Saturday, December 18, 2010

A Cobbler Is a Girl's (& a Goth's) Best Friend

I just got a bunch of shoes back from the cobbler, & it's like getting new shoes for xmas! Except they cost a fraction of what new shoes cost & they already feel broken in. I tend to save up shoes for repairing until I have several pairs. Don't know why, there's a good cobbler just a few miles from my house. But it seems like a chore to take stuff there, leave them for a week, & return to pick them up. So I wait until it's it's really worthwhile -- which also means I haven't worn these shoes for about a year in some cases!

From top-right (& oldest to be repaired), I had pair of black buckled boots (side zip, faux buckle) with kitten heels that needed new heel caps plus the pointy toe were horribly scuffed & worn, from Baker Shoes; a pair of black pointy-toed kitten-heels that needed new heel caps, from Aldo; a pair of black suede pumps with square heels that needed new heel caps, vintage Fleuvog; & a pair of black suede lace-up granny boots that needed new heel caps, from some store in London.


This is probably the most common repair for women's shoes. That little cap on a heeled shoe wears off pretty easily & can be fixed easily too. My cobbler charged about $15 per pair. For the boots that needed the pointy toes mended, that cost $17.  And all the shoes got a cleaning & shine for free, even the suede shoes (the granny boots were in rather sorry shape too).


A modest & very worthwhile investment! They're all like new, & now I have a bunch of fabulous shoes to wear again. Can't wait. I hope everyone out there has made friends with their local cobbler too!

7 comments:

  1. Hahaha! Just when I think I couldn't enjoy your posts any more.

    I love my cobbler. The funny thing is that I don't know anyone else who uses one. But I bring all my shoes there. And my cobbler always gives me weird looks when I bring in my weirdo shoes. But maybe that is part of the fun for me.

    This could not be more timely. I have a ten-year-old pair of red and purple Fluevog mary janes that need serious help. This is will be their third trip in.

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  2. My black velvet pointy boots need the heel cap repairing - thank you for reminding me! XD

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  3. So how do you go about finding a good cobbler?

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  4. SiouxsieL - This was the first time I've taken Fleuvogs to the cobbler, & he asked me all kinds of questions about them! Said he'd never seen anything like them, lol.

    ultimategothguide - You're welcome ;-)

    Penelope - Ask around & try Yelp.com for reviews. When you find a place, take 1 pair for a simple repair, like heel caps. That should cost from $10-15, depending on where you live. If the repair looks good & the customer service is suitable, then the place is worth taking more complicated repairs. HTH!

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  5. So true! I had one of my favorite pairs of shoes repaired when I was in my first or second year of college--black and red saddle shoes, very mid-Nineties--and I fell in love with cobblers right there.

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  6. Went to cobbler today. He wouldn't touch my Fluevogs unless I had the proper heel replacements. Interestingly, he knew just where to go to get my Fluevog replacement heels. Who knew?

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  7. kristophine - Cobblers are the best.

    siouxsiel - Hah! At least he knew.

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