WingTip Shoes

[Anthony Jordan]

AJ all your links are the same.

Thanks for the warning - I've gone back and corrected and they should be going to the right places now.

Anthony.

 

[SamMarlowPI]

ought to check out the Style Right Shoe Company of Storm Lake, Iowa...hear they have hi-style wing tip shoes for only $8.95......with their top salesman, Radar O'Rielly lol lol lol lol

 

[dostacos]

http://www.blair.com/webapp/wcs/sto...=87802&pcats=87768,87780,87802&pagenumber=all

Blair has Spectators for $50, the best part for you is they have wide sizes.

with extremely flat feet I would suggest going wider for comfort, and additional room if you want to slip an arch support in the shoes

 

[dostacos]

JC Penneys also has some $50 "wing tips" they have a very padded, and flexible these shoes may not last as long as a good leather soled Florsheim but they will be more comfortable if the hard leather soled shoes hurt your feet.

Dan

 

[onlyoneintown]

Actually it's funny that you said that because I did end up going to Jcpenny and bought me two pairs for $86 a black pair and a burgundy ish color I don't know, the brand of the shoes are DeerStags I don't know anything about brands sorry :-/

 

[tonyb]

One thing about thrift shop merchandise in general, and shoes in particular, is that you have to really look it over before either accepting or rejecting it. A newer pair of shoes on the rack is likely to get your attention quicker than an older, dusty pair will, but it may well be that the older pair will clean up quite nicely and inexpensively.
Case in point: A week or so ago I bought a pair of Florsheim Imperial wingtips -- big, heavy suckers -- for $4.99 plus tax. They didn't look so great on first glance, but I could see that they were in quite solid condition, with no serious gouges or fraying or scuffs. The leather soles are still quite substantial and the heels feature those little pie-wedge-shaped pieces of metal just outboard of the rear centerlines, where the the heels typically see the worst of the wear. In other words, they're still good shoes with lots of wear left in them. I hit the sides of the soles and heels with edge dressing and cleaned and polished the uppers. The large, flat cloth laces (they looked more like athletic shoelaces) got replaced with round ones. The result? A nice pair of black wingtips for something less than 10 bucks total.
Keep in mind that these days lots of shoes are made of all "man made" (read plastic) material. The look nice enough from a few feet away when they're brand new, but really, you don't want to spend your money on 'em.

 

[onlyoneintown]

One thing about thrift shop merchandise in general, and shoes in particular, is that you have to really look it over before either accepting or rejecting it. A newer pair of shoes on the rack is likely to get your attention quicker than an older, dusty pair will, but it may well be that the older pair will clean up quite nicely and inexpensively.
Case in point: A week or so ago I bought a pair of Florsheim Imperial wingtips -- big, heavy suckers -- for $4.99 plus tax. They didn't look so great on first glance, but I could see that they were in quite solid condition, with no serious gouges or fraying or scuffs. The leather soles are still quite substantial and the heels feature those little pie-wedge-shaped pieces of metal just outboard of the rear centerlines, where the the heels typically see the worst of the wear. In other words, they're still good shoes with lots of wear left in them. I hit the sides of the soles and heels with edge dressing and cleaned and polished the uppers. The large, flat cloth laces (they looked more like athletic shoelaces) got replaced with round ones. The result? A nice pair of black wingtips for something less than 10 bucks total.
Keep in mind that these days lots of shoes are made of all "man made" (read plastic) material. The look nice enough from a few feet away when they're brand new, but really, you don't want to spend your money on 'em.

ok got it my luck is sooo bad when I go o thrift stores, I'm going today again hopefully I will find something. I did find a nice pair of wingtips but they were way too big for me so wish me luck for today! I've also been looking for some braces and, nothing.

 

[tonyb]

Give those secondhand braces a thorough inspection before taking 'em to the cash stand. The leather tabs (whatever they're called) that the buttons on the trousers attach to are often either torn or seriously weakened. And often the leather through which those tabs attach to the straps is equally worn. Sometimes the hardware stains the fabric, but the damage isn't evident until you take them home and adjust them to fit.

 

[AlanC]

^In my experience thrift braces are usually in good condition, although tonyb's advice is good for any thrift item including braces. Another thing to look for on braces is the elastic section in the back. Sometimes it's shot.

My policy on thrift items is to try to find the reason why the person got rid of it (hole, tear, stain, etc). Also, be wary of talking yourself into thrift items. Most of the things I get are items that I don't have to think twice about. If there's a reason not to get it, I try to make sure I don't talk myself into it, anyway (sometimes I fail and regret it ).

 

[Orgetorix]

ok got it my luck is sooo bad when I go o thrift stores, I'm going today again hopefully I will find something. I did find a nice pair of wingtips but they were way too big for me so wish me luck for today! I've also been looking for some braces and, nothing.

Keep looking. The key to successful thrifting is patience. Don't be disappointed if you don't find anything when you go once or twice. If you're looking in the right places, and if you know what you're looking for, you'll find a gem on your twentieth or thirtieth or fiftieth trip that will make it all worthwhile.

 

[onlyoneintown]

any advice on what I should be looking for? I kind of don't really know but I try any help at all would be great because I'm going to be leaving in a few over to some thrift shops.

 

[AlanC]

For braces, look for Trafalgar, which is the most common good brand. Also look on the brass adjusters to see if they say 'Made in England' on them. That will be a sign of better quality. You might also run across Brooks Brothers, Cole Haan and Dooney & Bourke, all worth grabbing.

On wingtips, look for better brands like Alden (rarely seen at thrift) and Allen Edmonds (seen fairly regularly). Also look for Florsheim (very commonly seen at thrift). Also old Sears 'longwings' were made by Florsheim, but declined in quality in later years. Make sure soles are leather, etc.

Good luck and don't be discouraged if you don't find what you're after right off. The hardest thing to find thrifting is what you're looking for right then. If you go looking for shoes you may come back with a perfect cashmere coat.

 

[Orgetorix]

If you see shoes with a maker's logo set into the inside lining of the shoe (see below), they should be good ones. Allen-Edmonds still do that, and Florsheim and Bostonian, among others, used to do so back when they were better brands. Not every good shoe will have this, but if you see it you can probably bet it's a decent-quality shoe.

 

[onlyoneintown]

Anything else I should know like that?

I'm glad you said that because I went shoe shopping one day and I didn't trust the people trying to sell me shoes, they kept telling me that they were "high end" shoes etc. but now I know what to look for so thanks!

 

[AlanC]

Take a look at this discussion of various shoe brands. It's a bit overwhelming at first, but it will help you learn what to look for.

To inspire your shoe search, take a look at these John Lobb Paris shoes that recently sold on Style Forum. They're $1400 shoes. The seller found them brand new with John Lobb shoe trees (themselves very expensive items) at a thrift store for about $4 recently. Of course, that's a very uncommon find, but I find Allen Edmonds, Alden and Florsheim pretty often.