Chums,
I like this pebble grain:
http://www.styleforum.net/showpost.php?p=695860&postcount=161
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.
I'm not sure what they looked like, but if they're what I think they are, there were, when I was a lad, huge baskets and crates of such things at "Army/Navy" stores in the US. I don't know who the customers were: punks? down-and-outers? fashionista types? frugalites? I have a feeling you could maybe still find these things, but you'd probably not have as much luck on the web. If I were you, and you wanted to slog about, you could identity those places in the US that had bases (know de-commissioned), esp. on the west coast, where you'll find a lot of surplus (Boston & New England too), and call up a bunch of places. Probably to no avail. Or go the "repro" route. In which case, the guys at Fedora Lounge might know. And they might know of some sites that sell the real thing as well. I remember guys would wear the Naval Officer shoes (not the ever-shiny types) in blucher form, and they always looked good I thought. WWII a bit harder to find. Vietnam, not so hard, still perhaps. You could also find out who had the contracts to make the shoes in WWII and search by name that way, esp. in those towns where production was centered. I suspect New England and the South at that time. But maybe elsewhere as well. My grandfather's stuff, which I still have (Naval), was from Maryland I think. Quality was superlative. I can't imagine what you'd have to pay for it today. The wool on the coats were unbelievable.
Last edited by Horace (2007-10-06 06:38:38)
Last edited by Howard (2007-10-07 16:46:43)
Chum,
how accurate are these? Are they faithful repros? Unrelated but: were WWII uni's ever with brown "dress" shoes for the US Atlantic campaigns?
I think shoeey had some weird size American boots from 1945 at one point.
Last edited by tripchauncey (2008-03-22 15:29:42)
^ 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.
... & the 74's above are different again (toe boxes a-go-go!).
Ahhh - The classics!
- We can pretend that they're set in stone, but they never were.
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.