Horace wrote:

c.1961

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/6470 … cb5.th.jpg

and c. 1962:

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/9531 … yd9.th.jpg

Where did I miss this thread...especially like the top of your most recent three. Weejun Love, heh.

This is perhaps the most appropriate thread to post this question on.

Would anyone know where I can lay my hands on a pair of 1940`s US army/USAF officers shoes  or a decent reproduction of ?

I have seen pictures of these shoes from when the US millitary were stationed in the UK during the second world war, they look to be an amazingley robust shoe and aestheticly pleasing.

TB-D wrote:

This is perhaps the most appropriate thread to post this question on.

Would anyone know where I can lay my hands on a pair of 1940`s US army/USAF officers shoes  or a decent reproduction of ?

I have seen pictures of these shoes from when the US millitary were stationed in the UK during the second world war, they look to be an amazingley robust shoe and aestheticly pleasing.

??????????? http://www.dehner.com/CAT-UNIFORM.HTML  ????????????? (You may have to return to "Home" to access the menu)

Last edited by Howard (2007-10-07 16:46:43)

Horace wrote:

One from Bass, c. 1974:

Looks like Weejuns were crappy low-end shoes, even three decades ago...

TB-D wrote:

This is perhaps the most appropriate thread to post this question on.

Would anyone know where I can lay my hands on a pair of 1940`s US army/USAF officers shoes  or a decent reproduction of ?

I have seen pictures of these shoes from when the US millitary were stationed in the UK during the second world war, they look to be an amazingley robust shoe and aestheticly pleasing.

Buzz Rickson makes a pair. Details here.

Last edited by katon (2008-03-22 14:49:52)

^ There seems to be a jump between the 50s Weejuns and the 70s Weejuns, at least from the ads Horace has posted.

A very different looking shoe to the one I've known for 23 years.

Tony Ventresca wrote:

Russell_Street wrote:

A very different looking shoe to the one I've known for 23 years.

Yes the one above resembles more the Alden penny loafer, than the current Weejun.

Don't it?

I've seen Bass Ads from '65 which look like the shoos I knew in '85, but those '59-ers are flat little fellows aren't they? Where's that toe box?

From SI Dec 4 '61

The ‘61s shown are the Weejuns I wore in High School (‘61-‘64), and I recall paying $14.95 for the first pair(s) I purchased.  I remember that figure because I found it noteworthy at the time that the London Fog golf jacket, the U.S. answer to the Baracuta G9 but with self cuffs and hem rather than knit, cost exactly the same, and it was de riguer to wear them both together with chinos/khakis and OCBDs.  Somewhere in that period though, I switched allegiance to Bostonian “weejuns.”  The Bostonians were almost indistinguishable from the Bass but for a true brown color that I preferred to the Bass oxblood.  My attire was still largely Ivy influenced in the mid 70s (practicing law in North Carolina then DC) when I bought my last pair, back to true Weejuns but in the style shown in the ‘74 ad.  A favorite ensemble with the shoes was an olive corduroy sport coat, medium gray flannels, a yellow or blue OCBD, and a madder paisley tie.  That pair was stolen in a burglary in ‘78 when perfectly broken in, and I never bought another as I was already straying into pleated trousers and side vents.  I know I’ve written about much of this before, but I’m getting old and can be forgiven my repetition (both in stories and after eating).  I am reminded though, and I don’t think I’ve written or read this on the boards, the those of us in the know used to antique our Weejuns by alternating black with oxblood polish.  Take that, EG, G&G, et al.

Voltaire's Bastard wrote:

Forgot to say so at the time, but these are a seriously bitchin' pair of shoes.  Still, it seems weird - to me - that a Japanese company is producing exact replicas of WWII vintage American military gear.   The world can be a strange place sometimes.

The Japs are currently producing replicas of almost anything you can imagine that is considered "classic Americana". I suspect much of it is better than the originals.

oldog/oldtrix wrote:

I am reminded though, and I don’t think I’ve written or read this on the boards, the those of us in the know used to antique our Weejuns by alternating black with oxblood polish.  Take that, EG, G&G, et al.

Nice! I will remember to try that someday.

BASS, 1958.



Sperry canvas topsiders, 1958. Look closely at the drawing of the shoe. Remember this is 1958. That shoe didn't change for what? 35+ years?

The American shoo-porn is blowing my mind. Awesome stuff gentlemen.

Old Horace, your topic is a total delight.