# A trip through Ivy League footwear with Barrie, Ltd. (Pre-war)



## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

(1937)

Next door to J. Press in New Haven for A Very Long Time.  They actually shared a space when J. Press had an outlet at Princeton. Featured in Esquire during the early 1960s and with a bunch of outposts over the years. Possibly responsible for the singular fixation with shell cordovan footwear. :icon_smile_big: Their New Haven mothership (did any of their other shops survive?), but left an interesting legacy. Lots of images courtesy of the Yale Daily News, so I thought I'd divide them into pre-war, post-war, and boom years & bust.









(1934)









(1934)









(1934)









(1934)

The beginning! Florsheim shoes from the U.S., shoes from England. Scotch-grain brogues, red rubber soled saddle shoes, and tennis shoes. (I wonder what made oxfords for Jai Alai different than regular oxfords? :icon_smile_big









(1935)

By 1935, also carrying Johnston & Murphy.









(1935)

Also, almost everything is available in cordovan! :icon_smile_big:









(1936)

A bit of a surprise, here. I'd never associated the Norwegian-toe with ski boots... Or Norwegian-toe shoes with the look.









(1936)

White and dirty bucks make an appearance! Norwegian shoe shown here with optional kilty tongue.  Also note they've added an Irish maker, .









(1936)

Florsheim plain-toes with crepe rubber ripple soles. Sort of entertaining that they entered the scene so early... There was a monster of a thread a few years ago that suggested this started later. 









(1937)









(1937)

Maybe helps explain why so many bucks seem to come from Brazil now? Also note the crepe sole and wingtip options. 









(1937)

Two new British shoemakers. Both defunct?









(1938)









(1938)









(1938)

Ancestor to the Alden All-Weather Walker? 









(1938)









(1939)

Lots of sole options there... Perhaps people are being a bit too hard on old Mr. McNairy? :icon_smile_big:









(1939)









(1939)









(1939)









(1939)









(1939)








(1940)

Note the "moccasin" loafer and "ripple red" crepe soles on the Russian calf option. Another English maker - Geo W. Bunting. Another defunct one?









(1940)

Later in the year. "Uncertainty of deliveries" - trouble brewing in Europe...









(1940)









(1940)

"Toflers"? A maker?









(1940)









(1940)









(1940)

A monumental occasion!  The shell cordovan loafer is introduced.









(1941)









(1941)









(1941)









(1941)

Note the repp silk option! Does anyone make black tie shoes like that anymore?









(1941)

Note the rubber-soled moccasins. 









(1941)

Barrie also had a custom option.









(1941)

"Albion grain" - Another name for Scotch grain?









(1941)









(1941)

This is closer to my understanding of the stereotype that Trads are always looking to spend less money; spending more in the beginning to spend less in the end.









(1942)









(1942)









(1942)

Starting to gear up for military footwear sales.









(1942)









(1942)









(1942)

Monkstraps?









(1942)


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## joenobody0 (Jun 30, 2009)

I wonder if some of those pictures of the crepe soles are to actual scale. A few of them looked to be 3+ inches thick.


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## fiddler (Apr 19, 2010)

katon said:


> (1936)
> 
> A bit of a surprise, here. I'd never associated the Norwegian-toe with ski boots... Or Norwegian-toe shoes with the look.


Well, let me tell you that I have seen my share of old Norwegian ski boots, and none have had a split toe.


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## xcubbies (Jul 31, 2005)

There was a Barries's Ltd in Boston, on Beacon St. just around the corner from the state house. They had wonderful shoes, but they were, at the time, well beyond my price range. Not sure when they actually closed that shop.


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

fiddler said:


> katon said:
> 
> 
> > (1936)
> ...


It is a little odd.

My best guess is that it's based off the "double lace" style of ski boot, where the boot closes like the above boots from the 1950s, where a tightly laced boot looks a bit like a split toe.

For context, a boot from the 1960s that hopefully shows how it works a bit more clearly. (If I understand correctly, the two sides of the boot basically wrap around the tongue, which is connected separately at the base? Is that right? Sort of like lace-to-toe roofer's boots taken a step further?) Any vintage ski enthusiasts out there? 

I suppose it's still a bit of a stretch, though. Perhaps it would help to know what a "Tawres tongue" is...:biggrin2:


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## fred johnson (Jul 22, 2009)

Thanks for the pictures. I got my first pair of Barrie shoes in 1965 and have had several pairs from then until closing. In fact, when I heard they were closing I went and got the exact pair of loafers that were my first purchase, which I still wear.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

joenobody0 said:


> I wonder if some of those pictures of the crepe soles are to actual scale. A few of them looked to be 3+ inches thick.


Yes, I thought they had that "Herman Munster" look!!


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

Totally fabulous post, Katon. Sorry to have missed the $7 horween pennies. Never set foot in Barrie, but remember their ads well from _NYT_, and I think the Wahington _Post. _Wonder when they closed their doors?


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## C. Sharp (Dec 18, 2008)

The Rambler said:


> Totally fabulous post, Katon. Sorry to have missed the $7 horween pennies. Never set foot in Barrie, but remember their ads well from _NYT_, and I think the Wahington _Post. _Wonder when they closed their doors?


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## catside (Oct 7, 2010)

joenobody0 said:


> I wonder if some of those pictures of the crepe soles are to actual scale. A few of them looked to be 3+ inches thick.


Yes, seen one at the thrifts.


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## catside (Oct 7, 2010)

Most Barrie shoes I come across are made by Cheaney's and usually very well constructed. I bid but lost an auction recently an incredible shell chukka which was made in England but was obviously not Cheaney. Now I understand they were using other now defunct English makers earlier. 
Thanks for a great post. I was new here than and did not even notice they were closing.


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## dport86 (Jan 24, 2009)

I bought my first pair of English shoes at Barrie's in 1982. Still think wistfully of my first pair of cordovan loafers from them--my favorite shoes for years. 

I should warn those that bid on vintage Barrie's that quality varied among their different lines and over time. I have purchased vintage Barrie bluchers that were wonderfully made, of great leather, extremely comfortable but on a very ugly last. I also found several pairs of 60's or early 70's chukkas that were also wonderfully solid, terrific construction but not the finest leather and not particularly comfortable. On the other hand, my cordovan loafers...heaven.


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## maximar (Jan 11, 2010)

Russian calf cost more during those days. Anyone has a time machine I can borrow? 
One problem though, money from 1940!?


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## ROI (Aug 1, 2004)

I saw Barrie's little ads for years in The New Yorker. Several years ago I finally bought a couple pairs (online!), a "butterscotch grain" penny loafer (private label Sebagos) and a pair of white nubucks with red rubber soles from an anonymous English maker. What attracted me to them was that they still offered narrow widths. Sadly, when I returned to order more, Barrie was gone.

In my reminiscing, I almost forgot the true purpose of my post: To thank katon for compiling the fascinating archive of ads.


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