Is it bougie to repair shoes or just smart? Had an old cobbler set me straight.

Last month my boot sole split right down the middle. I was about to toss them and buy new ones for $80 at Walmart. But an old cobbler downtown, this guy named Frank, offered to resole them for $25. He said I'd be throwing away good leather and called me a 'disposable generation shopper.' But then I looked around his shop and saw boots from the 90s sitting there waiting for pickup. On one hand, $25 repair beats $80 new boots. On the other hand, a cobbler isn't on every corner and it took him 10 days to finish. So is hunting down a cobbler worth it for the savings, or is that just a hassle most of us can't pull off?

2 comments

2 Comments

ivan87312d ago

That "disposable generation shopper" line hit home for me because my buddy Mike did the exact same thing with his work boots last fall. He dropped them off at a cobbler near the train station and that guy kept them for two full weeks. By the time he got them back, the soles were solid but the stitching along the side was already coming loose again after three days. He ended up buying new boots anyway and swore he'd never waste time with a cobbler again.

matthewg6310d ago

Notice how we've all stopped even trying to fix stuff. Like, my parents would've patched those boots three times before giving up, but we just toss things the second they need real work. It's not even about the money anymore, we've just lost the patience for the whole repair dance.