[mreams99]

I found a pair of vintage British Walker saddle shoes that appeared to be worn once, then put away for many years. I refinished them with leather dye in Texas Tech colors (black and red).

Now that I've done this, I wonder - what exactly do I wear these with? Perhaps gray chinos? What else.

 

[smmrfld]

What to wear with those? A bag over your head to avoid embarrassment.

 

[Vecchio Vespa]

A Red Raiders mascot costume would be an acceptable substitute if you can’t find the right sort of bag.

 

[eagle2250]

Texas Tech is a really good school...proud history! My Mama always said, "say something nice or don't say anything at all" and I always listened to my Mama. :icon_saint7kg:

 

[Shaver]

Whilst the options may seem rather limited, still, purple moleskins ought to sit quite comfortably atop these saddles. Corn yellow fine wale cords would also be a viable consideration. Further, and whilst I wouldn't you might, black watch is certainly not beyond the realm of possibility here.

 

[mreams99]

A Red Raiders mascot costume would be an acceptable substitute if you can't find the right sort of bag.

The Texas Tech mascot (The Masked Rider) is an interesting idea. It's a style that I'm surprised to see receive recognition on this site.

The scarlet cape might be a bit excessive if you're not riding a horse.

 

[richard warren]

Wear them with any damn thing you want, as long as you would normally wear red shoes with it.

 

[SG_67]

We will see after tonight whether you should wear them.

 

[eagle2250]

^^Indeed,
should they vanquish Virginia, the honorable gentleman from Marysville, Ohio can wear anything he wants!

 

[dragan]

I think you could rock those with either dark denim jeans or black slacks and your favorite Texas Tech polo shirt. I'm rooting for your team tonight! Good Luck.

 

[London380sl]

Well let me be the first to congratulate you on the workmanship of your project. It must have taken hours to color all of those perforations.

Whether I would have gone with that color scheme is another story but that's a personal choice. To me they look like a semi-casual summer shoes so I would wear them with light colored pants such cream or white chinos.
Khaki chinos would also work.
Nantucket red pants with a blue blazer would look pretty sharp with these shoes if you want to get dressed up.
Don't know why but I think they might also work well with a blue seersucker type of pants.
Blue jeans might work depending upon how you look in blue jeans.
Grey (definitely) and black (maybe) slacks might also be an option.

You might want to think outside the box. Here's an example picture most likely taken at Pitti Uomo and the guy is wearing burgundy boat shoes. I could easily see him wearing your saddle shoes with those green pants.
I would never dress like this but I have to admit the guy has an excellent eye for coordinating colors.

 

[Vecchio Vespa]

I was thinking more of the scruffy character with the big red moustache.

 

[London380sl]

Yukon Cornelius?

 

[Vecchio Vespa]

That was an outstanding final. Well played by both teams. So nice to be treated to overtime.

 

[JBierly]

I am impressed by the dye job. How to get the perforations red?! Having said that - you wear them to a texas tech game with anything you damn well please. Other than that your choices are pretty limited. Maybe black jeans and a red shirt?

 

[mreams99]

Everyone mentions the red in the brogue holes. That surprises me.

It wasn’t that complicated. I just dyed them red with a small brush before I dyed the saddle part black. Then I was very careful in applying the black dye around them.

 

[Peak and Pine]

I found a pair of vintage British Walker saddle shoes that appeared to be worn once, then put away for many years. I refinished them with leather dye in Texas Tech colors (black and red).

Now that I've done this, I wonder - what exactly do I wear these with? Perhaps gray chinos? What else.

View attachment 30046 View attachment 30047

Impressive.

Got a few questions. Did you de-gloss before dying, or enough and is that why there is mottling visible at the toe top? Which is not unattractive. What is, a wee bit to me, is failure to mask off the side stitching before dying. Not that that too is unattractive, but a give-away the shoes have been reworked. And you worked too hard on this to be giving stuff away.

 

[mreams99]

Impressive.

Got a few questions. Did you de-gloss before dying, or enough and is that why there is mottling visible at the toe top? Which is not unattractive. What is, a wee bit to me, is failure to mask off the side stitching before dying. Not that that too is unattractive, but a give-away the shoes have been reworked. And you worked too hard on this to be giving stuff away.

I thoroughly stripped the shoes before dying them. There was a a very even base coat of red and then I randomly applied some dye that was mixed a little darker with q-tips and a sea sponge to get the mottled look.
I bought tape to mask the sole edge, and then went without it. I regret that now and would have preferred to keep the contrast stitching.

 

[Peak and Pine]

^

Good.

If you do this again, I've a suggestion that may help. Try 'moveable masking', for tape is a b***h to press in tight in a curved, cramped area. By moveable mask I mean 3 by 5 card stock that you hold tight in the groove 'tween shoe side and sole outcrop, the 3 inch side, and move it as you go. Using a very dry brush, which you probably do anyhow. Like painting a house (which I have to do here this summer), a number of thin coats work better than a gloppy single. Hope you do this again. Consider a cap toe, black maybe, that you strip the hell out of just the cap, redye the cap dark brown, burnish and cream. They'll have to look twice to see it's not standard all-black. And you'll be tbe King of Imaginative Sublety.