Wear St. Louis' Alox Shoe Laces

St. LOUIS – The walls of Cracker Barrel always have amusing signs, all real.

One brand we saw along at one on I-95 in South Carolina were Alox Shoe Laces.

Alox was founded by John Frier (1895-1974), who in 1919 invented a new way to make shoelaces by crimping a shoelace with a bit of metal. Frier later made kites and marbles (Wilder American Flyer brand), but was known for his laces. Their slogan was “Good Shoe Laces for a Nickle; Better ones a Dime.”

Apparently, with Alox you could: “pull as hard as you like but Alox laces never break.”

Today, there are but a few shoe care brands. Perhaps the only well-known shoe care brand is Kiwi; an upstart is Penguin. Another is Collonil; yet another is Meltonian. As far as we know, there is no more Alox.

Author

Garland Pollard

J. Garland Pollard IV is editor/publisher of BrandlandUSA. Since 2006, the website BrandlandUSA.com has chronicled the history and business of America’s great brands.

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