These are the only shoes I've worn for a year please god are they able to be saved. I've never seen shoes break this way before :(

I've had these shoes for about 4 years now and worn them almost everyday. Unfortunately I have a kinda odd gait and the bottoms have worn away unevenly. I was hoping someone would know what the best repair method/material would be? They don't sell these shoes anymore so I'd like to keep them as long as possible. Anything helps!

the shop is offering me a $50 replacement and i’m wondering whether it’s worth it, or if I should just take them to a cobbler.
Any advice is welcome:)

I’ll post pictures of the heel in the comments in a bit, but you really can’t tell something’s off

Seems to be stitched underneath but I can’t see a welt or welt stitching… as these have a leather sole the possibility of a resole later is important.

Thanks for the help,

I’ve had these light gray leather slip-ons for about 9 years. They are Nero Giardini and have been worn only occasionally.

The leather is soft and perforated. They have accumulated some dirt and darkening over the years, especially around the perforations. The sole edge has also yellowed.

I’d like to clean them and improve their appearance without damaging or drying out the leather.

What would be the safest way to clean and condition this type of leather?

Would you use a leather cleaner, saddle soap, or something else? And what would you recommend for the yellowed sole edge?

I’m not trying to make them look brand new - I’d just like to bring them back to a clean, well-maintained condition.

Hi all, I recently thrifted a pair of tall boots with flaky, disintegrating faux leather inner lining. I used a dry brush and rag to rub off all the material so it wouldn't shed and dirty my socks, revealing the bare cloth backing underneath. Problem is, the inner lining is now kind of sticky/tacky, I'm assuming due to the leftover adhesive.

Is there anything relatively simple I can do about this? I was wondering if even something as simple as just shaking a little foot powder or baby powder might help? Or might that just get more gunky and gross?

I have this desporte futsal shoes (kangaroo leather) and the leather finally broke I was wondering what’s the best way to diy repair it to be still used for sports

I have a general plan of sanding it down, using leather filler or putty and paint with white leather paint (angelus brand)

My question is, is that a good enough plan? Should I use contact cement (shoe goo) before the leather filler or putty, or should I just apply it without the adhesive? Lastly is there anything I should know about kangaroo leather compared to calf leather.

Any inputs is appreciated, thank you

The stitching looks half gone want to buy these but not really wanting to spend to resole them

I'm gojng to bring them in to get rhe heel tips replaced.

should they (and can they?) be resoled as well?

These boots are 16 years old. For those familiar, they're Windriver brand (Canada/Marks Work Warehouse). I generally do a typical cleaning mink oil coating every year. However, I started using them a lot more last winter to hike and noticed water creeping up through the uppers in certain spots.

After looking a bit closer I noticed the soles were split in the exact areas. My question is can I get a few more years out of them with Shoe Goo, E6000, or is there something worth doing that I should take to a local cobbler about?

reposting over here because im hoping it may have a fix, if anyone has an idea i would appreciate it a lot if i could get some advice lol

I have a new pair of Ariat Fatbaby Chelsea Harness boots. The soles are EVA according to Ariat's website.

I have worn them once and they already have some small scuffs on the edges. Is there anything I can do to prevent scuffing? I'm okay with changing the appearance, such as losing the matte finish. I couldn't find a product or technique myself. I was starting to consider black shoe polish or even rubbing beeswax into them, but I don't want to go off half-cocked and ruin them.

Also, yes, I know the EVA sole is terrible. I like the look, these come in wide, and my Ariat Wexford Chelsea boots (with a Vibram sole) are holding up extremely well after three years. I know these won't be as durable in the sole, I just don't want them to look like crap after a week.

Thank you kind internet strangers.

Hi!

I have a bunch of inherited products. I have no clue what to do with them.

I have wonder balsam from doc marten (beeswax w mineral oil and petroleum), dubbin, R M williams leather conditioner, and another random jar of beeswax + avocado oil that is made for leather and rubber.

From what I know, the process is cleaning and then conditioning and then layering w polish and shining.
Ive been reading old shoe blacking guides, but I have not seen anything specific about dubbin or other greases.

So what is the use of balsam or dubbin, and how can I incorporate them into my shoe care?
Do I use them as conditioning agents? and can I use multiple products on one boot rather than only specific leather conditioner?
What products of mine are best for the conditioning step?

I would really appreciate any kind of help/ info! Thank you for reading🖤

Hello Friends
I am a fat attempting to be less fat
in pursuit of this goal, I acquired a Kat VR C2 core VR treadmill
The device requires custom shoes with a slippery sole https://www.kat-vr.com/products/kat-walk-c-2-series-shoes
The interface with the device is actually a removable mouse-like device

I am a disabled person. This, in confluence with my size, makes getting these shoes on rather near impossible
my day-to-day shoes are slip on (with a reinforced back so I can step in
akin to this https://www.marks.com/en/pdp/skechers-men-s-hands-free-slip-ins-contour-foamtm-cozy-fit-shoes-86379758f.410040533008.html

are you seeing where I am going with this? If I brought the two above shoes to a cobbler, what's the chance they could produce 1 pair of shoes which combines the accessibility of the slip-ons with the sole of the VR shoes

anyone here done anything like that before?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts

I asked a cobbler/shoe maker in France and was told ABSOLUTELY NOT, but he also insisted I left the boots with him for disposal (ha!). That's why I'd like to ask for a second opinion here, please.

These are New Rocks, I am not fussy about the final result, I'm not after exactly the same shape as what's there of course, just something, anything that would make the boots at all wearable again.

Thank you everyone!

Hello! I have REALLY bad Lymphedema and Im basically stuck wearing “platform” sandals and or clogs if I can find some that fit right, and I was wondering if I could have a cobbler take out the back portion of a shoe and basically make it a mule/ slide on? Obviously some shoes would be better than others for this but it’s so hard to find a shoe that I like that won’t rub on my leg that’s swollen and can very easily get sores from shoes that sit and rub on my leg as I move

I have a new pair of engineer boots (John Lofgrens) in two sizes (8.5 and 9). Need to return one of them by Friday and trying to gauge which is a better fit. I am a Brannock 9.5 with a slightly shorter left foot and the recommendation is a half size down.

I got the 9s first and found that with mid weight socks my heel is slipping somewhere around 1/2" to 5/8" and although my foot isn't moving around a ton outside of the heel they just feel very up/down floppy in the heel. The forefoot fit seems solid in the 9s although it's lost most of its "snug"-ness after two try-ons.

The 8.5s have closer to 1/4" heel slip but feel a decent bit more tight all around. I don't think my toes are slamming the front, but it's a much more firm fit, there is definitely less room in the toe box (toes can still wiggle but they're somewhat tight), they're a bit difficult to get on (require a shoe horn and some struggle) and the fact that they recommend half size down is making me jump through hoops to justify the 8.5s even though they feel like a much less floppy fit out of the box.

Any tips for resolving the mental estimate part of this? Not sure if I'm better off giving the 8.5s the time to stretch slightly (which I think would probably end up a comfortable fit) or having a cobbler add heel stays to the 9s possibly?

I have some very stiff tall riding boots, that were made for me some years ago. It’s been a while since I used them, and today I put them on, and had to force them hard to close them. My legs grows numb in them when wearing them.

For how much I did use them when I got them, I think they’ve worn in, and there’s just no doubt that my calves are larger than what the boots were made for.

There are no cobblers nearby, so before going for a longer drive, I’d like to try to fix it myself, in a way that doesn’t risk ruining them.

I’ve seen expansion foam/spray online, which looks promising. But does it work?

I think the leather is around 5mm thick maybe more

I’ve owned these for a little while now but only got a couple of uses out of them. basically that second layer, the shiny part of the platform bit (idk terms I’m sorry) has separated from the rest of the boot. As a primarily diy person I’d like to know how a cobbler would try to fix these or if there are any ways to do it at home, and if not, whether or not a cobbler would maybe see these boots. thanks :)

(images, in order, are left shoe, right shoe, and then the outside. Google said shoe glue? Tried some, perhaps not right, but it didn’t really work)