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Sole stitching done well is something that looks lovely, even more so if contrasting, so of course two rows of nice contrasting sole stitching looks marvellous. No wonder this became a thing on the posh spade sole shoes during the first half of the 1900’s. As often is the case though, the reason this type of construction appeared was from the beginning solely practical.
An institution online for all those interested in men’s vintage shoes. The website Classic Shoes for Men collects and sell quality vintage and antique shoes, both used and new, and the library with over 2,500 shoes is a goldmine to dig through.
For the third time, I set the spotlight on some of the finest made shoes you can see today, a collection that Crockett & Jones made for a major international exhibition in 1911. Here I show off a number of models not displayed here before.
These very old Foster & Son bespoke shoes are not the classic black bleached ones the brand is known for, but the bleaching from the original colour is even more than those examples. It’s not much left of the original dark brown colour, mainly due to many decades in their shop window.
For those fond of the charismatic spade sole look one normally would have to hunt for – often very expensive – vintage pieces from the first half of the 1900’s, or find a bespoke shoemaker who could do it properly. Until now, with the new brand Ace of Spades, offering Blake stitched or highly affordable hand welted vintage oozing spade sole shoes as MTO or MTM.
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Some innovations in the shoe area do not survive very long, no matter how practical they actually are. One such example is heels with rotating rubber top piece, so that when you have worn down the back one could easily turn the wheel and get a new part to wear on. Mainly due to aesthetics this didn’t hit it off, and today the solution is forgotten.
The interest in vintage shoes is big in for example the US, Japan and Germany where it’s a niche with a lot of commitment and knowledge among those who are interested. An inspirational source is the blog Vcleat that guides to different manufacturers, its history and how to care for and restore old shoes, something that also those who are not interested in vintage shoes can greatly benefit from.
I’m currently in Japan on a reporting trip for the blog (that’s essentially what the money I receive from advertising on this site goes to), and one of the places I visited is the amazing vintage store Chart in the district Koenji in Tokyo. Here you find hundreds of classic vintage shoes along the walls.
