I happened to see that a new shoe repair shop opened in a strip mall near my house and, a few months later, my SO said his favorite pair of shoes (somewhat expensive) needed new soles. So, off we go to the shoe repair shop.
I expected to see Geppetto working by himself with little Pinocchio sitting forlorn in the corner. Surprise! The place had a line of customers, racks and racks of shoes waiting for repair or to be picked up, and they charged $38 to re-sole the shoes!
I am the type of guy who buys fairly cheap shoes and simply buys another pair when they wear out. I guess I am obviously in the minority.
I was impressed that the shoe repair trade was still in full swing, and that so many people were obviously in need of shoe repair.
Awhile back I noticed some odd little indentations appeaing in our wood flooring. It took some time, but I finally found the reasoning – one of my wife’s favorite pair of boots (and one of my favorites for her to wear – real sexy black knee-high ones) had lost the heel covering, leaving this rounded tack bottom exposed. They were killing our floors.
Well, I wasn’t about to have her toss out these shoes. I remembered that when we moved to this town, I found it quaint that there was a store with a “cobbler shop” sign on or main street. I figured I’d take them there and surprise my wife with a little shoe repair.
I expected to find a lonely old man at the counter, ever-so-thankful that someone entered his humble shop. Yeah, right…took three days to get them repaired because of how backed up he was with work.
Yes, those that are made in a manner which allows repair. In my case, they were shoes that were more expensive at the outset, but with a longer service life. I’ve lost count of the number of times my RedWing climbing boots have been resoled. They’ve been restitched on some seams, plus there are a couple places where gaff damage has been stitched up. I paid $85 for them in 1977. The wingtips I wore to the office for 18 years got resoled a couple times.
But I have a couple pairs of disposable shoes, too…sneakers and a pair of lightweight hikers.
I require a 1 inch lift on my shoes(left leg is shorter do to an accident.) Shoe repair places can make the modification for me. As it is 50-100 bucks to have this done I typically buy higher end shoes and boots. If a pair of shoes can be fixed I certainly have it done. The places I’ve used also all do leather repair as well so people take handbag, jackets and things in to be fixed as well.
It is and has always been a business that can sustain itself. Good shoes are becoming rare and hard to find so people are more then willing to pay a price to keep them around.
I buy a lot of disposable shoes – but have a fondness for good-quality loafers, which I’ll keep going for years and years and years with reheeling and resoling.
I would certainly prefer to pay $15 to have comfortable shoes repaired than to toss them out and buy a new pair that might or might not be as good. I did finally give up on a pair of sandals that had cost $100+ new, after repairing them two or three times, only to have them disintegrate yet again in the same spot. My feet are pretty sensitive, though, so I hate buying new shoes only to find that they give me blisters.
I used to have new heel ends put on my pumps when I wore them at the office.
Hubby now wears only Allen Edmonds dress shoes, so he has no need for a shoe repair place to fix them. If the shoes need any kind of repair or update (soles, heels, whatever), you send them to the company and they resole, reblock, buff and finish, etc, and basically send you back an almost new pair of shoes. For free.
They aren’t inexpensive, but they are worth it. Comfy as hell, too, from what I hear.
There’s a small strip mall near me. There used to be a tiny shoe repair shop, tucked into a back corner, that was run by a blind guy. I had several pairs redone there and he did excellent work. Then one time I went and found the shop vacant. I inquired next door and discover that the guy had been robbed and badly beaten several months prior. Apparently his injuries and the loss forced him to lose the business. Damn shame.
My brother in law dropped out of high school to marry my wife’s sister. He learned to repair shoes from his grandfather. He went into business for himself, and has always made a real good living.
IN the 60’s 70’s I had corrective shoes that were almost $100. They wear quickly. My parents had to have them repaired at the cobbler. The place was around in the early 90’s yet. He also repaired other leather items.
I used to just wear disposable shoes but when I started buying nicer shoes, it became worth it to get them repaired.
I spend a lot at the cobbler, I just took in five pairs and it was over $120. But the total value of the shoes was probably around $1600. Usually, I get the heels replaced if they’ve worn down or soles put on the bottoms which protect the shoe and make them easier to walk in. I also ocassionally get padding added under the insole to make stretched out shoes fit better or get the shoes reconditioned which makes them look new again. I generally have to wait a week to get my shoes back.
I don’t have to wear suit and tie for work very often (thank goodness), but when I do, it is fairly important that everything look perfect. I count on the local shoe repair guy to perform routine maintenance on the few pairs of dress shoes that I got. He cleans them, conditions them, waxes them, makes the sides black again, colors the leather soles and occasionally does little repairs. He also cleans and fixes purses, luggage, and other leather stuff.
We have a shoe/leather repair guy in my town. I have rubber soles put on my shoes when I buy them, and I keep the taps taken care off. He’s also fixed some leather sandal straps & purse straps. He does good work.