Hello again
Some of you may or may not know that I have a bit of a shoe ummmm... fetish? Anyway, as a kid growing up I always wanted a pair of Florsheim Royal Imperial longwings. I figured having a pair was a sign of having made it in the business world. Anyway, by the time I entered the business world the Florsheim brand was a shadow of its former self and the Florsheim Imperial line was no longer the wonder that it was so I thought I'd never be able to enjoy a pair of those long admired shoes from my boyhood. Enter eBay! I found a pair of new old stock (NOS) Royal Imperials that had been sitting in a storage room for 20 or so years. How cool is that? They had just a few issues from having been in the box that long, they were a little stiff, had a couple of spots on them and some marking from where the tags were on the insoles all those years. I was very worried abou the rather slick soles, I wanted these to be daily drivers, so I took them into the cobbler and had some work done on them, new rubber heels and sole guards to extend the life of the soles and give me some grip on the ice and snow. The guy who did the work was amazed by the shoes, he said he hadn't seen a pair that well made in years. Now, these aren't the nicest shoes I own from a dressy perspective, but fuck if they aren't just what I wanted. My Mantellassis will come out to play when it is nice and dry and safe outside, but the Imperials can have all the winter fun. I've included a picture for your edification, I didn't get the new shoe trees I ordered for them before I left on my trip, so I'll repost when they're properly treed.
