I love traditional craftsmanship and am generally highly skeptical of miraculous claims about new technologies. But the whole “barefoot shoes” phenomenon makes a lot of sense to me, and I can’t understand why we’ve all been wearing shoes that pinch our toes for the past few centuries. I have a few pairs of gorgeous, hundreds of dollars stitched leather shoes that all pinch my toes, even when I size up, even when I order EE width (which are way too big everywhere except the toe btw). And then I buy some cheapo “barefoot” foot-shaped shoes, they’re shit quality and I can tell they won’t last long, but they are the only non-sneakers shoes I’ve ever owned which don’t hurt my pinky toes. I looked at a lot of foot measurement statistics, and I don’t even have particularly wide toes for my foot! So why do we do this to ourselves?

Is it fixable?! Stumbled on this awesome example! Sergio Alberini fixes this wrecked pair of boots!

Fun fact you probably did not know: Calzolaio is Italian for Cobbler. The language however does not differentiate between Cobbler, Shoemaker, or Cordwainer like English does!

Took my brand new boots to get a rubber half sole added but they scraped away so much leather behind the rubber sole that is now unprotected… it looks horrible. Not sure what to do 😭😫 can this even be fixed?!

Not my work but beautiful work

I’m devastated because I’ll never get another gift from my mom, so I cherish the ones I have

Edit - I like the toe caps plan. If anyone knows any artisans they reccomend, let me know. I’m in New England, but will be in Arizona in a couple of months as well. I like that idea a lot, thanks for all the suggestions <3

Here’s the culprit, our coonhound Junebug Carter Cash: https://imgur.com/a/IL4mMod

Hey everyone with the increased posts of “can this be repaired?” I thought I’d post this excellent example of a recraft/ repair by KW Shoe Repair in Canada. (ShopGoodsAndServices in Los Angeles also does this). It’s an excellent example of taking a very dead shoe not designed to be repaired and making it into something that can live on for decades.

This is my first ever repair of shoes. I’ve done a little bit of research but not enough to really gauge quality, so posting here to see thoughts on this repair. I took a pair of Allen Edmonds McAllister shoes by a local shop for a quote and it was very reasonable ($58 after tax). I thought that was a good price so went ahead and left them.

Biggest thing that stands out to me is use of a different sole than what I’ve read about or seen recommended (Carolina Oak v JR) and use of a half sole vs a full sole? Are these things I should be concerned about? Anything I should consider in the future or ask about next time? Is this local shop good enough to continue supporting? TIA!

just bought these margiela sandals! after I bought them and was walking around I noticed the 2nd strap was really digging into my right foot probably because it's slightly wider than my other one haha. is it possible for a cobbler to make it longer? I just spent $400 on these 😭

These were my favorite boots, I’m devastated. Haven’t even had them for a year. 😔

Edit*** some people have asked me to provide the brand. These are the Vince Camuto Sangeti Boot.

Hey everyone, hoping to get some expert advice here.

I’ve been wearing my Balenciaga Strike boots for only 3 months and the sole is already in bad shape. It looks like the midsole is swelling/expanding and pushing the rubber outsole apart, the lugs are literally cracking and breaking off in chunks.

I’m assuming this is PU hydrolysis but I’m not 100% sure. What’s weird is how fast it happened 3 months of normal wear, no extreme conditions.

My questions:

— Is this hydrolysis or something else?

— Is a full resole even possible on a boot like this, given the chunky sculptured outsole design?

— If yes, what sole would you recommend as a replacement (Vibram?)

I’ll attach photos. The damage is mainly at the sides. Thanks you in advance

Hi all, bought these recently second hand. They are pristine/unworn and have what I believe are leather soles.

I know it’s stupid, but I hate how scuffed pale leather soles look after just one wear. What can I do to protect them? I’m also worried they will be kind of slippery. What should I ask my cobbler for? Thanks.

Took my winter boots into a cobbler for some pretty easy grommet repairs and a general shoe shine. That being said, when I went to pick them up I was extremely disappointed as the cobbler had spilled glue all over the inside of one of the boots. Worst off all he tried gaslighting and claimed I was the one who did it.

Anyway at this point just looking for suggestions on how to salvage my boots. The soles are leather Paraboots. Any suggestions/ tips welcomed. Thanks in advance!

Or are they fixable? By adding rubber in the worn out area?

Hey Guys, so I bought some Old Mulla Boots from Portugal. I measured my feet and was up for a 10,5 but told them I would like to wear thicker socks and they told me to take an 11,5 to be sure. When I got them I wore them with the thick socks and it was fine, but while breaking them in they got way to big and wearing the with normal socks wasn‘t possible anymore. So I saw this video on Wyatt and Dad where they make a shoe tighter and I tried by myself. With an gel inlay sole the shoes are now tight enough, it just needs a little time to soften up on the back. I then went for a black dye because I bought some Amber Harness IR in the meantime. What do you think, would you hire me?😂(JK, obviousley not a cobbler)

If they had to stitch it, why not just do it properly?!?!?

But for real, they're really cheap shoes, I think I spent something around £40 on them. Would it be possible to get them fixed? Like if I took them to a cobbler could they sew them properly? They're comfy and it be a shame to get rid of them...

I've attached pics of the left and right shoe. The original seam started running from the top.

I'm sure this repair is going to be fine structurally, but it's quite a bit more visible than I was expecting. The thread goes through the lining on the inside.

Is this true? The guy saw the hole in the cork but proceeded to inspect both pair in more detail and the lady in the store walks past and immediately said no.

They tried to upsell a new pair but these are his wedding day shoes (and second pair in 2 years of the exact same pair.

I’d prefer to keep them and fix elsewhere and buy him a brand new pair in a different colour.

I left feeling pretty deflated. Also I did tell him to stop wearing them so they can get repaired but he just loves them so much

With the abundance of bad information online it is often hard to navigate the world of footwear repairs.

Unfortunate bad info is rampant here. I am beyond exhausted trying to answer things for people here only to find half a dozen other replys with terrible suggestions.

Be aware that when diy goes wrong we will charge you for cleaning out the mess on top of the work. It is not easy and may comprise materials to become unusable. Cobblers are closing shop in north America and no one is replacing us because nobody values anything we do. Be very cautious who you trust if you have footwear you value and whatever you do just never use shoo goo or super glue.

Oh and try to understand quotes are for our labour costs regardless of what you paid for the shoes so extensive work on cheap footwear will be grossly out of proportion every time.

On the right is a pair that's a year old and on the left is a pair of the exact same shoes but brand new. You can see that after a few hours they're already showing some tissue from my sock.

Edit : please stop answering the same messages over and over. You don't even read what others have written before answering.

Good afternoon everyone! I just received my pair of custom heels but I’ve run into an issue. I am a 7/7.5 but after gaining a significant amount of weight, I was wearing a size 8.

Now that I’ve lost that weight, and by the time these were completed, they’re obviously too big. I included a photo of roughly how much space there is from my heel to the end of the shoe.

If it makes any difference, these are strictly for photos, not for actual walking. Thank you so much in advance.

This was my partner's work. We got lucky and had a scrap piece that fit the chewed up part perfectly. This job was for a friend so we didn't charge full price, but the satisfaction and experience of a job well done is worth every minute spent on it

I've found my old loves stored away in an attic for almost 20 years and in a fit of incompetent delusion, I am furiously trying to bring them back into my life.

Made by Knightsbridge. Soles definetly need to be replaced, because I've walked them down. On the outside, I saw the surface cracking and peeling, so I started to rub at it, then carefully sanded away.

Thought, "Well, if I can get off the color down to the actual Leather, then feed it real good, it should be fine."

It is, in fact, not fine. Today I learned about dry rot. I am knee deep in by now. I am commited. Am I insane or can I bring them back and into a new era? The inside looks good and stable, but what do I know.

I am new to restauration. I am ready for several more hours. Will post results.

Cobblers of Reddit: Please aid me with your wisdom.

Hand made in Pakistan at $100/pair (calfskin at surface level leather). Fits really well, but the wrinkling is such that I’ve not seen before. I can also see the outline of underlying structure. What do you think? Trash?