Proper leather shoes

imo expensive shoes cost the same as cheap* shoes all in.

That old adage, "I didn't have the money to buy cheap boots", really doesn't hold water in a developed economy where labour is so expensive, and products can be bought cheaply.

*obvs not talking about super cheap semi-disposable ones

Leather should never snap. A cheap upper will crack on the vamp if you do that. You bend in front of the shank, which runs the arch of the foot (inside edge of heel block until leather meets the floor, or around 6-10cm). Old metal ones will bend out of shape if you force too far, wooden ones will merely snap and allow the sole to sag further on that gap.

Picked up these: https://www.cheaney.co.uk/scott-r-fur-lined-derby-boot-in-bronze-rub-off-grain-leather-p681

And these recently: https://www.trickers.com/uk/ottenburger.html

And sorting a Bonafè cordovan jumper MTO 🙈

Heard a rumour meermin are part made in China. Disappointing if true

Very useful advice! Thank you for sharing.

Those Cheaneys are ace. Much want. Cannot justify. :(

I got lucky on eBay with them so worth keeping an eye out

Christ, you're stepping onto dodgy territory there mate. I posted on another thread that some Rapha gear is made in China, to my consternation......fucking avalanche of WTF responses!!! Maybe it's my age; my Dad, rest his soul, insisted on German quality and wouldnt touch Made in China. I've never got over it.

You actual London lot should be able to find some lovely footwear in that londons famous London!
I picked up a pair of (admittedly nicely worn) Joseph cheany's in oxblood for a fiver in.........harlow!

Must have been a tourist who carked it on the way through or something.....

Does anyone know a decent cobbler in East London (Liverpool Street/Moorgate /Shoreditch) or up by Kings Cross. I have two pairs of trickers that desperately need re-soling and re-heeling (1x leather, 1x dainite) and want to get them seen to sooner rather than later. Previously been recommended someone in/near Burlington Arcade but it’s too far from my daily loop and with the best will in the world just isn’t going to happen

Send to trickers

I will get a quote but imagine it would have been more expensive than an independent/local cobbler and avoids the need of paying for shipping 2 pairs

https://thebureaubelfast.typepad.com/noticeboard/2011/05/trickers-resoling.html

I've got a relatively used pair of Cheaney Tweed C in a size 12 if anyone is interested.

Worn a bit, but they're actually just a bit too big for me. PM me for pics.

Classic Shoe Repairs Brecknock Road.

Snagged these just now. Had to balance things out after the more formal ones I bought last week.

1 Attachment

...!

1 Attachment

Canttellifserious.jpg

#happyclouds

Seen many sites and videos talking about darkening a leather shoe, but not the other way around ; I have sourced a pair of leather shoes that are in a very very dark brown, and wondered what would be the result of using a medium to dark brown cream shoe polish (like saphir pommadier for example) in order to have nice shades of brown.
In my mind this could provide some really cool effects and nice tones/shades of brown, but is it really the case? I thought about this because it doesn't seem irreversible, and I do not want to dye completely the leather and try to re-color it.
Therefore any counter-indication to use a medium brown shoe cream polish on very dark brown shoes? or the result will be terrible?

I don’t think it will work as well as hoped but you could try. As you say, it think it will be easy to remove depending what type of leather it is?

You shouldn’t cause damage.... I think the very nature of something absorbing something else darkens things though? It does in my mind!
I never did put the pictures up of my method of ‘bulling’ shoes.... is there interest here?

Don't skimp on a repair. I've been to plenty of recommended cobblers in London, been shouted at several times in Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, but I've never been 100% happy.

For a pair of trickers that you seem to like I'd spend wisely and send them back to trickers.

It won't work.
Any thing you apply will darken it. You need to remove something if you want to lighten it.
Maybe try carefully with some acetone as it dissolves the oils that carry the dye.

I don't think I will try acetone or any solvent causing potential damage to the shoe as I am not confident enough. I might have access to a bunch of different brown shades of creams, I will give a go anyway and see if it does provide a good result, I think it is safer and totally reversible (plus the shoes are a very very dark brown so can not be darkened much more anyway haha)
thanks for the replies!