The Talon Shu-Lok : Snapjack shoes

[Dinerman]

The Talon Shu-Lok fastener was first introduced onto the market in 1954. It was marketed towards children and young adults, as well as the elderly and arthritic. It remained in production at least until the 1970s, though it peaked around 1958. Velcro eventually filled its market niche. Talon let the "Shu-Lok" trademark die in 1996.

The 1949 patent. It took until 1954 for the design to be perfected and the product to hit the market.


The mechanism


The operation


For Children




For the collegiate crowd

 

[Dinerman]

1957


1958


1958


1968

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

I had a pair of bucks with that style of closure when I was a young man.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[seabass]

Hey I had a pair of those last shoes...
there was a Buster Brown Shoe store on Orchard st. by Rivington st....NYC
My Grandpa always bought me new shoes there....yea always a small toy came with those Buster Browns.
Man dont remember if they hurt or what.....musta been good if i dont remember pain.....

New shoes but clothes were 2nd hand all from Orchard st....my start in the Vintage clothing fad was by Necessity...

Thanks for posting D-Man .....good memories

 

[Foxer55]

Dinerman,

The Talon Shu-Lok : Snapjack shoes
The Talon Shu-Lok fastener was first introduced onto the market in 1954. It was marketed towards children and young adults, as well as the elderly and arthritic. It remained in production at least until the 1970s, though it peaked around 1958. Velcro eventually filled its market niche. Talon let the "Shu-Lok" trademark die in 1996.

The 1949 patent. It took until 1954 for the design to be perfected and the product to hit the market.

I had a pair of these in black, plain toe and they were great! I wish I could get a pair today.

 

[cookie]

They come up from time to time and Magnoli makes a version.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Yes sir! Buster Browns a few times for me, the shoes were actually really nice, had to be careful when pushing down on the lever to close it or it may bend.

 

[flat-top]

I love snapjacks! I have a 2 great repro pairs from the now defunct Geronimo from the UK, and the Magnoli version are actually my design that I had Magnoli make, and it's my prototype pair that you see on his site.
The repros unfortunately don't feature a Shu-Loc, but a snap.
Man, I haven't worn those shoes in a while, but this thread is making me want to break them out again!

 

[Indy Magnoli]

We just finished a pair of these for a customer... had to source the right shade of pink. Thought you guys would enjoy seeing them:

As flat-top points out, these have a snap, not the shu-loc, but they certainly look the part.

Kind regards,
Magnoli

 

[Edward]

Somehow these passed me by for years.... I'm guessing they're one of those 50s things that were exclusively or almost exclusively American, and thus it's taken me to stumble across them elsewhere in the rockabilly world (a subculture which, perhaps unsurprisingly, is hardcore Americana, rather than reflective of the actual 50s here in the UK). There's a brand in Portugal, Penahaus, doing them now... not sure if they're the original style mechanism, though looks like it could be.

Fascinated by these. I've been keeping half an eye out for a better-covering (as in more of the foot) alternative to penny loafers for flying in Winter, and these might just be the birdy.

 

[Edward]

Somehow these passed me by for years.... I'm guessing they're one of those 50s things that were exclusively or almost exclusively American, and thus it's taken me to stumble across them elsewhere in the rockabilly world (a subculture which, perhaps unsurprisingly, is hardcore Americana, rather than reflective of the actual 50s here in the UK). There's a brand in Portugal, Penahaus, doing them now... not sure if they're the original style mechanism, though looks like it could be.

Fascinated by these. I've been keeping half an eye out for a better-covering (as in more of the foot) alternative to penny loafers for flying in Winter, and these might just be the birdy.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Somehow these passed me by for years.... I'm guessing they're one of those 50s things that were exclusively or almost exclusively American, and thus it's taken me to stumble across them elsewhere in the rockabilly world (a subculture which, perhaps unsurprisingly, is hardcore Americana, rather than reflective of the actual 50s here in the UK). There's a brand in Portugal, Penahaus, doing them now... not sure if they're the original style mechanism, though looks like it could be.

Fascinated by these. I've been keeping half an eye out for a better-covering (as in more of the foot) alternative to penny loafers for flying in Winter, and these might just be the birdy.

As a pre-schooler I enjoyed going to the local Buster Brown shoe store as they had some big birds in cages in the store. It is so long ago I have no idea what the birds were. They were enormous as per my childhood memories. Back to topic, before my time and I never saw or recall any Shu-Lok shoes. I am of the age/era /neighborhood where we went to school in leather shoes (leather soles) and put on "play shoes" when returning home. Sunday evening was the scheduled time for my brothers and I to join my Dad in shoe maintenance. I do recall brushing my shoes most days before heading out the door to school.

As to flying I frequently wear my Aldens which have a metal shank. I fly pre-checked for flights. The TSA officers often just wand me without removing my shoes. I like to think that dressing smart allows me more courtesy. When I remove my shoes inevitably I get comments on my shoes. I do this as the leather shoes are truly comfortable wearing and walking for my escapades. A couple of weeks ago I got a complimentary upgrade to 1st class after a brief conversation with the flight crew on traveling with a hat/sport jacket and shiny shoes (Alden longwings) found them encouraging the stewards for a seat reassignment. I do not choose shoes for ease of taking them off to my mind it is only a brief inconvenience and not very troubling to take off and put on. I do carry a bone shoehorn in my carry-on briefcase.

Good memories of the childhood Buster Brown shoe store.

Cheers, Eric -

 

[Edward]

As a pre-schooler I enjoyed going to the local Buster Brown shoe store as they had some big birds in cages in the store. It is so long ago I have no idea what the birds were. They were enormous as per my childhood memories. Back to topic, before my time and I never saw or recall any Shu-Lok shoes. I am of the age/era /neighborhood where we went to school in leather shoes (leather soles) and put on "play shoes" when returning home. Sunday evening was the scheduled time for my brothers and I to join my Dad in shoe maintenance. I do recall brushing my shoes most days before heading out the door to school.

As to flying I frequently wear my Aldens which have a metal shank. I fly pre-checked for flights. The TSA officers often just wand me without removing my shoes. I like to think that dressing smart allows me more courtesy. When I remove my shoes inevitably I get comments on my shoes. I do this as the leather shoes are truly comfortable wearing and walking for my escapades. A couple of weeks ago I got a complimentary upgrade to 1st class after a brief conversation with the flight crew on traveling with a hat/sport jacket and shiny shoes (Alden longwings) found them encouraging the stewards for a seat reassignment. I do not choose shoes for ease of taking them off to my mind it is only a brief inconvenience and not very troubling to take off and put on. I do carry a bone shoehorn in my carry-on briefcase.

Good memories of the childhood Buster Brown shoe store.

Cheers, Eric -

I find airline security varies a lot. I flew through Boston just about a year on from 9/11 and (along with every other passenger) was virtually strip-searched, that before shoe-removal became common. It seems still to vary from place to place whether I'm asked to remove my shoes; pretty much always in UK airports, mostly in Europe. China it rarely seems to happen. Definitely if I'm waved on without them it's when I'm in penny loafers (which ironically I took to wearing when travelling precisely because they're easier to remove!). I guess they're more concerned about hefty soles being used for concealment. Still, I like being able to kick them off and on onboard. Can be especially handy when landing in Beijing - they really don't like anyone dawdling as soon as that door is open! (Cultural I guess, it's the same in the cinema in Beijing - as soon as the credits role, the lights go up and you're herded out by a stern usher. Nobody gets to see the end-credit sequence til it hits disc / streaming!) Funny thing is, I never liked slip-ons until I bought a pair for flying convenience, and I quickly really took to them.