note from grechen: It’s a little late for vintage week, but I wanted to include this guest post by Princess Poochie of Hello, Lover…Shoe Daydreams about shopping for vintage shoes. Enjoy!!
I have a deep love for shoes (obviously, I know) but what I also have a weakness for are things that are unique, limited, special. And the best way to combine these two great passions? Vintage shoes.
But shopping for vintage shoes can be tricky. Even more so than buying vintage clothes. Just like buying vintage clothes, never trust a size, always ask for dimensions, especially measured from the inside and taking into account the point of the toe box. You will need to know the length of your foot and the measurements of ball of your foot at the widest point. If a shoe is very pointy or narrow, you are going to need account for that. Most vintage shoes, earlier than the 50s are going to be pretty narrow so you may want to go up a size or so to account for that. I typically wear a size 5 in today’s measurements but will look for 5 ½ and 6s in older shoes.
Also make sure you get a lot of pictures of the shoes and a thorough description if you are buying them online. I?ve been burned more than once by scuffs and scars that were hard to see in pictures. Easy things to fix are heel taps and shoe soles and buffing and cleaning of leather. Scars, rips, fabric stains (unless you are going to over-dye them) are harder to deal with. I’ve even found some insoles can be replaced. Unless it is major work, I usually add one of the disposable Kiwi Fresh’ins insoles.
The best thing to look for are vintage deadstock or custom shoes. Deadstock, if you are not familiar with the term, are vintage shoes that have never been worn or sold. I’ve bought some amazing pieces of Joseph La Rose shoes from Circa sixty-three and custom crafted yet unworn shoes from an estate sale via ebay. The gems are out there but you have to hunt for them. Armed with your sizes and a bit of shoe polish, you are going to find amazing craftsmanship and unique pieces that won’t be seen fifty times over. Just don’t take all the small sizes! LuvPoochie
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