Curious about vintage shoes.

[cameraflier]

Howdy.

I'm in the market for some new dress shoes. I started snooping around, and it looks like vintage shoes are a possibility. after a bit og googling, it seems I could score some older, somewhat used but high-end shoes, for a moderate price. I even see way-old, way-nice shoes for less than new Bostonians.

Have you guys had experience with this? Any leads or lessons-learned you'd care to share?


Many thanks,
-c

 

[Doc4]

Any second hand clothing I'd get would be well cleaned before I'd wear it. Suits can be sent to the dry cleaner, but I can't think of how I'd clean old shoes.

This may or may not bother you.

 

[deoxy4]

I recently bought a new pair of Nettleton split toe bluchers at a yard sale for $20. I would guess that they were made pre 60's. Really nicely made. I kick myself because I bought the black shoes and left a dark brown pair behind. I don't know what I was thinking at the time.

 

[Tim_McD]

I have purchased lightly used Allen Edmonds shoes on eBay; the key is to check the soles to ensure that they are lightly worn and havent been resoled by a cobbler. My biggest score to-date was a pair of shell cordovan Graysons for about $30 shipped. I have watched Aldens as well, but those usually run more than I am willing to pay for a pair of used shoes.

I still do a bit of bottom feeding on the 'Bay, just to snag the once-in-a-blue-moon pair of shoes that nobody bothered to bid on, but I have found that using the Allen Edmonds Shoebank outlet to be preferable.

The Shoebank gets you immediate gratification, with discontinued or slightly imperfect shoes that are very affordable. The significantly blemished / shop worn / returned shoes go to eBay retailers (quality & price varies) - while the Shoebank shoes are new.

The Shoebank seconds have imperfections so slight that you may never notice and the discontinued models are all first quality.

 

[hawgsquatch]

Any second hand clothing I'd get would be well cleaned before I'd wear it. Suits can be sent to the dry cleaner, but I can't think of how I'd clean old shoes.

This may or may not bother you.

Bowling alleys use a "spray of death" type product that must be working fine for them?

 

[Doc4]

Bowling alleys use a "spray of death" type product that must be working fine for them?

You ever tried talking to longtime bowling alley workers?

(Actually, that may be a decent idea.)

 

[cameraflier]

links like this that got me wondering….

http://www.theshoesnobblog.com/2012/06/restoring-old-shoes.html

I haven't ruled it out yet.


I was in two vintage/junk shops this week, checking the offerings. I saw a nice pair of cap toes, but they were too small. For $25, I would have tried the experiment. If find some good candidates, I'll report back here.