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During the course of time various trends have come and gone also within the world of classic shoes. Often these are more special stuff which is seen as cool and beautiful during some time, but then reaction comes and the opposite opinion becomes the ruling opinion. Spade soles are a good example of this. Also briefly about a new online calendar gathering shoe and clothing trunk shows around the world.
One of the main players of second hand welted footwear in Europe, Abbot’s Shoes from the UK, has introduced their Archive Sale section. Here all shoes that’s been with them for over a year will end up, with a 10% discount on the previous pricing. Hundreds of shoes are part now, and new will be added weekly.
New podcast episode with the British-based bespoke shoemaker William Efe Laborde, in a talk where we focus on connecting historic shoemaking, materials and tools with today’s. Among many things you’ll learn which area of shoemaking that he thinks is at an all time high now in present time, why the tools never can be made as good as they were before the World War II again, and much more.
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.
Articles continued:
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.
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.
