Wicked Whimsy

Vintage shoes are wonderful. You can get a unique shoe that not everyone else will have, usually for a fraction of the price that you’d pay today for shoes of similar quality. However, there are some things you need to watch out for when buying vintage shoes. These include:

• All leather construction. This means the shoes were higher quality to begin with and it generally makes them easier to repair.
• Remember that shoes can be stretched in width, but not in length. If they’re a little narrow, that can probably be fixed. If they’re too short – put ‘em back, ladies!
• Make sure the heel hasn’t been worn down to the metal spike inside. And this is an extra note even for new shoes: don’t walk on them if they’ve born worn down that far! That damages the shoe. Just go in and get your heels re-covered. (I think they’re called heel taps, but I felt stupid saying “get taps put on your heels”.)
• Examine the stitching and the buckles/holes on straps. Loose stitching can be easily fixed, but stretched out or torn holes can’t, really. A missing buckle might be hard to fix too, especially if the strap is an odd size or the buckle a specially made one.
• Look around the seams – the glue might have caused discoloration that’s hard to disguise. I know this from personal experience!
• Look for actual scratches or gouges in the leather – they can’t be disguised as easily as scuffs.
• If the shoe has any suede, examine it carefully – suede is generally more delicate and harder to repair than leather.

That about does it! Because of the varying sizing with older shoes, and the issues noted above (which can be easily disguised by unethical online sellers), I definitely recommend keeping your vintage shoe shopping to in-person. Every once in a while, though, something so awesome comes up that it can’t be passed on – and I get that! So just shop with caution! And goooood luck!

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