Proper leather shoes

what size do you take in Nike or Loake?

They fit tts

Yeah' they're my bollocking/funeral shoes.

The day went well though, with some big Chelsea supporting lumps carrying his box in........through our guard of honour 😀

9.5 in both (9 in loake boots) - I believe this means I should be ordering a ‘10.5uk’ from Meermin?

True UK9.5 is EU 43.5. 42 are always 8, 42.5 is 8.5, 44 should be 10 but is often 9.75, and 45 is 10.25.

I remember commenting on this before, that depending on the weather/seasons/sock choice/shoe last you will go up or down a half EU size.

Generally I size up to EU44 for wiggle room in the toes to be safe, and because my feet are wide but not long, so I always have a lot of wasted space in the toe box to avoid cramping my little toe on the shoe’s side. However I have some shoes in 44 that are way too big, and tried others in 43 that are way too tight narrow.

Some consider the half sizes as the ‘wide’ option which isn’t technically true, and Anglo shoemakers have often used lettering to denote a wide fit last.

Double check the size guide, but I think you need to get your shoes out their boxes and read the EU sizing on the tongue/box, probably they will all say 43.5 or 44. UK10.5 is going to be clownshoe for you.

It gets more confusing with running shoes, as these two boxes from dad’s old pairs show...

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TL:DR .... answer is ‘probably, yea’

Cheers for info - I understand, I'm typically happy in a 9.5 from Loake and C&J in an E width, but have noticed that my size has crept up half a size every few years... maybe because I'm getting heavier etc... and trainers are a minefield...
(I've still got a pair of off white Sanders cap toes you can have if you PM me your address... they got lost in an office move but have recently resurfaced!)

@EstelleGetty - I can't see any size conversion info on the website - I'll drop them a line!

Cheers,
Matt

Oh sweet! Forgot about them, will pm you. Let me find the Tommy Hilfiger single monkstraps. You should try them, may be yours for cheap.

Can’t pull monk straps off I’m afraid - still keeping an eye out for some crocodile numbers - found these mock croc by accident https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ldcCMynk8zI# lolz
Modshoes.co.uk (they had discount Loake and I was hunting monkey boots)

So I have a pair of reasonably decent Grensons brogue boots that I've never liked the colour of. Light tan with distressing done with what looks like a thin paint wash.

So I want to make them significantly darker. Any recommendations for:

• Polish removal?
  There's quite heavy build up as I've tried to polish them darker already without much success. I tested isopropyl alcohol on the tongue, and seemed to do very little, meths seemed far more effective...

• Dye?

Polish removal?

Saddle soap.

Dye?

Dylon.

You could also try meths after the saddle soap + drying, but if you're dying them after then I'd be inclined not to be too rough.

Dylon

Not Fiebing's? Made for leather and all.

uk 8 fit a 9 in these don't they? my wolverine 1000 miles do and i herd redwing are similar?
ifyes, got any actual photos and how much dinero?

thanks

I bought these in a charity shop today and I think they might be bespoke, but I don't know what they are and I can't identify the logo. Has anyone got any idea who might have made them? They seem very well constructed and have some lovely unique touches.

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Cheers will have a go with the saddle soap, and have a look at Dylon (@withered_preacher it seems they do leather dyes as well as fabric)

Right, didn’t know that.

Saddle soap first, not sure I’d want to use methylated spirit, much prefer isopropyl alcohol if you can get away with it. You want to strip the wax off but not kill the leather underneath. No matter what you use, get the leathercare cream ready because any spirit you use will dry the leather and lead to premature/irreversible creasing and cracking of the leather.

Trick is to scrub off all the shitty coatings on top. That means using a rough brush meant for brushing mud off a shoe. It takes some time but you’ll see the difference if you let it dry between serious scrubs.

I had a lot of success turning light tan Loakes chocolate-oxblood using only saddle soap and alcohol then the two waxes and no dye. When they scuff/scratch the light underneath comes through a little but it buffs out fine. Similarly lots of isopropyl alcohol followed by wax polish on the Cheaney’s gave a nice subtle sunburst.

The Dylon dyes will be ideal and give a deep penetrating and incredibly dark finish, but you must try to remove as much of the coatings as possible, and leave them to dry out to avoid inconsistent finish. Apply in thin layers, avoid spotting unless you are drenching them black or something.

Would that work on these? I’d like to darken them down.

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Yea very likely... as above the key is getting off anything that is sealing and waterproofing the leather, as it stops the leather darkening.

Thanks. I will possibly try the theory on these before I tackle my Loake shoes.

To be honest I haven’t tried properly over a number of shoes to differentiate results of chrome vs veg tanned leather or with different finishes, but I believe the greater issue is the synthetic coatings applied to lower cost shoes. You need to strip back everything until you get a dull matted leather, that can absorb whatever colouring you apply.

Everything pdlouche said. But if you want just a bit darker then I would try darker coloured creams, etc. before dying.

I only suggested dylon to chez_jay because it sounded like he wanted to take a light shoe a lot darker.

Dye will almost definitely be immediately irreversible. Coloured creams/waxes will allow you to go slower and possibly back a step.

Thanks. If I can get some spare time, I’ll give it a go.

Got a pair of size 9 Tricker's in the classifieds if anyone is interested? https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/331721/