How to re-lace boat shoes!

Proper boat shoes have a long leather lace that threads in and out all the way around the top-line of the shoe. This is all well and good, as it means you can pull it through to tighten and improve heel fit, but when you’ve been a bit too enthusiastic or just worn them a lot, the leather lace can break. I have a lot of customers come in to buy the laces, with no thought of how they’re actually going to put them in. The only way to do it is with a tool… This tool is a long metal pointy stick, with a hollow top and a thread on the inside. (I think imaginatively called a ‘re-lacing tool’.) You need to taper the end of the leather lace, and twist it into the tool until it holds, and then simply thread this through the eyelets, pulling the lace through.

In theory… In practice, the leather lace frequently pulls out, the padding inside the collar can have broken down so you can’t even push the tool through let alone pull a piece of leather lace through, and you can end up with bruised hands. And it’s always on the ones where the customer waits while you do it…

However it is a service I happily offer so long as you leave them with me so I can get my Dad to do them if they’re difficult.

Trends for Spring

Seeing as we have a bit of winter I thought I’d do a bit about Spring trends in shoes! The main looks coming through are pointy toes, wedges, patents, pastel colours, bright colours, buckles, lacing, platforms, and studs. Not all on the same shoe…And these are ladies shoes I’m talking about! As ever it’s all about taking elements of the looks and picking those that reflect your lifestyle and personality, rather than slavishly buying into a look because it’s the in thing, as then it can look overdone, and if it’s something you wouldn’t normally wear then the shoes will be wearing you.

Shiny shoes!

I’m just starting to get some new season stock in, quite a few are patent. I’m realising not everyone knows what it is. Patent leather is normal leather that has a thin coating of clear very shiny plastic over the top. This can create a few manufacturing problems as it’s not as flexible as non-coated leather, and it can be bulkier. The reason price can vary so hugely on patent shoes is down to the ratio of leather to plastic coating; a very thin piece of leather with quite thick plastic will be much cheaper than a nice quality leather with thin more flexible plastic. Check the pictograms; (the little drawings that should be on every shoe!) where the plastic is thicker than the leather it can’t be described as a leather shoe, so it will have a diamond shape meaning ‘other material’. If a patent shoe is described as ‘leather upper’ then it is a better material.  In wear, patent shoes are more susceptible to cracking, particularly ones with cheaper plastic. They are easy to look after though as it’s a plastic surface, so they can simply be wiped clean, and although you can get specialised patent sprays, I’ve always used Mr Sheen and it’s worked perfectly. (Sorry shoe cleaning supply people!)