I had the pleasure of slicing through some historical records (old newspapers— mostly Boston Globes) pertaining to major historical events in US history, including the exciting sequence leading up to Neil Armstrong’s walk on Earth’s moon fifty years ago today. Reading about the astronauts’ ITMG boots equipped with utility pockets layered under a lunar overshoe was of course fascinating, but for us it’s all about the ads. What was on the shelves back then?
The Jordan Marsh Company Great Basement Store advertises women’s shoes in multiple widths
Consumers could get a better fit in ’69. Look— just look at the widths offered by popular retailers of the time. For perspective; the average off-the-shelf women’s width is a “B”. For guys it’s “D”.
Jordan Marsh newspaper ads from the 1960s
“Otter Smooth Leather”, “styles in all wanted heel heights”. “fabulous assortment of evening and cruise shoes”.. the copy on these are pure gold. Solby Bayes was even advertising AAAAAAs (that had to have been a joke). In reality these products were filling a need that modern footwear has dumbed down and ignored. As you can see, it was not uncommon for women to to have a wider foot than “B”.
“Bone punched calf” at Solby Bayes and Coward’s Nylon Mesh “Gadabout”
This one is so excellent it may be worth framing (Globe, May 16th 1963)
“American Girl”
Popdiatry readers know that “A” is the thinnest, “E” is the widest and that multiple letters denote even thinner or wider. So AA is thinner than A, AAA is thinner than AA, EEEE is about the widest you’ll ever see. In 2019 it’s very uncommon to see “C” or multiple “A”s and many companies have done away with the antiquated letter system in favor of “M” or “W” but if you pride yourself on being super-scientific, knowing your Brannock width is the first key to the game.
I was listening to an old No I.D. instrumental, and he used a long sample of Biz Markie on one of the beats. Pete Rock always sampled Biz on his early work. Beasties did songs with Biz..
Biz is the producer’s favorite rapper, your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper, and now he’s your favorite DJ’s favorite DJ, so I’m kicking myself for not ordering one of these Converse shirts 26 years ago.
Yes I made digital versions off the tape and they knock.
Creepers, elevators- whatever you call them- platform shoes have been around forever; At least since 1951- the year this ad appeared in The Bend Bulletin. “5-soles-high” thanks to our man-on-the-street in Oregon, Mick from Red Fishing Boat for clipping this:
Clipped from The Bend Bulletin (1951)
“Shine like a russel-red apple!” The copy in these old ads is poetic. Walter’s Buster Brown Shoe Store was/is not related to Walter’s Shoe Care from Canada, makers of accessories like these leather insoles:
Wanted to travel light. Needed to bring a business suit; Bought a Skyroll Garment bag from a Manhattan Men’s Wearhouse in which you can fit a couple suits, other clothes, and a pair of shoes (in one of the cylinder partitions)*
*Look for an extended Skyroll review in a future post. For my purpose, I was able to pack enough for a 2-3 day jaunt and cancel out the burden of a big old case; Think more like dufflebag.
STUCK DOWNTOWN
In the shade of John Hancock Center/Water Tower Place, yes Near North Side; Yeah, where all the mall stores and annoying walkers are. I thought positive, had a little time between tasks, so took a stroll around-a-few-blocks in search of inspiration.
Rushing up Rush Street
I was wearing my Frye Arkansas boots (no affiliation), so on N Rush Street, I gravitated into their flagship store to see what they’ve been up to lately. The big Frye flagships, of which there are four in the U.S., are set up a like countryish museums, with lots of leather, dark wood.. a certain kind of mood. Most of the men’s made-in-USA footwear is in the very back.
TheFryeCompany.com
Frye has some interesting patinas going on that fill good space away from the standard browns and blacks. Some of their leathers are even tumbled with stones in a wood drum before construction. Though not always a fan of pre-busted wears, I really like the “smoke” distressed waxed suede on their Prison Boot (dig those inside-out eyelets too), and another color they are calling “gaucho” on their stuff. My year-old Arkansas are plain black (rubber sole) and it was cool to view some other colors, especially the painted and stonewashed leather shade they call Whiskey.
The Frye Company “Whiskey”
I make my boots travel friendly by swapping the stock laces out to 45-inch fabric ones, or else you’d be stalling in the TSA line tying those long leather laces that come with many of the Fryes.
Up the block there was a Vans store where I bought a swell pair of 45-inch polyester flat laces. I made quick work of a Mexican lobster roll at Da Lobsta on E Cedar.
I window-shopped through the little Church’s store on E Walton. The made-in-England brand’s NYC store is closed for renovations, and the Chicago one is the only other location in the country. It was proper to see the entire collection up close. If Frye was museum, Church’s have their men’s and women’s shoes presented more like a jewelry shop.
Game-wise I could totally see maturing Doc wearers wanting to take the British style to the next level and getting into the Church’s line. Most of the shoes appear at quick glance like they’re from 1930. Closer inspection reveals flourishes of modernity on the inners and soles plus they have some leather sneaker/shoe hybrids on the roster. Above images are from Church’s website.
INDEPENDENCE ON OAK
In-the-cut on East Oak Street in a waythat no dingbat may find, lives a place I would tag “must visit” in Near North. Independence has damn-near the whole collection of footwear by Oak Street Bootmakers on display, along with select made-in-USA clothing and useful accessories like shoe-care kits and bottle-opener keys.
Pic: Popdiatry
Less department store, more like a friend’s nice apartment, the guys who maintain Independence are very involved in its workings and are happy to talk all manner of shoes, clothes and life while you browse. Other customers in the store may join in conversation and give shoe and food recommendations. That’s the type of vibe this spot gives- just a great shop for the American man near Lake Michigan with a friendly crew.
Patina again. I love the color Oak Street refers to as ‘natural’ on their models. It’s a kind of oily golden that you can envision looking better with age and conditioning.
Oak Street Bootmakers “Natural” color
Oak doesn’t play when it comes to making shoes. They now offer plenty of loafers, bluchers, oxfords and boats featuring the same Horween Chromexcel leather and tough construction of their big boot brothers.
Oak St. Mocs @ Independence
For me it is all about the boots. We’re impressed with how O.S.B. has matured, making tiny improvements along the way, and getting into low-tops. Their natural roughout (rough side of leather out, smooth side in) products are very sweet. Though do you ever notice what happens to light rough leather boots when worn a lot with bluejeans? The blue dye may stain the tops; I feel like Oak Street channeled this by dropping these dark blue roughouts, with a “pajeana” baked right in. Cobra Commander could wear these on a date with the Baroness.
Oak St. Indigo Roughouts @ Independence
You have to feel the insides. To ready my feet for the day they marry some Oak Streets, I purchased a pair of their made-in-USA majority-cotton socks ($8) in a unique shade of burnt orange/red.
Oak Street Bootmakers
WHY NOT SOME UNDIES
Icebreaker have been on our deep watch-list for a while now. When I happened upon one of their nine U.S. TouchLab shops located on E Walton Street, I went in and dropped $33 on a pair of their Merino wool underwears. The Icebreaker rep says these drawers can be worn for three times the normal length of regular undies before washing due to the fabric’s absorptive nature. They’re wool, but spun so thin the front is double layered lest they be nearly see-through. They guarantee the product; Look forward to a review in Off The Path soon.
Icebreaker Anatomica Merino Wool Briefs
MIDWEST VINTAGE
Thanks to an old pal who lives in Chi, I rode shotgun in a Subaru through Wicker Park and Bucktown way away from the skyscrapers and mega-malls. We drove past the Horween leather tannery and I took a big whiff. I got a glimpse of Chicago’s new greened elevated rail path for bikers, runners and walkers The 606. We needed a retro sensory overload and It was at a vintage shop in Wicker called Kokorokoko where I saw some mind-blowing kicks that I never imagined existing.
L.A. Gear “Election 88” HIgh Tops with a license plate lace-tag!
Yes that’s Michael Dukakis on a removable velcro “All-Star” patch, and yes there was a George H. Bush one included. What?!
If the 80s and 90s were magic, you could cast spells with items from Kokorokoko; Cassettes, patches, VHS workout tapes, trading cards, Metal, New Jack Swing, Bulls, Hulk Hogan, select footwear and more. You’ll find something here whether you were born the 70s like me or the 90s like recording artist Tink, who came through for some shopping recently.
instagram.com/official__tink
Let thebright colorsof latelast century surround you, and pop-culture past rewind you. I forgot to check the size or where those LA Gears were made (Korea we think), but if you can get over to 1323 N. Milwaukee Ave quick you might be able to scoop the Election 88s in time to wear for July 4th when you’ll never be asked “where’d you get those?” so much in your life. Kokorokoko !
Before I knew it, it was time to go. I packed my laces, socks and underwear in the remaining space in the Skyroll and hopped a cab.
The Skyroll didn’t let me down. I packed my things just like the instructional video showed, and got it even better on the way back. You do need a large flat surface to get the pack correct: bed, table, clean floor; The garment bag is advertised as carry-on friendly but I checked it both ways because JetBlue.
PS: Water Tower Place has an amazingly wide variety of places to dine and lots of great stairs to climb.
I came across this ad on the back of an old Marvel G.I. Joe comic book (#40 “Hydrofoil”, 1986) while looking for images of the Soft Master to use with my review of the Soft Star Portlanders. The Soft Master was of course the guy who taught Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow how to be Ninjas. I have never seen these kicks in real life, but a quick search reveals that the brand was re-launched by an Italian company in 2008. They have morphed into pre-distressed high-tops costing almost $400- perhaps to better live up to the company name.
Though footwear and shoes will be the main focus of Popdiatry, I’ll occasionally write about other wearable gear in a feature called “Off The Path”.
For this first journey off the path, we’ll rewind about 14 years to when Y2K was a thing. The year 2000 problem had people stockpiling water and canned goods in preparation for societal collapse because the world’s computers didn’t have a four-digit data field to reflect post “2000”.
The unofficial cap of the Y2K computer bug
Out of that non-event came the opportunistic Club Millennium, who released a line of adjustable baseball hats sporting the Club Millenium “MM” logo, or simply “Y2K”.
Millennium Club – One Size Fits All
As the world and its tech peacefully transferred from 99 to 00, many of these hats began their journey to oddball discount stores like Building #19 in New England, where my bro picked up a couple circa 2006. Building #19 was incidentally a good place to stumble upon shoes and sneakers from yesteryear. I recall seeing long dead-stock models by Puma and Adidas (including RUN DMC Adidas) on their shelves long after those models were off the market. Building #19 was known as well for their humorous advertising, with weekly circulars illustrated by a comic artist going along with their “good stuff cheap” corporate motto.
