Cinnamon Posted January 8, 2008 Posted January 8, 2008 Talking about my mother's shoe collection on another thread reminded me of a couple of pairs of shoes that she gave me years ago which are suffering from the same problem. Being a fan of vintage clothing and shoes, I also find that it's a common problem when trying on vintage shoes and as a result the reason I don't buy them. I've not been brave enough to dissect the shoes, but the heels are essentially giving way under the shoe and moving towards the toes. It feels almost as if somebody has tried to swing their weight onto the heels and something's broken so they're no longer rigid and fully supportive. I've never worn the heels because of this both out of fear of damaging the shoes further and also because it's just not comfortable walking in them. Is this a fairly simple and inexpensive thing to have repaired, or are they write-offs? I hope I've described the problem well enough and apologise if this question has been raised before and I've glossed past it. I think I may try to dig them out to get a picture to help clarify what I mean.
shrimper Posted January 8, 2008 Posted January 8, 2008 A good cobbler can restore such shoes, though not necessarily cheaply. If the shank (the piece that goes under the foot in the insole} is not broken its just a matter of repairing the heel. If however the shank needs to be replaced the whole shoe has to be taken apart and reconstructed. It depends on how much you value the shoe whether its worth it.
Cinnamon Posted January 8, 2008 Author Posted January 8, 2008 I'd very much like to be able to wear the shoes, but I guess without finding out how much the work would cost, it's a difficult one. One pair are brown snakeskin 4" stiletto sandals and the others are dusky pink suede 3" stiletto peeptoe slingbacks. Ho hum. Time to either find a good cobbler or learn to sort this stuff out myself hehe.
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