Hello Men and Women of Hong Kong,
As you well know, shoes are easily worn out in this city with high foot traffic, uneven surfaces, escalators, slopes, and stairs. Keep your shoes in great shape by seasonally taking new and old shoes to the cobbler. Why take new shoes to the cobbler? You’ll want to have a sole protector glued onto leather bottoms right at the get-go with to prevent damage and keep them lasting longer. Read on to find out more of my tips for keeping shoes looking great year after year = save $ and keep your favorite shoes looking great.
The absolute BEST place in Hong Kong for shoe, handbag, belt, and leather care & repair (recommended by LV) is “The TOP” located in Central: Rear Shop B, Ground Floor, Comm House, 35 Queens Road Central (right next to the ally entrance of McDonald’s on Queen’s Road). Very nice guys, very excellent workmanship.
Another great place is “The Groom” – located in various MTR stations throughout HKG; http://www.thegroomshoesrepair.com.
Sole care: Flat shoes with leather bottoms/soles (men and women)
have a protective layer glued onto the bottoms which adds traction and years of life to your shoes. Cost = approx. $200-250 HKD. (Several cobblers have red protective covers for Christian Louboutin shoes – see picture)
High heel tip replacement: A cobbler is able to remove the worn-down tip and install a new one. Once your tip is worn down, immediately get them repaired rather than walking on the metal tip – this will crack your shoe and cause aches and pains in your body.
Keep the shape: Use shoe trees, shoe-shape holders, tissue paper made into the shape of the shoe toe… something in the toe of your shoes for a nice, strong shape in storage.
Shine on: Cobblers and leather smiths will help buff, polish, and shine your shoes to keep them respectable and looking new. Patent leather shoes should never touch one another in storage because the finish will scuff and scratch.
Storage: Consider to keep your shoes in their original boxes, put them away neatly each night, keep a photo on the outside of the box, and organize on a large shelving unit so they may stack vertically and take up less space and keep shoes dust-free. If this is too extreme, simply purchase 2 stackable stainless steel wire shelving racks from IKEA – functional, sharp looking… and able to hold approximately 24 pairs of shoes.
Related Articles
- Fix-It Nation: In Tough Times, Tailors and Cobblers Thrive (time.com)
- Fixing heels, sewing soles as Camden’s last cobbler (philly.com)
Filed under: Dressing Style Tips, Hong Kong, Image advice, Uncategorized, care for shoes, Christian Louboutin, Fashion, fixing shoes, Footwear, High-heeled footwear, Hong Kong, how to care for shoes, Jennie Hope Peterson, Shoe, shoe care, shoe maintenance, shoe storage, shoe upkeep, Shoemaking, Style essential, The Groom, Top Shoe Repair