Style police: Teach us!

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Basically everything with Alden is an order regardless, weird sizing or no. So you're far from alone there. Like you say, the key is to have stuff to wear while you're waiting.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Basically everything with Alden is an order regardless, weird sizing or no. So you're far from alone there. Like you say, the key is to have stuff to wear while you're waiting.

A lot of US shops carry stock in Alden in common sizes.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by nik-

My Indy's are going to be my workhorse, I think, once the world finally returns to normal. Now that the ridiculous wait to get my first pair ordered is done, and the sizing is reassured, I want to get a couple more. Firstly the earth chamois.

I wish I could just buy shoes off the shelf in the relatively common sizes, but I can only really do that with AE and I'm bored with AE. Everything else is an order.

+1 on the Indy's and their All-Weather Walker.

I don't like the look of shell, so that saves me a lot of money.

[nik-]

Mine are Color 8 shell, I'm not sure I see the value in jumping up to shell in a black boot though.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

The stuff in stock in US shops is usually not the stuff you want, particularly in shell, and even then you're still paying a bunch of extra money and having to buy without seeing first-hand. As far as boots go, if you're getting something besides one of the basic Indy models (401-405) I would expect that would usually require an order barring very good luck.

You can sometimes get on a special order made for a particular shop like LeatherSoul and get something that way but then you're kind of at the mercy of whatever the shop has dreamed up (which can sometimes be pretty cool).

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Whoops, didn’t realize the pictures were that low-res that the name wasn’t visible. They’re by Magnanni.

I’ve had a few opportunities in the past several months to actually dress up a little and wear one of my nice pairs of dress shoes, and I absolutely loved every minute of it, I’ve missed it so much.

Nice. I've liked the look of Magnanni shoes, but I find their shoes feel tight and uncomfortable on my feet. I think they're a little narrow than other brands or something.

On a side note, wanted to polish and seal some leather shoes, but I realized I've misplaced my kit. Looking into replacements, I've also realized I'm completely forgotten how to do this. Boot wax or mink oil, brush or flannel cloths... ugh. I have completely no idea what is what anymore. I acquired some ages ago and I don't recall what it was and I have no online shopping history to compare to.

[81MC]

Brush>Conditioner>brush>creme>brush>wax>brush>wax and chamois if going for mirror.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Nice. I've liked the look of Magnanni shoes, but I find their shoes feel tight and uncomfortable on my feet. I think they're a little narrow than other brands or something.

On a side note, wanted to polish and seal some leather shoes, but I realized I've misplaced my kit. Looking into replacements, I've also realized I'm completely forgotten how to do this. Boot wax or mink oil, brush or flannel cloths... ugh. I have completely no idea what is what anymore. I acquired some ages ago and I don't recall what it was and I have no online shopping history to compare to.

They definitely take a break-in period. I will occasionally wear them around the house then throw some shoe trees in them to help stretch them out a touch.

Look up "The Elegant Oxford" on YouTube, plenty of tutorials on how to take care of a pair of leather shoes and what products to use. There's also "Kirby Allison" who has a few good tutorials for conditioning and shining and similar guidance on products, although I do find him a bit... starchy.

Polishing cloths, get some 100% cotton towels from Canadian Tire in the auto detailing section. That's all you need. That or old white t-shirts cut up into usable sizes, no logos.

For rehydration, I use mink oil on my cowboy boots, I don't think I'd use it on my dress shoes. Use something like Cadillac Boot & Shoe Care, Saphir Renovateur, or a similar leather hydration cream for that. I have a vintage Louis Vuitton canvas briefcase bag and Cadillac worked a treat on the leather details.

For polishing, I have a bunch of Safir waxes and cream polishes (black, brown, oxblood, and neutral), and I have some color matching and neutral Saphir 'Mirror Gloss' which I used on the Magnannis this morning and they look great.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Brush>Conditioner>brush>creme>brush>wax>brush>wax and chamois if going for mirror.

Is this the contra cheat code for fashionable shoes?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Brush>Conditioner>brush>creme>brush>wax>brush>wax and chamois if going for mirror.

That is not how you spit polish shoes

[81MC]

That’s exactly how you polish shoes.

[LChoy]

Not sure if this is the right place, but what do you guys do for belts?
Been thinking of getting those holeless ones, preferably from a Canadian company. I pretty much wear a belt with all my pants, but at least the weather kinds gradually wear away at the part the fastens to the buckle.

any recommendations for versatile every day belts in black and browns?

Thank you,

LChoy

[TorqueDog]

I haven't seen any specifically Canadian companies offering ratchet belts, but I have four Anson belts (standard, not their Premium line) and they've been decent, however I have noticed one of the polished finish belt buckles is starting to show a bit of a brassy colour in some spots, suggesting the finish is wearing off. I'm interesting in trying Nexbelt next time as they have some dressier options.

Anson: https://www.ansonbelt.com/
Nexbelt: https://www.nexbelt.com/

[Slava]

These guys were at the Spruce Meadows Christmas Market and I bought a couple of their belts. I can't really say...as it's only been a month or so, but they seem good to me at this point.

https://knktbelts.com/

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

They definitely take a break-in period. I will occasionally wear them around the house then throw some shoe trees in them to help stretch them out a touch.

Look up "The Elegant Oxford" on YouTube, plenty of tutorials on how to take care of a pair of leather shoes and what products to use. There's also "Kirby Allison" who has a few good tutorials for conditioning and shining and similar guidance on products, although I do find him a bit... starchy.

Polishing cloths, get some 100% cotton towels from Canadian Tire in the auto detailing section. That's all you need. That or old white t-shirts cut up into usable sizes, no logos.

For rehydration, I use mink oil on my cowboy boots, I don't think I'd use it on my dress shoes. Use something like Cadillac Boot & Shoe Care, Saphir Renovateur, or a similar leather hydration cream for that. I have a vintage Louis Vuitton canvas briefcase bag and Cadillac worked a treat on the leather details.

For polishing, I have a bunch of Safir waxes and cream polishes (black, brown, oxblood, and neutral), and I have some color matching and neutral Saphir 'Mirror Gloss' which I used on the Magnannis this morning and they look great.

I bought a pair of brown leather boots that were a kind of matte leather look for cheap.

I was thinking to do a boot repair wipe down of it to address any tiny bit of salt that may have gotten past the base protection and then do some form of basic seal to maintain the look. But now I'm starting to think that after I do the wipe down, I'll consider getting some stuff to properly seal it even if it change the boots to look kinda shiny.

I also have some other dress shoes that somehow ended getting dirty snow drip on them (damn other dummy people who are careless at a communal shoe rack for wet shoes). And another situation where water splashed on them when there was a spill at a sink. I need to check them, and do some maintenance on them if necessary and then seal/polish them up.

In the past I had a mish mash of stuff and I'd just use whatever I had in my kit that was good enough. Now I guess I have the opportunity to buy 3-5 items to build a better kit than what I had before.


On a random note, does anyone know what to do with shoes that have a marking sole? I have a pair of To Boot New York that leave black marks all over floors. It's honestly annoying and embarrassing to have to run back and constantly rub the rubber marks off the office floor. Other than that floor marking facet, I do like the dress shoe.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by LChoy

Not sure if this is the right place, but what do you guys do for belts?
Been thinking of getting those holeless ones, preferably from a Canadian company. I pretty much wear a belt with all my pants, but at least the weather kinds gradually wear away at the part the fastens to the buckle.

any recommendations for versatile every day belts in black and browns?

Thank you,

LChoy

Like... a premature patina on the metal stuff? I think it depends on the type of fastener. I have some belts that have barely any wear other than leather stretch (usually a shiny metal material). Others look hella aged with patina relatively quickly.

I think it depends on a few things, do you want casual (ish) belts or more formal looking belts? The metal on the ones I get at Brooks Brothers have never faded and I wear 2-3 of them on regular rotation daily at work.

Belt buckle/fastener types might help with the wear of the length of the belt material itself, but I don't think it really helps with the patina that might occur on the buckle or clasp (ratchet, traditional or double rings). I think that's purely on quality of materials and materials type?

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

On a random note, does anyone know what to do with shoes that have a marking sole? I have a pair of To Boot New York that leave black marks all over floors. It's honestly annoying and embarrassing to have to run back and constantly rub the rubber marks off the office floor. Other than that floor marking facet, I do like the dress shoe.

Topy them.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Topy them.

This Topy/Vibram half sole concept is intriguing. I had no clue you could do something like this.

[mile]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I love a good summer jacket. Uniqlo makes a really beautiful utility jacket which this reminded me of and is easily one of the most comfortable things in the world and an incredible price: https://www.uniqlo.com/ca/en/product...olorCode=COL56

Random bump. Are these still going to return this year?

[_Q_]

I have recently discovered Spier & MacKay.

I purchased a couple of jackets and 2 pairs of Chinos from them. Their style is on fire and their prices are fantastic for the quality you get.

Yes they do have summer weight jackets, just search through their outerwear collection.
https://www.spierandmackay.com/collection/outerwear

Be warned, they do sell out fairly fast and don't always restock. They are a Canadian brand so there is no shipping/returns/taxation drama involved.

If anyone is interested, PM me. I have a 20% off coupon code that I can share.