light buff with a dry microfibre cloth. Not mirrors, but good enough for me.

View attachment 1321730

The last few days have been quite overcast, so I had to fall back on a bright torch to show the colours do still emerge in bright light, but no longer have that "clown shoe" look.

View attachment 1321731

The next colour change project is now being lined up. The disappointing two-tone shoes from Amen have had a good scrub with saddle soap, and I'm now just waiting for them to thoroughly dry.

View attachment 1321732

The areas which look undyed, are what I'll be attacking with TRG Easy Dye in aubergine. I don't know how much better it will make them, but I'm looking forward to trying it.

The main thing I'm unsure about, is the brogue holes. I don't know whether to leave those showing the natural leather colour, or try using a syringe, to "spot" colour the leather beneath. There's a risk it could bleed into the brown trim, but then again, there's a risk that might happen when dying the large areas anyway...

You will be using a shade of purple? Are you not concerned that the dark spots/uneven parts will shine through after dyeing in the new color? I do hope it all comes out well.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

You will be using a shade of purple? Are you not concerned that the dark spots/uneven parts will shine through after dyeing in the new color? I do hope it all comes out well.

No, the dark spots are just wet. A good scrub with saddle soap removed all the waterproofing, and let the water in. There are still variations of course, but I'm reasonably confident in the dye, even if not in my skills.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Managed to get the first coat of aubergine dye on the disappointing Amen brogues today.

Before:

After:

They'll need another coat, but I think it's an improvement.

 

[johnniegold]

@AimlessWanderer

Those look great. Definitely prefer the “after” colorway.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

@AimlessWanderer

Those look great. Definitely prefer the “after” colorway.

Thanks Bob

They need another coat to even up the colour, as they're a little patchy, but I'm very happy so far.

I also need to decide what to do about the brogue holes. They aren't going to be easy to do, without fouling the brown leather...

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I'm a sucker for a bargain!

I got these rather excellent British made deck shoes earlier in the year. Hotter "Harbour" shoes, are in many ways like regular deck shoes, but with a much improved hybrid tread for better dealing with surface water, and with a very well cushioned sole. They should have been £100, but I got them for £45. VERY happy with these. Best pair of decks I've ever owned.

... and I've only gone and done it again!

Same company (Hotter Shoes), but their "Rowan" suede chukka boots.

There's no picture of the soles, but they look like they could be the same excellent, cushioning, hybrid sole as on the "Harbour".

Should be £109, but currently on sale at £35!!! THEN, there's a further discount code on the site at the moment, for 25% off everything. No exceptions for sale items. Even with a modest (£4) shipping charge, they've only cost me £30.