I have a pair of chocolate brown suede Lobb Lopez loafers that for some reason I bought with a rubber sole. At first I liked it with jeans, but then it started bugging me.
So I decided I'd get it resoled with decent leather soles, but where to go? I wanted closed channels, J. R. soles, zero change in fit, etc. I contacted Lobb . . . again and again and again, with zero response. Finally I happened to be in London and stopped by the Lobb store (sans shoes) and inquired about resoling. $400+, not including shipping. So essentially I was looking at $500 (the pound was at $1.95 when I was there).
So I thought and thought, and looked around on some threads here, and was reminded of the bespoke shoemaker Perry Ercolino just outside Philadelphia. I remember reading about Perry since I was a kid, so I figured I'd call him and ask if he'd do a resole on these.
Perry was a joy to talk to, very realistic about what could and couldn't be done with the shoes, and what his pricing might be. Once he received the shoes, his knowledge became even more apparent. Is it sick to say that I genuinely enjoyed talking resoling with him? I suppose here it's okay. I can't emphasize enough how nice it is to talk to a craftsman that understands exactly what you want.
At any rate, below are my typical poor digital photos of the finished product. Keep in mind that Perry had a substantial challenge since the rubber soles that were on these shoes were rather bulky. I won't publicly talk prices, since I believe his prices vary based on what's called for and what materials he uses, but I'll let you know that it cost me more than an Alden resole and less than the quoted Lobb resole.
If Perry's around and would like to comment on the process, he's obviously free to. I'll also disclose that I'm just a lawyer in Detroit and receive no remuneration or discount from Perry (and have the credit card bill to prove it); I'm also a first time client.
So I decided I'd get it resoled with decent leather soles, but where to go? I wanted closed channels, J. R. soles, zero change in fit, etc. I contacted Lobb . . . again and again and again, with zero response. Finally I happened to be in London and stopped by the Lobb store (sans shoes) and inquired about resoling. $400+, not including shipping. So essentially I was looking at $500 (the pound was at $1.95 when I was there).
So I thought and thought, and looked around on some threads here, and was reminded of the bespoke shoemaker Perry Ercolino just outside Philadelphia. I remember reading about Perry since I was a kid, so I figured I'd call him and ask if he'd do a resole on these.
Perry was a joy to talk to, very realistic about what could and couldn't be done with the shoes, and what his pricing might be. Once he received the shoes, his knowledge became even more apparent. Is it sick to say that I genuinely enjoyed talking resoling with him? I suppose here it's okay. I can't emphasize enough how nice it is to talk to a craftsman that understands exactly what you want.
At any rate, below are my typical poor digital photos of the finished product. Keep in mind that Perry had a substantial challenge since the rubber soles that were on these shoes were rather bulky. I won't publicly talk prices, since I believe his prices vary based on what's called for and what materials he uses, but I'll let you know that it cost me more than an Alden resole and less than the quoted Lobb resole.
If Perry's around and would like to comment on the process, he's obviously free to. I'll also disclose that I'm just a lawyer in Detroit and receive no remuneration or discount from Perry (and have the credit card bill to prove it); I'm also a first time client.



