Video:How to Buy Quality Vintage Shoes

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Transcript:How to Buy Quality Vintage Shoes

Hello, my name is Andrea Perini. I'm the founder of vagabond NYC.com. I'm here for About.com to tell you a little bit about buying vintage shoes - what to look for and what to avoid.

Marks of a Good Vintage Shoe

Buying vintage shoes can be tricky because of depending on the wear and tear they've taken over the past few years you want to be very careful to make sure that you're going to get something that's going to last for you. What you want to look for, essentially, are made in Italy - made in Spain - that's a good sign of good quality craftsmanship.

Vintage Shoe Soles and Heels

And you want to look, also, very carefully at the sole and at the heel and again, any place that's stressed most. You want to make sure that it isn't thinning so much that you can't have it resolved, or that it's broken down so much in the heel, where the pin is showing that even a cobbler couldn't build it up. Because you often need to go to a cobbler to get the shoes fixed just for future wearing. You want to keep them as good as they were when you got them.

Fake Labels and Vintage Shoes

Another thing you want to keep in mind if you're looking for a label of good quality. You want to make sure that you're not going to get a fake. For instance, these are fake Louis Vuitton. How I know this is because anything made in France by a designer, a design house like Vuitton would never glue their shoes to the bottom of a rubber sole. And you can see the glue here, the glue staining. And that's going to eventually crumble and the sole is just a dead giveaway - that it's not something that is authentic.

It's a cute shoe, and if you really wanted to buy it, that's fine. But just know that it's probably not going to last you too long. That it's not the real thing. And be careful to look for it because someone might want to charge you, for the logo or for the label when it's actually a fake and it's probably worth maybe ten dollars.

Vintage Shoe Sizing

A couple of other things you want to look for are sizing. Pretty much 80s and prior - sizes usually were made much narrower and you want to make sure that if you are going to purchase a shoe, a vintage shoe, that you try it on and you walk around in it. Because it might say a 9 or a 40 - when it's actually feeling to you like a 38 - you know, way too tight.

Stacked Heels in Vintage Shoes

Another ting to look for is - a good thing in a vintage shoe, is a stacked heel. A stacked heel means that it's going to last longer. It's going to have more life, more strength, it's well structured, and you'll have a go with it for a really long time. As long as you remember to get it re-soled immediately. Maybe to get it shined up, or, go to your cobbler. Make sure everything is straight, the structures good and you'll be able to wear it forever.

Vintage Shoes by Eras

When you are looking to buy a vintage shoe you might want to stay with the classic silhouettes. You'll know that you can wear it without really standing out as something that's from the 60s or from the 90s. Just get that classic modern silhouette. That's been worn from era to era. And you'll look contemporary and beautiful and have a signature piece on your wardrobe.

Thanks for watching, for more visit us on the Web at About.com.