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Affordable leather-soled black patent shoes?

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BigBrother

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Just posted asking for suggestions for shoes similar to these:


as they are a perfect mix of comfort, materials, and price for my vintage ensembles and dancing.

But I wanted to ask specifically here in this post about black patent leather shoes for formal wear outfits and dancing. I'm looking for a <= $200 shoe with leather sole and rubber heel, probably a smooth design but can be captoe as well. These usually tend to be very expensive for some reason (is the lacquering process really that costly? :))

Any suggestions? Thanks so much!!!
 
#2 ·
BigBrother said:
Just posted asking for suggestions for shoes similar to these:


as they are a perfect mix of comfort, materials, and price for my vintage ensembles and dancing.

But I wanted to ask specifically here in this post about black patent leather shoes for formal wear outfits and dancing. I'm looking for a <= $200 shoe with leather sole and rubber heel, probably a smooth design but can be captoe as well. These usually tend to be very expensive for some reason (is the lacquering process really that costly? :))

Any suggestions? Thanks so much!!!
Click to expand...
Most expensive patent shoes are for evening wear. They are designed to make the wearer just as miserable as their partner is in high heels. Dancing in them is a horrible idea. All they are good for is kicking off at the opera once the lights dim or standing near the bar at a lighted event. I'd look at jazz shoes.

Welcome to Ask Andy!
 
#3 ·
I agree with TKI. I have never worn patent leather shoes with evening clothes or dinner suits -- and I never will! My reason is that, in addition to being bloody uncomfortable, as TKI says, they are also terrible-looking. There are no patent leather shoes that I have seen that do not appear plasticky. Lacquering originally used linseed oil, back in the early 1800s, when Seth Boyden invented the process. Now the finish is actually plastic, no wonder the shoes look plasticky. How many of us would wear plastic shoes as opposed to leather ones?

In every situation requiring black or white tie, a pair of well-polished black calfskin oxfords, laced in the dressier way with straight rather than crossed lacing, will be eminently serviceable and correct. You can, if you wish, do what I used to do during national service in India for a mirror shine with black ammunition boots: You apply a liberal amount of black wax polish to the boots, especially the toecap, then let it sit in the hot sun for 15 to 20 minutes. Then you brush with a good quality horsehair brush, sprinkle water (we just spat, LOL) on the leather and use a good soft piece of cloth (an old T shirt is perfect) to buff the devil out of the boots/shoes. The captoe oxfords will come out looking like patent leather but without the plasticky look.

The other alternative, of course is to wear dress pumps or slippers made to accompany evening clothes. But I am not sure how well they will serve you if you are dancing in them. I suppose it depends on the kind of dancing you will do -- a sedate waltz, or something more spirited and lively?
 
#4 ·
I've tried wearing patent leather shoes and they proved to be among the most uncomfortable shoes I have ever put on my feet. They cannot compare in any way to the comfort afforded by calf hide. Buy a quality pair of calf hide shoes and then spit-shine them. That has been my choice for shoes to go with formal wear! I also get a lot more wear out of the calf hide shoes. Good luck in your hunt. ;)
 
#5 · (Edited)
If you want a comfortable, quality inexpensive cap toe that can withstand hard wear, you might consider this one by Sanders and Sanders. It's part of their less expensive uniform line which are the shoes they sell to British officers. Priced at right around $200, it's likely corrected grain, but not junk. Give it a good spit shine, and you'll forget all about needing patent leather.

Will require a little breaking in, but last almost forever if properly cared for with trees, and with heels and soles when needed.

British sizes are 1 size larger than the same U.S. numeric size. This shoe comes in two widths, their standard which is roughly equivalent to a U.S. D width. And their wide, which is roughly equivalent to a U.S. E width. The last is a comfortable traditional round toe.

Standard width -


Wider width -


100% guaranteed correct for evening wear when polished, and for dancing.
oxford-p178-17222_image.jpg
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
TKI67 said:
Most expensive patent shoes are for evening wear. They are designed to make the wearer just as miserable as their partner is in high heels. Dancing in them is a horrible idea. All they are good for is kicking off at the opera once the lights dim or standing near the bar at a lighted event. I'd look at jazz shoes.

Welcome to Ask Andy!
Click to expand...
Absolutely hilarious. I loved reading this. :)

Question though about the jazz shoes- I took a quick gander and they seemed more like the snout of a Dr. Seuss character than anything I would dare wear in the evening. Did I miss something? Thanks.
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
drpeter said:
I agree with TKI. I have never worn patent leather shoes with evening clothes or dinner suits -- and I never will! My reason is that, in addition to being bloody uncomfortable, as TKI says, they are also terrible-looking. There are no patent leather shoes that I have seen that do not appear plasticky. Lacquering originally used linseed oil, back in the early 1800s, when Seth Boyden invented the process. Now the finish is actually plastic, no wonder the shoes look plasticky. How many of us would wear plastic shoes as opposed to leather ones?

In every situation requiring black or white tie, a pair of well-polished black calfskin oxfords, laced in the dressier way with straight rather than crossed lacing, will be eminently serviceable and correct. You can, if you wish, do what I used to do during national service in India for a mirror shine with black ammunition boots: You apply a liberal amount of black wax polish to the boots, especially the toecap, then let it sit in the hot sun for 15 to 20 minutes. Then you brush with a good quality horsehair brush, sprinkle water (we just spat, LOL) on the leather and use a good soft piece of cloth (an old T shirt is perfect) to buff the devil out of the boots/shoes. The captoe oxfords will come out looking like patent leather but without the plasticky look.

The other alternative, of course is to wear dress pumps or slippers made to accompany evening clothes. But I am not sure how well they will serve you if you are dancing in them. I suppose it depends on the kind of dancing you will do -- a sedate waltz, or something more spirited and lively?
Click to expand...
Certainly something more spirited and lively- generally Swing and Rock & Roll. One of the reasons I actually do like the look is specifically *because* it's so iconic for 50s formal wear. So yes, there is a bit of costuming involved here :). That said, I suppose I'd be open to the polished Oxfords idea. I know it's an easy Google search away, but do you have any pics of this as an example? I'm hard-pressed to believe they would look as good, but maybe if you show me the right reference (?) Thanks!
 
#9 ·
Image
BigBrother said:
Absolutely hilarious. I loved reading this. :)

Question though about the jazz shoes- I took a quick gander and they seemed more like the snout of a Dr. Seuss character than anything I would dare wear in the evening. Did I miss something? Thanks.
Click to expand...
There are jazz shoes that may not withstand close scrutiny for period correctness but look like shiny or patents oxfords. I used to be a dancer (ballet and modern) and find patent shoes cripplingly painful.

Here is a pair of men's Capezios.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
TKI67 said:
View attachment 60212
There are jazz shoes that may not withstand close scrutiny for period correctness but look like shiny or patents oxfords. I used to be a dancer (ballet and modern) and find patent shoes cripplingly painful.

Here is a pair of men's Capezios.
Click to expand...
Yeesh. No offense intended, but I would never wear something like that with an otherwise well-tailored and hard fought sharp tuxedo. I've been gradually, over the years, replacing every part of my formal wear with film-quality lines, materials, and tailoring. This is not to say expensive, but simply correct (think 1940s films like Moon Over Miami.) I essentially want to walk in and look like one of those characters. I remember a vintage store friend of mine warned me, when shopping for vintage menswear, to look at day to day civilian pictures and not movie stars or promotional materials, to which I thought, "that is *exactly* what I'm going to look at! Why would I want anything less? Of course those looks were achievable, they just required extra time and effort." And, sure enough, it's coming together.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
drpeter said:
Here's a pic of the kind of shoes I had in mind. These shoes could easily be made shinier by water, cloth and elbow grease.

Click to expand...
It is an interesting proposition. Neophyte questions here- how long would a high shine polish usually last in terms of evenings out, if you had to guess? And do I have to be careful with the polish getting on things if, say, I need to throw them in a bag to go somewhere?
 
#13 ·
BigBrother said:
It is an interesting proposition. Neophyte questions here- how long would a high shine polish usually last in terms of evenings out, if you had to guess? And do I have to be careful with the polish getting on things if, say, I need to throw them in a bag to go somewhere?
Click to expand...
My memory from the Navy is a week of work during much of one's spare time produced a patent quality shine. It requires lots of tiny circles with something soft like an old T shirt, a little Kiwi, and a little water and/or alcohol. Do not overdo the amount of polish or it will melt in heat. A bag would be a good precaution.
 
#14 · (Edited)
As TKI suggests, the brush should be used to take off the polish, and then the cloth buffing will convert the leather surface to a hard shine. This should keep any polish from the shoes getting on other things like clothes, or the cuffs/bottoms of trousers. It is also a wise idea to keep the shoes stored away from heat.

Since you have said that your questions are those of a neophyte, I thought the following suggestions might be useful:

High quality shoes are often sold with soft, cotton flannel shoe bags. I have Alden and Allen Edmonds pairs which came with a shoebag for each shoe. They will protect them and your clothes when you are packing them into a suitcase. Also, when they are off your feet, it is a good idea to store all shoes with shoe trees inside them to preserve shape. Both shoebags and shoe trees can be purchased cheaply on eBay or similar venues. I often find them in thrift shops at a couple of dollars a pair!

Scratches and scuffs on shoes can be fixed with a bit of polish and some cloth. One should expect some of this damage with shoes as you wear them, but if they are properly treated, they will simply add to the patina of the shoe. You may also want to invest in good quality cream and wax polishes (they serve different purposes). The best products for shoe cleaning, restoration and maintenance are from a French company called Saphir.

There are several Youtube channels devoted to shoes and shoe care, and you might want to check some of these out. Kirby Allison, Trenton and Heath and The Elegant Oxford are three channels that I recommend highly for those interested in shoes. Mr Allison also has an online shop and I have bought shoe supplies from him, including Saphir products and even a deer bone for polishing my cordovan shoes, LOL.

The Shoegazing blog, maintained by Jesper Ingevaldsson, is an excellent source of information about everything related to shoes. He is Swedish (and the blog used to be only in Swedish), but while English is a second language for him, he is quite good at writing in English, except for the occasional odd usage or grammatical error. There are lots of past articles on every aspect of shoes.

shoegazing.com

Shoegazing.com

Shoegazing is one of the largest blogs in the world on quality shoes, mainly welted footwear. Articles on shoe care, shoe construction, buying guides and more
shoegazing.com shoegazing.com

And lastly, the best book on shoemaking, cordwainers and cobblers I have seen is Handmade Shoes for Men (1999) by the famed Hungarian shoemaker Laszlo Vass of Budapest and colleagues. It is gorgeously produced, with information on masses of things, and beautiful photographs and illustrations. You can find a review here:


Happy reading and viewing!
 
#16 ·
Granted, it has been 37 years ago, but as an enlisted man in the Navy I never wore the cheap looking plasticky corfam shoes even for formal inspections.

It did take extra work but I received countless compliments from both senior enlisted and officers on the outstanding shine on my shoes.

The best compliment I ever received was from my own father who was still an active duty Naval Aviator when I began my hitch. I still have the shoes with trees and cotton white sweat socks covering them.
 
#17 ·
127.72 MHz said:
Granted, it has been 37 years ago, but as an enlisted man in the Navy I never wore the cheap looking plasticky corfam shoes even for formal inspections.

It did take extra work but I received countless compliments from both senior enlisted and officers on the outstanding shine on my shoes.

The best compliment I ever received was from my own father who was still an active duty Naval Aviator when I began my hitch. I still have the shoes with trees and cotton white sweat socks covering them.
Click to expand...
Corfam was one of the worst things to happen in Navy, almost as bad as camo.
 
#18 ·
BigBrother said:
It is an interesting proposition. Neophyte questions here- how long would a high shine polish usually last in terms of evenings out, if you had to guess? And do I have to be careful with the polish getting on things if, say, I need to throw them in a bag to go somewhere?
Click to expand...
Lots and yes.

TKI67 said:
My memory from the Navy is a week of work during much of one's spare time produced a patent quality shine. It requires lots of tiny circles with something soft like an old T shirt, a little Kiwi, and a little water and/or alcohol. Do not overdo the amount of polish or it will melt in heat. A bag would be a good precaution.
Click to expand...
Brings back memories of the flight line at Keesler AFB. Every day at noon in the summer we'd assemble on the flight line to march back to the barracks from class, and every day after 5 minutes on the tarmac, there'd be a black puddle around everybody's shoes. 🤣
 
#19 ·
Flanderian said:
Lots and yes.

Brings back memories of the flight line at Keesler AFB. Every day at noon in the summer we'd assemble on the flight line to march back to the barracks from class, and every day after 5 minutes on the tarmac, there'd be a black puddle around everybody's shoes. 🤣
Click to expand...
An example of just how forward thing mother Air Force was...those puddles of polish kept the tarmac well sealed and resilient against the effects of bad weather! LOL. ;)
 
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