I'm bumping this from my original thread, perhaps I asked in the wrong section. I found a shoe stamp, size 8 1/2, D. That suggest a ladies size but are they and what era? Help appreciated.
Women's US widths in shoes rarely went up to a D in width. AAAA, AAA, AA, A, B and C. Then when letters went away, N, M and W. Although I just bought some sandals from LL Bean this summer that have B for width! They look to be Mens shoes from the 1970s. Add thick, colorful laces and think Elton John in a very subdued mood.
Thanks, BIB I so agree. If they are UK mens shoes, they are not a size 8 1/2 D, more a 7. If ladies, I wasn't sure if the US went to D sizes? In the UK I thought D size was the standard mens width so never marked so but ladies shoes were? You think 70s, you may well be right, I think 60s, but---.
You might try measuring in inches the width and length and see how that stacks up with US and UK sizes? This looks useful: http://www.sizecharter.com/clothing-fit-and-measurement/understanding-shoe-sizing
You are roughly right. Shoe width letters are different in the UK, everything said above refers to USA widths D is standard width, most regular ladies shoes today are D, though some are C. It's possible that C used to be standard and it changed with time. E is wide fit, and B is narrow. The standard width is sometimes marked and sometimes not, in women's shoes. I would think same applies to men's. It presumably varies by manufacturer. However 8.5 is fairly large for a woman's shoe, not impossibly so but unusual in a vintage shoe. I wear 8 to 8.5D and almost never find vintage shoes. I don't find it very easy to get modern shoes in my size, and the further back I go the more that applies. So a men's shoe seems more likely. As Hollis says.
PS I don't find women's and men's shoes here to be so very different in size. I wear men's size 8 sometimes, only fractionally bigger/wider than a women's 8.
Hi Ruth and Thank you. I don't think I have seen UK mens shoes ever marked with a letter, vintage or otherwise. Woman's UK shoes, I have never come across D,-- E or EE yes but that was relatively modern footwear not vintage.. I am assuming they are UK, I sometimes forget other nations went through the 60s,70s. 8.5 is large for woman but every time I look I convince myself they are woman's, Hollis thinks they are mens What do you think, ladies or men's and era?
I have (modern) shoes marked D. I think the round toe is more 70s and than 60s, and I don't know re gender. Hollis is far more experienced than I. They look almost as though they have been painted? Or polished with black polish with another colour underneath? Or does that effect look original to the shoes? Or is just scuffing, or the light catching them?
Thanks Ruth, BIB yes that makes sense. They haven't been painted but I know what you mean. When I restored them, I stripped them with watered meths, its not the correct way of doing it but I used what I had to hand and I wanted to strip the layers of grime and polish off them before smothering them in leather grease, it did the job the leather opened and devoured the feed and are nice and supple now, I think the light and dark is just the leather. I haven't polished them I just buffed. Can't make up my mind as to gender but 8.5 is large for women. Changing the laces as Hollis suggest will lift them.
I don't know anything about UK sizes, but here in the US, there is about a 1.5 - 2 size difference between men's sizes and women's. My size 8 feet swim in my husbands sz 8.5 shoes! I wear about a sz 6/6.5 in mens. This may help: http://www.sizecharter.com/clothing-fit-and-measurement/understanding-shoe-sizing It has cms, inches and both US and UK sizes. So according to this chart: A woman's 8.5 is about 9 11/16" inches long and D width would be about 4" across. A men's is about 10 1/8" long and a D would be about 3 31/16".
