Shoes that look better with age...

[poly800rock]

aha. i've been waiting for your appearance here. man, are those only like 1 or 2 months old? can't wait to see what happens to your boots after a year.

yeah, took your advice about the polish. But it's really hard for me to coat it evenly for some reason. I applied a lighter polish a while ago and don't plan on polishing these for a while. I get compliments on them all the time. Now only if I had money for the cordovan ones. Maybe next year.

[emmitbrown]

wow those are gorgeous....what luck. thought about selling? lol

if they weren't my size i probably would have put them in the supermarket.

[rirakuma]

I stepped on bubblegum with my AE westagates and now its pretty much impossible to scratch it out without damaging the soles. Does anyone have tips on how to get rid of gum on a wooden sole? Thanks in advance

[fre-co]

Oh how I hate gum......

Those soles are leather surely? I guess you can rub the gum with an ice cube and scrape it off when it is cold? I wouldn't worry about scratching the soles anyway as you'll be walking on them.

[rirakuma]

Thanks fresco, I'll try the ice cube first. I removed most of it with a screwdriver and I was gonna get the rest off with a chisel but yeah...

[GregNYC]

Oh how I hate gum......

Those soles are leather surely? I guess you can rub the gum with an ice cube and scrape it off when it is cold? I wouldn't worry about scratching the soles anyway as you'll be walking on them.

Or put the shoe in the freezer.

You can get gum off while it's soft by dabbing at it with another gob of gum. The gum sticks to itself. This way you can get little pieces and even the film - stuff that won't come off by chipping off frozen pieces...

[fre-co]

I'm going to ask this age old question again.....

White's semi-dress sizing - How is it?

Greg, you might be ably to help me out here as we are a pretty similar size.

I have red wing 875 in 9.5D which I think are too big, probably 9D or 9E would be better. Alden Indies I have 8.5EEE and could probably go with EE. Trickers I wear 8.5(uk) wide fitting, I think this translates to a US9E.

I was thinking probably a 9E in semi dress.

Any comments?

[edmond]

fresco thats good choice fo rsemi dress sizing

i wear size 9d on rw's gt and size 9 on lw carpenters

i got a size 8.5e on semi dress

[son2silver]

Alden shell in various models for 25% off retail:

http://clothing.search.ebay.com/_Mens-Shoes_W0QQcatrefZC12QQsacatZ63850QQsassZwiseiii

Also from description: "I am an Alden dealer and can order any style, color, or size that you like."

Seller also has Indy for $30 off MSRP.

[percy]

i ordered some grenson albert a couple of weeks ago and had pretty much decided to send them back cos i wanted the money to spend on some new jeans. however, when they arrived i was pleasantly surprised at how nice they were and now i dont know whether to keep or return!

couple of pics:

[braid]

Fre$co, I wear same size Tricker's (8.5 UK, 5 width) and I believe my White's are size 9 US. They were custom fitted but I remember the lady saying my feet are size 9.

You could find a White's dealer near you and get them custom fitted...

[fre-co]

Thanks for the advice demonito and braidkid. Yeah the ideal thing would be to get fitted but i can't do that here in London. My intention was to order them through Bill and have them delivered when I am visiting NYC in April but I'm not sure it will work out now.

I wondered if there were stockists in NYC or Vegas as those are the places I will visit in April. Do dealers hold stocks of the standard fits and colours or are they all made to order? If I could just go in a shop and buy them that would be great.

Nice grensons Percy.

[edmond]

got mine thru bill he will help you out anddjust to your schedule if he needs to give him a call

[hawkeye]

NY Times has confirmed, brown shoes are the new black shoes...

[amlai]

NY Times has confirmed, brown shoes are the new black shoes...

They're a bit slow on the draw... the various Men's clothing forums (SF, AAAC) have been advocating this for years now. The only thing you probably shouldn't wear brown shoes with are black pants.

[patrickBOOTH]

They're a bit slow on the draw... the various Men's clothing forums (SF, AAAC) have been advocating this for years now. The only thing you probably shouldn't wear brown shoes with are black pants.

I don't know. The only thing I think brown shoes look good with are navy suits. I don't own any navy suits, only black and greys, therefore I stay away from brown shoes as cool as they do look when aged.

[the Repeater]

Me too. Among the wristwatch collectors I know, there are many very wealthy people. One guy has 400 watches, the cheapest of which is $4K, the most expensive like $250K. Sometimes they try to dress down and look regular, say with regular Levis and an untucked shirt. But look at their shoes, and they're always expensive. Not always stylish in the way of SF or AA or STLBWA, but expensive or designer nevertheless. Expensive watch, expensive shoes, and the rest intended as kind of a disguise.

I call this "the Jay Leno." Money can't buy class, yo.

[Tarmac]

i ordered some grenson albert a couple of weeks ago and had pretty much decided to send them back cos i wanted the money to spend on some new jeans. however, when they arrived i was pleasantly surprised at how nice they were and now i dont know whether to keep or return!

Nice shoes. If you don't already have some wingtips, I would keep them, they look good.

I find myself getting waaay more shoes than denim. I've pretty much sold off every pair of jeans I have except 4, and yet I have over 30 pairs of dress shoes. One of the main reasons is that its better for your shoes to rotate, while its better for your jeans to just keep wearing the same ones over and over.

[amlai]

I don't know. The only thing I think brown shoes look good with are navy suits. I don't own any navy suits, only black and greys, therefore I stay away from brown shoes as cool as they do look when aged.

I think it depends on how light the grey is. Dark grey can be mistaken for black and there I'd agree. But, on a light grey suit, I think brown looks pretty good.

[hawkeye]

They're a bit slow on the draw... the various Men's clothing forums (SF, AAAC) have been advocating this for years now. The only thing you probably shouldn't wear brown shoes with are black pants.

Very late, it's really funny that they are even posting this at all... I think brown shoes and black pants looks really good in certian situations I guess, all the girls in NY with their skinny black jeans and brown boots look pretty damn good to me.

I don't know. The only thing I think brown shoes look good with are navy suits. I don't own any navy suits, only black and greys, therefore I stay away from brown shoes as cool as they do look when aged.

Brown shoes with grey looks great, but I agree on the navy, they look perfect with navy.

[coleslawyum]

Percy – you could always put them on the market, while deciding whether to keep them.

But those Grenson's are superfly.

amlai – light grey suit and tan shoes = classic.

[amlai]

I find myself getting waaay more shoes than denim. I've pretty much sold off every pair of jeans I have except 4, and yet I have over 30 pairs of dress shoes. One of the main reasons is that its better for your shoes to rotate, while its better for your jeans to just keep wearing the same ones over and over.

I was commenting to one of my colleagues that in clinical research (unlike other areas of academia) wearing denim to work is fairly uncommon and that people usually wore chinos or wool trousers. He then replied, well, I've noticed over the years that it actuality doesn't matter what shirt or pants you wear (to important meetings), but what shoes you wear (and that he supported wearing denim to work). So, I took this comment in 2 ways... wearing denim to work is okay and one should have good shoes... preferably lots of them.

[GregNYC]

fre$co, demonito - here are my size equivalences. Don't laugh at my wide foot, I can wear other sizes, but these are the most comfortable:

9E - Crockett and Jones

9.5EE - Red Wings

9.5EEE - Alden

9.5E - White's

Percy - great, beautiful! I can't answer for you, but how does it fit? A good fitting beautiful well-made shoe is hard to find. For my myself & I, I prefer boots to shoes, so I'd return these for boots if possible. If not, then I'd order some denim and get boots elsewhere. But I'm kinda extreme in that....

[percy]

thanks for comments guys. i got these from pediwear so i would be able to return or swap if i chose to. to be honest i really like them so i think i may even keep them, i dont actually need any new jeans/clothes.. although i do have my eye on a ps3!

greg, they actually fit spot on which is another bonus considering i hadnt tried any on. i too like boots but i just liked the asthetic of these shoes, plus makes a change from wearing sneakers.

[coleslawyum]

I think these accessories are important:

A great pair of glasses (if you wear them)

A great watch (if you wear one)

A great belt

And of course a great pair of shoes that are taken care of.

I agree with everyone that a good pair of shoes can bring up an outfit, even a t-shirt and jeans. I've stopped wearing sneakers 2 years ago because of this, and I find the more I wear leather shoes the more comfortable they become.

[Charlie Delta]

Anyone with further thoughts about a specific SuperLeather part of the forum, go here, as to not fill this (now nearly 300 pages long) thread even more...

Thanks for all the reactions so far!

[fre-co]

I was commenting to one of my colleagues that in clinical research (unlike other areas of academia) wearing denim to work is fairly uncommon and that people usually wore chinos or wool trousers. He then replied, well, I've noticed over the years that it actuality doesn't matter what shirt or pants you wear (to important meetings), but what shoes you wear (and that he supported wearing denim to work). So, I took this comment in 2 ways... wearing denim to work is okay and one should have good shoes... preferably lots of them.

Thats interesting. I too work in medical research and here in the UK there is a very clear distinction in the clothing of young researchers with medical degrees and young researchers from a purely scientific background. The medics will always be wearing trousers and shoes and the scientists will mostly be seen in denim.

Thanks for the input Greg.

[familyman]

I've been considering a pair of pull on boots for my next pair. Something along the lines of RM Williams yard boot.

Maybe even the Grenson Sharman: http://www.pediwear.co.uk/detail.php?stock_ID=2139

Something casual to yank on when running the kids to school, that sort of thing. Any suggestions along these lines?

[jubei]

Very late, it's really funny that they are even posting this at all... I think brown shoes and black pants looks really good in certian situations I guess, all the girls in NY with their skinny black jeans and brown boots look pretty damn good to me.

Brown shoes with grey looks great, but I agree on the navy, they look perfect with navy.

^ +1 to all of this

[GregNYC]

Superleather Indies

In anticipation of the new Superleather forum, I decided to send my new Indies to a cobbler to make a pair of "superleather Indies."

Here's the plan:

-Double-leather soles with high-grade German Rendenbach oak-tanned leather, one of the world's best (used by Edward Green)

http://lederfabrik-rendenbach.de/index_gb.html

-Full leather R.B. heel w/ metal V-plate over the strike zone

-Same welt as the Indies, and they'll keep the Indy welt if possible

-Sole heavily stitched into an inset leather gutter, the Alden does it

-Heel nailed on, also features brass tacks

-Neutral edge dressing!

They'll be done in 2 weeks and are gonna cost an arm and a leg!

I forgot to mention, I get compliments on Indies about every time I wear them. I think they catch people's eye because of the neutral colored welt and slipsole. Just yesterday a lady from my office told me she wants a pair, and is gonna go to Alden to see if they have anything that small.

So where can this be done? Well, Eddie's would be more than capable of doing this work. But I found a place here in NYC that has been around over 100 years. What convinced me to get the work done there is that they had a pair of Florsheims re-soled in a very similar way, and seem to understand what I wanted. Allen Edmunds takes their shoes there occasionally for recrafting, and according to AE, these guys are one of the few places that can repair damage to uppers. The know and appreciate high-end shoes. They know about SF and AAAC, and now they know about SuFu. I asked them to do an extra good job because I was gonna take photos that would be seen all around the world. They also have Cat's Paw heels (they think they can get soles if people want them) and Dainite soles (they can get them), as well as tons of Vibram.

Check 'em out: B. Nelson Shoe Recrafters

We'll see!