How to Care for Your Shoe Collection

How to Care for Your Shoe Collection

Services of a modern cobbler go way beyond the classic shoe shine.
By Elizabeth Larkin, About.com Guide

I know a very wealthy man--we’re talking private jet owner here--who hasn’t purchased a new pair of shoes in a decade. He gets them shined regularly, and once a year he takes them to the cobbler where they are re-soled, re-lined, cleaned and back in fighting form within two days.

A good cobbler can transform your shoes into something that very closely resembles “new.” Before you buy a new pair of shoes, consider the services a cobbler can offer:

Basic Shoe Repair:

•Replace heels and soles
•Install a protective outer sole
•Replace or repair inner sole (tip: Don't repair, just replace the insole!)
•Cleaning and reconditioning
•Stretching – this is key for people, like me, who have one foot slightly larger than the other.

High Heels:
•Repair the heels
•Recover a heel in new fabric (suede, leather, etc.)

Boots:
•Waterproof the outside
•Stretch or tighten the shaft

Beyond the Basics:
In addition to the basics, a “luxury” or “upscale” shoe repair outfit may offer the following services:
•Change a wide heel into a stiletto
•Additionally, can widen a stiletto into a traditional heel
•Lengthen or shorten straps on your strappy sandals or sling backs
•Have shoes dyed to a new color (tip: Many women do this to their wedding shoes.)

If you're not sure where to find an upscale cobbler ask around at the most high-end stores in your area. My friend Meghan, a confirmed fashionsita on a budget, once needed a pair of J Crew pants hemmed. She asked the store and they sent her to their own tailor who works independently at a store front in her neighborhood. Score!

TIP: Once you get your shoes back, don’t expect them to fit exactly the way they previously did; think of them like new shoes you need to break in.

MY THOUGHTS

i've been planning on doing this. just need to find the time and take the trip to a really good shoe repair shop.well, at least for the basic shoe repair. i don't about water proofing and beyond the basics. worth checking out.

Women purchase 469 pairs of shoes through life

Women purchase 469 pairs of shoes through life: Survey


The average women will spend 16,000 pounds on shoes in her whole lifetime, according to a survey by Gocompare.com.

According to the research, girls usually buy their first pair without their mum at 14, and then the purchase limit goes to seven pairs a year for the rest of their lives, which eventually brings the number to 469 pairs.

Spending 34.99 pounds on an average pair makes ladies splash out 244.93 pounds each year and 16,410 pounds over 67 years.

The survey of 3,000 women concluded that the average woman has nearly about 19 pairs of shoes which includes – three pairs with heels, six pairs of flip-flops, sandals, ballet pumps or wedges, three pairs of boots and four pairs of ‘foxy-style’ shoes for night parties.

Their shoe racks also have two pairs of work shoes and another two or so ‘random’ purchases.

Four in 10 women say they judge another female by the shoes she has on.

More than half find it easy to justify a purchase to themselves but a quarter rarely tell their partner about new ones as “he wouldn’t understand”.

“Shoes are women’s one major weakness,” the Daily Express quoted Hayley Parsons, of Gocompare as saying.

MY THOUGHTS

i'm normal, i'm normal...or as this article says, i'm an average woman. haha. i think i still have 69 shoes to hit the lifetime average....