I have a perfect pair of black heeled booties. They are the right height (a medium heel) for wearing with pants or dresses, have a classic black leather look, with stylish gold zipper and buckles.
But the most important thing? They are comfortable. The arch is just the right height, to not put pressure on my feet after a a full day's wear, and the toe box is wide enough.
Needless to say, they've gotten a ton of wear and were starting to show it. And I fell into a super common trap: "They weren't super expensive. I don't think they're worth the cost of repair." Fortunately, my friend Julie changed my mind. Not only is repair cheaper than buying new, and the sustainable choice, but her argument? "How often do you find a pair dress shoes that is actually comfortable?"
So I found myself a shoe repair shop, a small one-man shop named Vic's in Burien, and requested a few areas be improved. First, the toes, which were both scuffed and a little stained from the rain. Here is the after - he did a pretty nice job with polishing!
I neglected to take "before" pictures, but this is a pretty good representation of the level of discoloring.
Next, the heels had two big issues. The leather on the heel was pushed up, exposing the white core, and the heel tip was unevenly worn. Vic fully replaced the tip and smoothed and glued down the heel wrap.
Again, not my "before" photo, but this shows a similar type of heel wrap peeling I was facing.
Overall, I was pretty pleased with the repairs. I paid $22, and probably could have invested a little more to fully replace the heel wrap. These Sam Edelman booties cost around $60 originally, meaning I can repair them 3 times before it would financially make sense to replace them, and more if they continue to be comfortable and supportive to my feet.
Thanks to Julie for reminding me about my priorities and saving my favorite booties!
In this era of fast fashion, what are some items that you've forgotten you can repair yourself or get repaired at a low cost?
No comments:
Post a Comment