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Leather Shoe Care

We highly recommend polishing with Kelly’s Shoe Cream; their #27 Medium Brown works well for Russets and #35 Cordovan works well for the Cordovans. Neutral will impart a bit of shine and protection without pigmentation. (We also like Kelly’s best for it’s nice smell and rich pigmentation.)

A close second for polish is Meltonian Shoe Cream; their #11 Medium Brown works well for Russets and #78 Cordovan works well for the Cordovans. Neutral will impart a bit of shine and protection without pigmentation.

Chamberlain’s Leather Milk all-natural Leather Care Liniment – For general leather maintenance (can darken leather a bit) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ZDDUCK/

Chamberlain’s Leather Milk all-natural Healing Balm – Restores Dry, Cracked, Scratched Leather (can darken leather a bit) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MT0WOYO/

Huberd’s Shoe Oil – For general leather maintenance (will darken leather) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UJNKLC/

Huberd’s Original Shoe Grease – For heavier application waterproofing (will darken leather) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MLBCWM/

100% Beeswax – Leslie uses this only on shoe soles to waterproof and protect. Sara’s favorite option for waterproofing is mink oil. They are equally good quality choices. Leslie chooses beeswax because she doesn’t support anything to do with the fur trade. But the beeswax does have to be melted to be applied where mink oil can just be wiped on. https://www.amazon.com/Beesworks-1oz-Yellow-Beeswax-Bars/dp/B01LWX2IO1/

High shine polish with Kiwi wax; their Tan works well for Russets and Cordovan works well for the Cordovans, but is extremely dark. Neutral will impart a lot of shine and protection without pigmentation. No matter the color*, Kiwi darkens leather quite a bit and, with layered applications, will create a very high gloss shine. This is our least favorite of the products, due to the fact that Kiwi changes the leather color so much and we like to keep our OAOs as true to the issued colors as possible. *Only use Kiwi Brown on your russet oxfords if you would like to change them to very dark brown or cordovan.

We are also in the process of creating an Amazon store to share these products and more.

As always, test any product you are about to use on your leather items in a small, hidden spot, to assure that the color is acceptable.

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Details, Details, Details

Original service shoes with our OAO Oxfords

It’s the little details that make us happy! Did you know we searched high and low to find the perfect laces for your O.A.O. oxfords? Original American women’s service shoes were issued with flat laces, rather than a rounded lace.

Photo comparison above by Emily Stringham of Emily’s Vintage Visions. The original pair of WAVE shoes pictured to the right of our OAO Oxfords belonged to Mary E. Williams of Springfield, Vermont and are part of the permanent collections of the Springfield Art and Historical Society in Springfield, Vermont.

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Reproduction Accessories, Make-up and Jewelry

Tangee Lipstick

We are often asked how to dress in a more authentic vintage style and where we get our clothing and accessories. So, we wanted to post a few informal lists of places we enjoy shopping:

Cosmetics

Hair Accessories

Jewelry

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How Do Our Heels Stack Up?

OAO oxfords in production

Featured on our O.A.O. (One And Only) Oxfords, is a hand stacked leather heel. What’s in a heel? It turns out, quite a bit.

Many modern and reproduction shoes that appear to have stacked heels are very often just a thin layer of leather or vinyl printed or cut from strips to fake the appearance of a stacked heel. Underneath this wrapping is a carved wooden heel. It looks decent enough when new, but as soon as you knick the heel with normal wear, the block of wood underneath is exposed.

Images on the left are our true stacked leather heels. On the right you see faux stacked wrapped heels.

On the other hand, O.A.O oxfords boast hand carved leather sheets, which are created from many stacked up layers of leather, then sanded down to a nice smooth finish. After being sanded they are dyed to match the uppers and attached. This construction method is true to the original service shoes.

We love this photo that Emily’s Vintage Visions shared with us, showing how nicely the heel of her O.A.O. Oxford, on the left, matches up to an original issued pair of WWII Navy WAVES oxfords from the Springfield Art and Historical Society collection.

When creating our shoes, we spent quite a bit of time to determine the heel height and composition to closely match original WWII Women’s Service Shoes. Knowing that often times heel height listed within military regulations could vary based on where the author of the regulation measured the heel height on the shoe, we opted to match the height of our shoes as closely as possible to the multiple pairs of named, dated, and stamped originals within our personal collections. As with all manufacturing minor differences did occur throughout the war and even now in our modern reproductions, however we are quite proud to produce a true and faithful private purchase style black oxford that can be used for WWII Navy impressions.

We have created our O.A.O. oxfords to not only have the authentic look you want, but also durability and comfort you will need and love for years to come.

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Reproduction Vintage Clothing and Accessory Shops

Sara wearing repro vintage from Nudee Dudee

We are often asked how to dress in a more authentic vintage style and where we get our clothing and accessories. So, we wanted to post a few informal lists of places we enjoy shopping:

Please note that these are generalized recommendations primarily for American civilian impressions and every day wear. Additional research is needed as not all of these companies sell exclusively 1940s era items.

If you would like us to add your store to our list, please write info@allheelsonduty.com, please include your shop URL or specialty for consideration.

More great lists in the coming weeks!!

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Vintage Clothing and Accessory Shops

Vintage 1940s civilian suits

We are often asked how to dress in a more authentic vintage style and where we get our clothing and accessories. So, we wanted to post a few informal lists of places we enjoy shopping:

Please note that these are generalized recommendations primarily for American civilian impressions or even every day wear. Additional research is needed as not every company sells exclusively WWII era items. Also please note that some vendors are best reached via Instagram or Facebook.

If you would like us to add your store to our list, please write info@allheelsonduty.com, please include your shop URL or specialty for consideration.

More great lists in the coming weeks!!

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Waiting to buy our shoes? Don’t!

russet brown leather World War II ladies service oxfordsBecause we are a small, “grass roots” style business created by living historians, for living historians, we want you to know, we can’t do it without your support!

The pre-order process guarantees not only that you will receive your shoes as soon as they arrive, but also helps cover the cost of manufacturing fees, materials, as well as taxes and tariffs.  We believe female reenactors and living historians deserve comfortable, accurate and high quality footwear.

Please let all your friends know and consider supporting us, so we can make this a huge success for the entire female living history community! …_