Shoe Shine Box
Here at Gold-N-Rule we make products that inspire us. Nothing feels better than sporting a crispy clean pair of kicks or sharply shined shoes. With that in mind we decided to remake the 1920's era Carnival Shoe Shine Box.
America is built on the shoe shine dream, even the corner shine boy can make it huge with a little bit of spit, polish and elbow grease. We did a little research and below is a short history of shoeshine boys in America.
With the start of the industrial revolution there was a large influx of workers into factories.
The need for work boots and shoes increased, more feet meant more shoes and the demand for a good boot shine increased dramatically. The 1800's saw an increase in street corner shoe shiners, especially in cities like New York and Chicago, as well as the production of shoe shining products. By the 1900s, shoe shining was at its height of popularity and during both world wars the increase in soldiers boots, meant a large demand for a well shined boot. The demand was so great that in New York during the 1910-20s the numbers of shoe shine stands exploded and filled most street corners. Eventually commissioner Robert Moses targeted shoe shine boys in a effort to “reduce clutter” on sidewalks and parks. However with the introduction of sneakers in the 60's the demand for a good shine dropped. Recently the modern man has reacquired the satisfaction of having a quality pair of shoes with a quality shine job and shoeshine stands and parlors are seeing a resurgence in popularity.
Many a man has started with a shoe shine box and ended up a success, below are a couple of the "shine boys" who made it from the street to the stars.
MalcomX
Sammy Sosa
James Brown
The need for work boots and shoes increased, more feet meant more shoes and the demand for a good boot shine increased dramatically. The 1800's saw an increase in street corner shoe shiners, especially in cities like New York and Chicago, as well as the production of shoe shining products. By the 1900s, shoe shining was at its height of popularity and during both world wars the increase in soldiers boots, meant a large demand for a well shined boot. The demand was so great that in New York during the 1910-20s the numbers of shoe shine stands exploded and filled most street corners. Eventually commissioner Robert Moses targeted shoe shine boys in a effort to “reduce clutter” on sidewalks and parks. However with the introduction of sneakers in the 60's the demand for a good shine dropped. Recently the modern man has reacquired the satisfaction of having a quality pair of shoes with a quality shine job and shoeshine stands and parlors are seeing a resurgence in popularity.
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