The overall quality of classic shoes were very high a number of decades back, and the styles in general works well still today, which means that there’s a lot of interest in vintage men’s shoes. In this episode we dig into the topic together with Takashi “Gucci” Horiguchi who runs one of the most acclaimed vintage shoe stores in the world: Super 8 Shoes in Tokyo.
With this episode of the Shoegazing Podcast we are back in Japan again, back in Tokyo, where I met Takashi Horiguchi, or “Gucci” as he mostly is called, who run the highly hailed vintage classic men’s shoe store Super 8 Shoes. A store that focus on American and British shoes from mainly the 1950’s to 1980’s, known for the overall very good condition of the selection they offer, and quite a large amount of New Old Stock, old shoes that are unworn. The store also has a repair workshop.
Takashi “Gucci” Horiguchi.
During the 15+ years that Gucci has worked with vintage shoes, he’s been extremely dedicated in acquiring knowledge about old shoes, which he now passes on to his customers, both in his physical store and online. Much of the stock in the store comes from numerous trips to mainly the US, where he’s been hunting for good vintage shoes himself. We talk about his journey with Super 8 Shoes, about how vintage shoes differ from the shoes made today, how the interest in vintage classic men’s shoes has developed, and much more.
Listen to the episode below, or in your preferred podcast player. All episodes of the Shoegazing Podcast can be found here. If you enjoy the podcast, please give it a good rating or comment in your podcast player.
In this article you can read more about and see a bunch of photos of a New Old Stock vintage Alden split toe derbies from 1977 that I bought from Super 8 Shoes when I visited for the interview.
In this photo on the bottom shelf, you can see three different Florsheim Kenmoor longwings, and next to them the black Hanover split toe derby that is Gucci’s favourite shoe of all time in his store.
Another episode worth listening to!
Paul: Thanks, glad you think so!