Paging Dr. Shoe to the ICU

We all sympathized with the Sex And The City “Hot Child in the City” episode when Carrie goes to take her shoes to her ‘shoe guy’ only to find that it had been repurposed as a comic book store. And, while she got a kicky new pair of boots and scooted in heels through Times Square, her shoes still needed repair.  Sadly, we have all been there.  We have that lovely pair of shoes in our shoe closet that we have adored so much that they need serious repair.  Now some of us have hit the jackpot and have an amazing go-to shoe guy. However, should you find yourself moving or that your shoe guy did the moving, finding a new shoe guy is rather difficult and distressing.  It comes down to trust.  You now have to find a new person to trust that they will repair your babies with the care and attention they deserve (and you paid for).

Here are some tips on finding a new shoe guy.    The most reliable way to find a good shoe repair is by asking a friend!  We may forget your birthday but girlfriends never forget a great shoe fix!  Getting those beloved shoes repaired is like the Holy Grail.  You are basically being given back a whole section of your wardrobe, allowing you to fall in love with your shoes all over again.  It’s rather orgasmic. ;) 

If you don’t have girlfriends in the area with a good referral, it gets a little trickier.  You can try Citysearch or Yelp and look through the reviews.  I don’t feel entirely at ease with these recommendations.  Citysearch and Yelp are great for food reviews but shoes, not always on the mark.  I’d look for a review that has history, like a year or two so that you get a real sense of the craftsmanship involved.  You could do a “test run” with a pair that need something simple like a heel replacement to get a feel for the joint ;)  When you’re in the shop look around and try to examine their handy work on any shoes they have on display.  Look at stuff like if there’s glue glopped around the seaming or if the heel is crooked, stuff like that.  Then you can get a sense of how detail oriented they are and build a level of trust - if it’s so deserving. J

One thing I have currently resorted to is taking them back to the store I bought them and have them ship it to their magic elf workshop to repair in house.  I moved back to my “old” neighborhood almost two years ago and never had a shoe guy in the area.  I would go to the place by my old job.  Well, it’s been almost ten years, new job, and the place I used to go to is now an outlet mall.  I have some black satin Burberry’s that need some serious TLC.  I won’t dare trust them to be an experiment so a friend suggested I take them to Burberry to see if they do repairs.  I called ahead to make sure they could do this and, while it will take about 4-6 weeks, I know the job will be done impeccably. 

Another trick is to look to your coworkers.  They may have a good suggestion that’s either near the office or not too far away that you could feasible get to.  Shoe guys are like mechanics, you really need to get a good reference so that you’re not left barefoot. ;)

I hope this helps motivate you to get that gorgeous pair of shoes to your nearest and best ICU.

Please note: The shoes in the picture are costume shoes part of the “Sexy Nurse Costume” and can be found online:

http://www.halloweencostume.com/sexy-nurse-heels.html