Who Has Bought Some New SANDALS?

[mlroseplant]

It is definitely the wrong season for these, but I just bought these vintage Bakers calfhair mules. I had been eyeing them for a while simply because they fit in with my favorite category of shoes to collect and wear, wooden heeled sandals. It was really the calfhair thing that kept me from buying them before, I was not sure how this was going to look in person. Would it be too garish to actually wear? Would it be somewhat trashed? That, and the fact that they are clearly marked not only size 9, but also size 40, which is usually too big for me in a sandal. Then, I got an offer from the seller for 16 USD, so I thought "why not?"

As it turns out, I don't think either of my fears was warranted, although it will be some time before we can put that to a real world test, but they are in nice shape and are not terribly large for a 40. They will need to be reheeled soon, and I'll probably have to put in one of those ball of foot pads to take up some room at some point. But you never know that for sure until you've walked a mile in them, and, with well over a foot of snow on the ground at the moment.  .  .

Obviously, they are a Bakers product, but exactly how vintage they are is unknown to me. They do say "Made in Italy" on them, which may or may not date them to be at least two decades old, but in any case, it's obvious that they've been worn, and it looks to be quite a bit. In my brief try-on, they definitely have the potential to be comfortable, all-day shoes.

With an effective heel height of 4" (4 1/2" heel, 1/2" platform), they are no doubt challenging for most people nowadays, but not really for me, and obviously not for somebody in that past, due to the amount of wear on the rubber soles. They are definitely not made of actual wood. On close examination, both visually and aurally, the bottom appears to be a single molded plastic unit of some sort, but it's a good fake--they sure look like wood, even at only a short distance away. Another feature, chronicled elsewhere, is the fact that they are extremely narrow for wedges. It is impossible to tell until I've walked across my first Walmart parking lot, but it appears that the narrowness of the heel does not make it unstable in the least.

My only worry is that, being molded plastic, and vintage molded plastic to boot, when exposed to the real world and real walking, the unit bottom will split in half transversely across the foot as so many of these doggoned things do. Why I should even be thinking about that at this time is beyond me. I need to be more positive.

[Shyheels]

Well clearly somebody got a lot of mileage out of them and if they haven't fractured yet, and show now visible indications of doing so, I can see no reason why you shouldn't get plenty of use out of them.

[HappyinHeels]

hey all, 

here’s four pics I retook to reduce file size which also reduced clarity.Top is the Devalyn sling back sandal with jeans and a tee shirt. Next is the Dany sandal with jeans and a colorful top. Third is mlroseplant inspired shorts look with  Soda wedge sandals. Last is an outfit I wore last summer to the Twin Cities jeans with some high wedge sandals. HinH

[HappyinHeels]

Looks like the pics posted in reverse order from my description so start at bottom and the descriptions will match. These are all casual or fairly casual looks with different heel styles. Another way to get out there and enjoy what you have. HinH

[SF]

Nice sandals.....   They look classy, have fun....  sf