A new Shoe Repair shop opened near Homies crib and that place is swamped!!
I always thought of shoe repair as one of those old school cobbler,cordwainer trades.
Perhaps I would have previously thrown away a pair of shoes and bought new ones instead of getting the old ones fixed.
But I have a nice pair of dress shoes which I shall choose to get re-soled, as it will likely be much cheaper than purchasing a new pair of shoes and is the reason for this new shop being so busy.
Or, would it be easier/cheaper for me to go buy a new pair of shoes from an evil corporation and not support the neighborhood economy?
Get the shoes resoled. It’s is what a man would do. You a little girl? You a little teen girl who needs everything new and has no character. You gonna go listen to Justin Beeber and make out with your Obama poster little girl?
I got an old(er) pair of Cole-Haan split toes re-soled, and they are my new favorite pair of shoes. Ask the cobler about reconditioning too, they look amazing, and, all broken in too!
+1 more for buying shoes of sufficient quality that resoling is an option. I found out a while back that I prefer to spend more money on nice shoes and take care of them versus buying cheaper shoes and then replacing them. In the long run, the quality shoes more than make up for the extra up front cost. They hold up better, they look better, and they are often more comfortable.
Getting shoes resoled is a magical experience. You take something in that looks like trash and a couple days later you get a good as new pair of shoes back. Do not cheat yourself out of that experience. It is one of life’s joys.
We have one the next town over where I had the velcro replaced on my cycling shoes. Not only do my shoes feel new (and stay closed) but our cobbler guy is HOT! not one but 2 good reasons to go.
I was a cobbler in college. It is a bit of a dying art but you can really extend the life of your shoes by having them worked on. The trick is to buy nice shoes to begin with so they can actually be resoled. Buy shoes with leather welts and heels that are made of stacks of leather with a rubber cap. You can repair other types of shoes but the work is not nearly as strong as work done on shoes that were meant to be resoled.
We have one the next town over where I had the velcro replaced on my cycling shoes. Not only do my shoes feel new (and stay closed) but our cobbler guy is HOT! not one but 2 good reasons to go.
It’s a good thing no one here knows your husband. Oh wait…
The trick is to buy nice shoes to begin with so they can actually be resoled. Buy shoes with leather welts and heels that are made of stacks of leather with a rubber cap. You can repair other types of shoes but the work is not nearly as strong as work done on shoes that were meant to be resoled.
About 2 years ago I got introduced to Alden and Allen Edmonds shoes, which I believe are the last two shoe manufacturers to keep production in the US. They are great shoes, but I get the factory seconds because full retail is so expensive. They are definitely built to last and to be resoled.
I used to work as a cobbler and it seems to cycle opposite to the rest of the economy as people fix things when trying to save money. I swing by my old employer to say hi sometimes and he’s swamped too these days.
20 yrs ago we were even resoling running shoes. We used to get boxes of new soles from New Balance and sheets of waffle printed rubber from Nike and we had runners getting years out of their shoes.
$280 for a pair of leather shoes. Re-soling them 2x at ~$25 per pop. I’ve owned them about 10 years. Total cost $330. If I had to buy 1 pair of new shoes to replace them when i crushed their sole, I’m behind in the game.
Allen Edmonds Shell Cordovan shoes last forever. Seriously. Double soled, they polish better than calfskin and most importantly, do not crease, ever.
Shoe care tips:
Rotate your shoes—don’t wear the same pair daily.
Store them on properly fitting cedar shoe trees, and in a cloth shoe bag if possible. When you take them off at the end of the day, they go right onto the cedar trees. You’ll extend the life of your shoes by at least 50% doing this.
Dust them off prior to putting them in the shoe bag.
Polish them yourself, every 3-4x you wear them. It takes about 5-10 min, and is a skill well worth acquiring.
I’m partial to Lobb or Vass shoes, however Edward Green & Church’s handmade are also nice—their lasts don’t fit me well. AE or Alden are very good mid-range shoes and if you are a salesman its what I would buy—I prefer the double-soled option as they last longer. I’ve had lots of pairs of Ferragamos and they can be very well made, but not at the same level (even their Lavorazions) as the best from UK/Budapest.
Investing in classic, handcrafted business shoes is some of the best money you can spend on your wardrobe. Oh, and you really shouldn’t own more than 1-2 pair of black shoes, outside of 1 pair of patent leather formal shoes. My rule of thumb is 4 pairs brown for every 1 pair of black. They are simply more interesting & help you avoid BDE (bus driver effect).
My dress shoes are ‘nice’ to me but still cheap compared to the Allen Edmonds shoes Mopey is talking about. But…still worth getting re-soled. So I’m going to do both: buy some new Allen Edmonds shoes and get the old ones fixed.
I walked by that shoe repair place again today = swamped
I am not really big on having shoes repairs because I think that once they give up, that would be the time to hang up their gloves. They are designed to last some distance and should things shake up and end up getting destroyed, I do not see any reason why you should have them repaired still. That does not include though damages that would still let them function normally but just hurt it aesthetically.
You don’t even need the shoes to be really expensive, just ones you love. I have a pair of LL Bean dress boot that I wear all winter. Their soles were getting worn down so I had them replaced. I think it was $30. Totally worth it for a pair of boots I wear several times a week during the winter.
I also have a pair of cowboy boots whose heels are getting a little worn. I’ll get them to the cobbler in a couple months. Not expensive boots but I love them.
Budget cuts in my house mean more trips to the cobbler instead of new shoes.
