When working on stage obviously it is best to wear patent leather shoes but could someone give me details of a good supplier for these here in the UK. I am from the Midlands but any useful info would be much appreciated. Many thanks

Stuart Brown

Derby, England (UK)

I don't know if it's so obvious Stuart. I haven't seen anyone wear patent leather shoes since high school. (Patent leather boots, however, are something I see every weekend).

That said, you can probably get some cheap ones at a tuxedo rental place, or you can try a uniform supply source.

Stuart,

Patent leather shoes for stage wear are very common at dance supply and costume shops. Some are sold for tap shoes and others are just for stage wear. Better mens formal shops (sales, not rentals) will have them too. The best ones have full leather soles and are very quiet, flexible and comfortable on stage. They will keep their looks longer if you cover the whole shoe with a thick sock when they are in storage.

Good Luck!

Bob

Men's formal wear shops only sell black shoes. Where do you buy other colors?
Al Angello

Hi Stuart:

An alternative would be to buy them via the internet. I bought patent leather shoes about a year ago, and remember quite a few U.K. based companies. I did a search for "formal wear" shoes and got quite a few results. I ended up buying mine at Nordstrom which is a large department store in the states.

I hope this helps you.

Ron

Have the 80's come back?

Patent leather shoes are required with formal wear (black or white tie), but should NOT be worn with any other form of dress unless your background music includes "Disco Duck".

Al,

Today you are correct. Colors are out for formal wear. I still have a pair of white ones that went with my 1979 costumes. It has been a while. I gave my white costumes to a theater group for costumes years ago.

I have not been ready to do the same with my bone/grey colored costume of the 80s. I just add a hat, ribbon tie, and a cane and go Southern!

Justin might be talked into selling you boots in colors. They do a lot of things that make good costumes. Lucy's colored boots (all six colors) for her trick horse act are Justin's.

Bob
Magic By Sander

Click here to view attached image.

Try 'Slaters', it's a mens shop that mostly deals in suits. If they are only for stage use were you will only be wearing them for a few hours a week, try shops that hire formal wear and ask if they have any old shoes they can sell you. You might find that they only need the sole replacing. Large department stores usually sell a small selection as well,


Dizzy

Thanks everybody I guess I'll have to wait for another day to get my size 9 purple patent leather shoes. It is always tough to be ahead of your time.
Al

Zootsuits.com also have a good range
of dress shoes. Many colours and styles
are on their website.

Why not just dye them. or try going to http://www.allenedmonds.com they do custom orders and have done custom shoes already for Ernest Borgnine.

Stuart, Robert Temple here, how are you?

My patent leather shoes that I use in my act I got from a UK firm called Stagestruck. They had to be specially made for me (they're actually dance shoes) and they cost about £70-80 but they are great and they have lasted years in great condition.

Check out http://www.stagestruck.co.uk

Hope you're well and this helps,
Rob

If I may be so ignorant as to ask, why Patent leather (if the plastic surfacing gets damaged, it is a new pair as they do nto repair easily) as opposed to well polished nice leather dress shoes?
I was always under the impression that dress leather shoes was the way to go. While us women have a bit more leeway for styles and such depending on the situation, I always felt that leather was the best for dress. <confused in California>
Kay

Kay,

You sound on target to me. High quality leather with full leather soles are not inappropriate. Depending on the moves you make in your act, some street shoes do not move well. They are much too stiff. (Frequently I have to climb, quietly!) The other problem today is that for men, full leather soles are getting very hard to find in a leather lined shoe. Quality never goes out of style but it sure can get hard to find!

An odd note is that after a theater show when the theater is fairly well cleared, I often go back out one stage and sit on the edge with my legs hanging off. (It is just a good informal time to thank the stage crew and musicians for their contribution to the show before they leave for the night.) But there are always a few from the audience who just want to wait and see what they can. You would be surprised how often they want to touch the shinny shoes. Sometimes they ask first and sometimes they don't, but the shoes will get touched. To some, I think it is more valued than shaking hands.

Bob
Magic By Sander

Kay,

Shoe update!

Wednesday I went shopping with the ladies of the family. I looked at a pair of $34 patent leather men's shoes. I see your point. They were nothing like the $175.00 ones. They didn't even bend or have real leather soles. I would have no use for them. You are right. I think they were really meant for a tux rental shop rather than someone who frequently dresses in black tie or white tie. They were junk! I think the name was Stacy Adams. I'm glad I had never seen them before. I've gone through many pairs of stage/formal shoes in my life. I've been fortunate to get the nice ones. There is enough to worry about on stage. Bad shoes don't need to add to the problem.

Bob
Magic By Sander
The Amazed Wiz

The good ones are quiet, pretty, flexible, and comfortable.