# Stuart McGuire Shoes



## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

Anyone ever heard of Stuart McGuire shoes? I did a thread search and a google search and didn't come up with much beyond the fact that some of their shoes were made in America.


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## windsor (Dec 12, 2006)

I sure see them when thrifting. Usually resemble a pair of florshiem wingtip gunboats. I have wondered if Florshiem made them for some store.


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## StevenRocks (May 24, 2005)

Stuart McGuire used to have a factory near me. They were standard middle-market American shoes. Nothing special, but pretty decent.


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## anselmo1 (Dec 22, 2006)

*I remember back in the 1980's, I received a catalog of theirs in the mail. I ordered shoes from them and were quite disappointed when they arrived. The first thing I remember was that the shoes were made in Taiwan and were quite rigid and not comfortable. I immediately sent them back and that was the last time I ordered from them or even looked at their catalog.*

*Maybe this is why they are out of business now? The pair of shoes I returned were of poor construction and not at all comfortable. Nettleton was still in business back then and I exclusively bought their shoes from that time period until they closed their plant in Syracuse, NY.*


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

They may still be around. When you put in the URL address block, you get: https://www.bamason.com/

And they seem to have the brand.

I don't think the quaility is very high.


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## paper clip (May 15, 2006)

anselmo1 said:


> *I remember back in the 1980's, I received a catalog of theirs in the mail. I ordered shoes from them and were quite disappointed when they arrived. The first thing I remember was that the shoes were made in Taiwan and were quite rigid and not comfortable. I immediately sent them back and that was the last time I ordered from them or even looked at their catalog.*
> 
> *Maybe this is why they are out of business now? The pair of shoes I returned were of poor construction and not at all comfortable. Nettleton was still in business back then and I exclusively bought their shoes from that time period until they closed their plant in Syracuse, NY.*


Concur. I bought 1 pair from that catalog when I was in law school (brogued wingtip tassel loafer!!!!), which worked out all right, but they came in a crushed box. I wore them for a couple of years. I then ordered another pair, which were not right at all and I returned them, never to buy there again.


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

Thanks guys. I will avoid them.


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## Strategizer (Mar 10, 2009)

*Another Post to an old Thread*

I realize this is an old thread, but having just worn a pair of these last night that I bought a while back, I can say a few things. First, as for the construction of these shoes, they are very good. The leather looks good and they are fashionable.

So what's the beef? Well, for me it is the fact that blisters formed on my heels with very, VERY little walking in them. I was then forced to wear them longer and I was in such pain I was limping around the stores I shopped. When I got home, and for the following 24 hours, I didn't feel like walking at all.

Bottom line? The get an A+ for style and construction, and an F in comfort.


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## The Deacon (Nov 25, 2006)

I recently bought a pair of absolutely gorgeous patinated burgundy Stuart McGuire Shell Cordovan Wingtips(sole is stamped "Genuine Shell Cordovan") from a fellow SF member and they are very nice and most comfortable. The heel is slighty higher than my Florsheim, Hanover and Alden wingtips. The innersole is padded and I have no ill effects from wearing them during my 12 hour professional days. 

On the other hand, I've sold corrected grain Stuart McGuire Executive Imperial wingtips that were very rigid and probably gave the wearer a different experience than mine.


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## jamgood (Feb 8, 2006)

StevenRocks said:


> Stuart McGuire used to have a factory near me. They were standard middle-market American shoes. Nothing special, but pretty decent.


S.M. may have been a brand of Craddock-Terry Shoes of Lynchburg, VA until that company went kaput some time in the last quarter of the 20th century. We had a member from Lynchburg here at one time who commented on C-T, should anyone care to search the archives circa 2007. I could be wrong in re SM-CT.


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## StevenRocks (May 24, 2005)

From what I can piece together, The Stuart McGuire Co., Inc. was founded by Salem, Va. businessman Cabell Brand in 1962. Mr. Brand was the vice-president of The Ortho-Vent Shoe Co.from 1949 to 1962, when he founded Stuart McGuire as a direct sales shoe business. 

After going public in 1970, Stuart McGuire expanded into ready-to-wear and jewelry, eventually converting to a mail order conglomerate, then into a full service mall order operations and fulfillment business. In 1986 Stuart McGuire merged with Home Shopping Network, and the brand name was eventually sold to B.A. Mason.


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## 4rustin (Nov 21, 2011)

*Stewart McGuire shoes*



HistoryDoc said:


> Anyone ever heard of Stuart McGuire shoes? I did a thread search and a google search and didn't come up with much beyond the fact that some of their shoes were made in America.


They were a company in Chippewa Falls WI that actually made shoes in the US.
They were high quality and low in price and I had many pairs.
Alas, the Chinese and Indians did them in and they stopped production.
They no longer exist but their parent company, Mason Ind. is a distributor for shoes-not made in US and not high end.
Stewart McGuire was a good example of foreign manufacturers wiping out an industry with an inferior product but priced lower AND American labor laws KILLING an industry so only the RICH can afford American shoes.


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## joenobody0 (Jun 30, 2009)

4rustin said:


> They were a company in Chippewa Falls WI that actually made shoes in the US.
> They were high quality and low in price and I had many pairs.
> Alas, the Chinese and Indians did them in and they stopped production.
> They no longer exist but their parent company, Mason Ind. is a distributor for shoes-not made in US and not high end.
> Stewart McGuire was a good example of foreign manufacturers wiping out an industry with an inferior product but priced lower AND American labor laws KILLING an industry _*so only the RICH can afford American shoes*_.


This sort of thing belongs in the interchange. I am not "RICH" and have many (too many per my wife) "American shoes".


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## crs (Dec 30, 2004)

The Deacon said:


> I recently bought a pair of absolutely gorgeous patinated burgundy Stuart McGuire Shell Cordovan Wingtips(sole is stamped "Genuine Shell Cordovan") from a fellow SF member and they are very nice and most comfortable. The heel is slighty higher than my Florsheim, Hanover and Alden wingtips. The innersole is padded and I have no ill effects from wearing them during my 12 hour professional days.
> 
> On the other hand, I've sold corrected grain Stuart McGuire Executive Imperial wingtips that were very rigid and probably gave the wearer a different experience than mine.


I scored some McGuire shell longwings about an hour ago at a Salvation Army. Excellent condition. They don't seem much different than my vintage Florsheim shell longwings. I guess I will wear a few times and if they are not uncomfortable, I will either keep or sell (I don't know that I need two pairs of essentially the same shoe). If they are uncomfortable, I'll toss them back.


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## cincydavid (May 21, 2012)

The few SM shoes I've seen in thrifts have all had man-made soles, which screamed "low end" to me, so I never bought them.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

Interesting, I got a great pair of shell tassel loafers, from the Trad Thrift Store. At one time they must have made an excellent product, but I only vaguely recall them from the '50s-'60s as a dept. store standard


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## crs (Dec 30, 2004)

crs said:


> I scored some McGuire shell longwings about an hour ago at a Salvation Army. Excellent condition. They don't seem much different than my vintage Florsheim shell longwings. I guess I will wear a few times and if they are not uncomfortable, I will either keep or sell (I don't know that I need two pairs of essentially the same shoe). If they are uncomfortable, I'll toss them back.


They feel OK, except for the tongues being a bit stiff, which is probably not a big deal. I do not think the previous owner wore them more than a few times. I think I will solve the duplication problem by letting these sit in my car's back window until they turn from No. 8 to brown.


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