We gather here today to sing the song of the unsung heroes of the universe. Yes, they are the COBBLERS! Today I bring to you an article on can a cobbler make your shoes smaller or vice versa!
The chortling face that I have come across every time I visit my favourite shoe repair shop in the city to modify my shoes can’t go unnoticed. I have brought to them some of the wackiest jobs there are, and they have always passed in flying colours. No there aren’t super-humans! However, the skillset of a cobbler varies widely depending on person to person. Wouldn’t be wrong in saying that they are “THE COBBLER MAN”.
I was like you, most of the time when something devious used to happen to my favourite pair of shoes; I used to toss them right into the bin. They had no place in my life or my closet anymore! But then I realized that instead of getting rid of my shoes, why not take them to the shoe repair shop where witchcraft of all sorts take place and even the most difficult of the tasks could be well performed by these experts. I am very well calculative when I say “DIFFICULT OF THE TASKS” for the cobblers, but there indeed are certain limitations to what they can and they cannot do.
Below I list down the CAN’s and CAN NOT’s of your local shoe repair shop:-
CAN: Re-sole your leather-bottom shoes
Most of the leather or faux leather shoes can be re-soled. Given the pair is an expensive one and you wish to keep it for an extended period. Often at times, it is recommended to have these leather shoes re-soled once wear and tear brings their soles down to a level where they are not an eye-candy anymore and become uncomfortable.
Your local shoe repair shop may be able to recommend a sturdier sole instead of the one that the shoe came with from the manufacturer, to prolong its life. Not a bad investment!
CAN NOT: Re-sole your sneaker
A general rule of thumb is that sneakers soles are embedded into the platform and the body of the shoe. Making it difficult for it is replaced with another sole. Not the case in every sneaker, but majority of the sneakers fall in the category of “NOT ABLE TO REPAIR” and “TOSS THEM RIGHT INTO THE BIN” or perhaps, even RECYCLE. So always ask!
CAN: Change your beloved HEEL-TIPS
Majority of my wife’s high-heel shoes had either weak heel-tips or worn-off over prolonged use. I was at the destroyed end of having to shell out money in another pair of Jimmy Choo’s. However, then finally enlightenment! I took those pairs to my local shoe repair shop and had the HEEL-TIPS replaced with brand new ones. Thus happy wife, happy life! I am sure you would agree.
Not to get carried away, Heel-Tips are those hard plastic ends at the tip of the heels which either wear out or sometimes even fall-out too frequently.
You can replace the heel-tips yourself at home too. If you are comfortable with a hammer of course! Since one misplaced hammer swing can be devastating! At least for me.
CAN NOT: Make your heels tall or short
There is, however, a workaround to it. If you ever want to have your beautiful high-heels shortened, then don’t hesitate to ask your cobbler. As they can sometimes cut the heel and install new heel-tips on them. Thus making it useful. However, in most of the heel shoes; the footbed is designed at such an angle that it would only accommodate a heel of a certain height.
On the other hand, making your heels taller is virtually impossible. Maybe in the future? Who knows!
CAN: Stretch your leather shoes that have become tight
There are tips and tricks and even a few DIY’s (Do it your self’s) that would enable you to stretch your shoes that have come too tight. However, these DIY’s pose a significant risk when doing so at home since we are no experts. Taking this pair of yours to a cobbler would eventually be hassle-free and poses less of a risk in comparison.
Leather shoes can be easily stretched in width and quite less in terms of length. So let us assume that a user who has bunions can take their shoes for a slight stretching to accommodate their feet.
CAN NOT: make your shoes smaller
We have discussed this in great lengths in a separate article that I have posted here about what can you do to make your big shoes fit you. To summarise the subject, the use of insoles and pads can be used to make your feet fit. Essentially there is no way to make your shoes “SMALLER” significantly.
CAN: Dye your light shoes and give them a dark colour
Ever wanted to get rid of those lightly tanned shoes and convert them into black or any other dark colour for a matter of fact? Yes, your local shoe repair shop can do this for you! SOMETIMES the material used in the construction of a particular shoe renders it helpless when it comes down to dying them since the dye will not stick onto it. Therefore, ASK!
If you liked the article above, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think! Would leave to engage with you.