Have you ever had your shoes repaired?

I have shoes repaired out of season.My local repair fellow is such a nice man and I want to keep him in a job. I like the ethics of repairing, reusing or recycling. I am rough on my shoes, but I have had boots for 10 years or more that have done many kms now. Recently, I had two pairs of sandals reglued as straps had popped out of the sole and it cost only $15. I would rather spend $7.50 than try to find replacement shoes and break them in.

by annfi

I always have my shoes repaired ... firstly I am tight with money or as I like to proclaim - I live frugally some of the time. However, where shoes are concerned, I would rather pay for quality workmanship and have a handful of expensive shoes than cheap throwaway shoes.
Therefore needless to say, my shoes are repaired constantly - new heels, new soles, and polished every month !

by Annalisa Brown

Oh! Anna Lisa, you only polish your shoes ONCE a MONTH! Are they the type of shoes that can have a so-called 'permanent' polish applied to them?

My having spent time in the Australian Army, my shoes get polished EVERY DAY!
Not only do they 'look' good, but it preserves the leather fantastically! Cheers!

I would love to have my shoes polished every day! Unfortunately once a month is all I can stretch to and even that is pushing it. But I have to admit, clean looking shoes speaks volumes about a person.

No, it's not worth the cost/effort/finding someone to fix them. By the time my shoes need fixing, I might as well get a new pair.

by Bryony Harrison

Yes. A seemingly expensive pair of shoes, if looked after and repaired, can last a very long time and work out far cheaper than buying constant replacement cheap shoes.

by VerityG

Yes. I tend to have one pair of shoes (well, two, one for summer, one for winter) and wear them to death. I had a really comfy pair of sandals I had worn for years and my Mum had them re-soled for me. I've also had boot heels repaired. It's normally only worth doing if you can find a repair place that will do it cheaply though. Otherwise it can cost you more than new shoes (though if you really love them it might still be worth doing).

by Jennifer Muirhead

Oh! yes all the time.

Not something one may do these days, but years ago (30) you would always see the repair man's shop around.

Now.....you have to really know where they hang out!....lol.

by jonaja

Yes, I seemed to be losing the little rubber / plastic piece attached to my stiletto heels quite often. There is a shoe repair place in castle towers where they do excellent work repairing my shoes. That's where I run to when I 've lost a piece or two of my shoe..and mind you, I 've never taken back a shoe that they mended before!

by Sharm Jay

I am thinking of having a favourite pair of boots repaired. Still not sure if I'll go through with it though.

by Vee

Hello Vee......dependent on the quality of your shoes, & advice of shoe repair person, it's usually cheaper to have them repaired.
Have done this all

my life, as top quality shoes bought in first place.
Happy feet, happy person!

Vee, I would recommend you give it a go. Repairs are fairly cheap. My boots go it at least once a year. The repairer told me that if they are leather they are worth repairing.

Yes, for the expensive ones, my boots is $700, I have just had the heel done up. It has been worn out on one side only, also my feet are very tiny, can't even easily buy from Asian country, so i get it painted to the color I like (darker). This type of work that need to be done by shoe repairer,

by Kim.v

Yes, when the sole came away from a favourite pair of shoes made in Germany.

by farle

My favourite shoe repairer even repaired the inners of a pair of sneakers my pup had eaten out. Unfortunately he has retired, and none of his sons was interested in taking over his business. As he said, many of today's mass produced shoes are not repairable as they are made of such flimsy materials. Other repairers charge so much one might as well buy a new pair.

by grann

Just at the end of last year I had a good pair of black leather shoes repaired as I wore them one wet morning and was dismayed to learn there was a small hole in the sole.

As I keep these for interviews/work/concerts, I did have them repaired, which cost around $50, but there's a great man in a little stall in my local shopping centre who'll tell you how it is, if it can be fixed or not.

by amanda

And they've just glued the heel and other bit on, and every couple of weeks it keeps coming off/away, requiring re-gluing which I've tried a strong type of craft glue for, but it doesn't hold.
I seem to remember a time when there were little nails in the new heel, etc, to prevent it from coming off all the time.

I used to years ago when my high heels kept needing heels to be done and had taps on the front to prolong wear. When my flat or wedge heels which were leather needed repairing, I always had them done. Nowadays my leather orthotic heels don't wear out, rather the leather uppers do after several years of constant use so they have to be thrown out.

by helga

Yes, I often have as I buy expensive shoes sometimes, and these are worth repairing or putting new soles on.
Doc Martin shoes do not need repairs ever -I have had one pair for some 25 years and not even the heel is worn!

by Finy

I have just bought my first pair of Dr Martins. I think they will last the rest of my life. They look so solid. I bought them second hand, in near new condition,because they were made in the UK, not China as they now are.

yes, mostly satasfactorily but one pair not so much....

by lc212