Too many people think it’s expensive to dress well. This just couldn’t be further from the truth. To prove that fact I’ll be showing you a pair of dress shoes I recently found at my local thrift store.
Since we at A Step Above Style value your time (and because you already know why you’re here) we’ll jump right in.
Let’s begin.
Vintage Quality
It has long been said that things made “back in the day” were just made better.
That definitely seems to be the case for these shoes. Below are a pair of Johnston & Murphy Aristocraft loafers in lizard skin.
Although not pictured here, the soles appear to be the original soles they were manufactured with. The pair I found at the store still had its soles in great condition.
As someone who is a shoe enthusiast and shoe shiner I was able to examine these and see if they would be worth purchasing.
The leather was definitely dry, the edges of the sole were discolored, and there was slight fraying on some of the stitching.
But the shoe overall was in decent condition. Although I can’t fix everything as a shoe shiner, this shoe was within my skill set so I bought it.
In my estimation, $16 for a pair of lizard skin loafers from a company well-known for their shoes was too good of a deal to pass up.
If it didn’t work out, I’d be minus $16. About the price of lunch plus a tip.
But if I was able to restore them I’d have a pair of shoes that would look great, and serve me well for years to come.
And since they were so cheap, my Cost Per Wear would be extremely low to begin with.
For those that don’t know, Cost Per Wear is equal to the cost of the item divided by the number of times you wear it.
The Finished Result
I’ll allow you to judge for yourself how they came out.
It was a pleasure bringing these shoes back to life. The deep brown tones of the skin were just under the surface of dust, dirt, and grime.
After tidying up the shoe overall, I was left with a pair of shoes that I couldn’t wait to wear.
Conclusion
Hopefully this post has shown you there may be some treasures waiting to be found at your local thrift store.
At A Step Above Style we have at least two Golden Rules. The first is :
“Never break your budget to go shopping”.
And the second is very similar :
“It’s better to have money, than
look like you have money “.
Until next time, yall have a good one.
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