Leather soles

[stuffedsuperdud]

Aren't you ostensibly paying a premium for a stitched-on sole though?

I'd say I'm paying a premium for the whole package, including materials and design of the uppers, as well as the carefully shaped lasts preferred by higher-end companies. That these companies tend to prefer leather soles is for me, in light of the rough conditions I subject my shoes to, actually a bit of a drawback, and whenever possible I opt for Dainite or, for deliberately ugly stuff like Tricker's, commando. You still get your money's worth in terms of the "stitched-on premium," only it's one resole every several years instead of every several rainstorms. It's the same for Topys, right?* Every Topy takes a bit from the life of the sole and you won't be able to use one sole forever, but it will be many many Topy cycles before the sole degrades to where you cannot mount a new rubber to it, at which point you can then do a full resole and start over with a fresh surface to stick rubber onto.

*relevant: https://putthison.com/style-fashion-drawings-two-views-on-sole-protectors/

 

[daizawaguy]

You can maintain the soles with creams - they can look even better when well cared for.

 

[ThomGault]

my concern isn't with the usual things, but aesthetics. The leather soles look really good when they're new, but I've seen people walking around in them and after use the sole becomes worn and just doesn't look great

I take the opposite approach: I'm proud when my roughened and gritty leather soles are displayed because its (generally) a sign of a good shoe. Every pleb has a rubber sole, but only people who care about better shoes have leather soles, so the ugliness is a mark of distinction.

 

[dieworkwear]

I take the opposite approach: I'm proud when my roughened and gritty leather soles are displayed because its (generally) a sign of a good shoe. Every pleb has a rubber sole, but only people who care about better shoes have leather soles, so the ugliness is a mark of distinction.

A very well-dressed friend of mine special orders his Edward Green summer shoes with a thin rubber sole, as he finds them to be more comfortable.

 

[ladfromkl]

I almost always add toe taps and topy to all my shoes. Apart from those which I only wear occasionally such as my wholecuts. I agree that leather soles tend to look uglier the more its worn down, especially if it starts picking up dirt and stains. It also depends on the city you live in and how clean the roads & pavements are. Some cities have much cleaner pavements than others, while some city like the one I'm in have roads & pavements with lots of tiny uneven loose stones, which chews into your leather soles much faster.

I think many of us have a sense of unwillingness to wear out nicely done leather soles when they're new; think Paolo Scafora/ AM or any soles with beautifully done fiddleback waist for that matter. But that uneasy feeling always go away immediately after couple of wear. At the end of the day shoes are a utility and unless you're the kind that buys shoes just for display & admiration (which some do), it should be worn to protect your feet against the elements.

 

[Pandaros]

I've had another thought.

What's this little tab - it's on the shoe I'm looking at, and it's on some Oxfords and not on others? Is it an indication of craftsmanship how it's done? And just as a point of reference is it done well or badly here?

 

[radicaldog]

Can leather soles continue to look classy and nice? Does it even matter?

Anything that looks brand spanking new doesn’t look classy, almost by definition. At least in the traditional European aesthetic, that is.

 

[DWFII]

FWIW (after 50 + years in the Trade), leather soles are better for your feet and better for the shoe. And the cheaper the construction, the more a rubber outsole can undermine the structural integrity.

Rubber outsoles are also worse for the environment by probably a factor of 10, if not more (for those who think or care about such things).

IMPO... suit yourself.

 

[JFWR]

All soles look ****** after wear. Rubber wears, loses its treads, gets **** (literally and figuratively) stuck in it, etc.

If you want leather, wear it because you like the feel, as literally no one is going to gawk at the bottom of your shoes.

 

[Pandaros]

So I'm based in Ireland and I found out the import duties just don't make sense getting them from the UK. I went down to the city's Loake shop and got these:

 

[JFWR]

So I'm based in Ireland and I found out the import duties just don't make sense getting them from the UK. I went down to the city's Loake shop and got these:

Where is there a Loake shop in Ireland?

 

[Pandaros]

Where is there a Loake shop in Ireland?

Wicklow St., Dublin

 

[JFWR]

Wicklow St., Dublin

Wonderful. I'll be there in January.

 

[Pandaros]

I have another question that I can't see being definitively resolved on SF. I know that the rate at which you'd resole shoes varies too much to be predicted, but how many times can a shoe - like the one I bought - be resoled?

I'm leaning more and more toward only wearing these indoors at work, having seen some info online saying max is 2-3 and using leather soles outdoors can wear them down in as little as 6 months (something not new to me, but affects resoling).

 

[Leiker]

I have another question that I can't see being definitively resolved on SF. I know that the rate at which you'd resole shoes varies too much to be predicted, but how many times can a shoe - like the one I bought - be resoled?

I'm leaning more and more toward only wearing these indoors at work, having seen some info online saying max is 2-3 and using leather soles outdoors can wear them down in as little as 6 months (something not new to me, but affects resoling).

How often will you wear these? That, obviously, determines in part how often you'll need to resole.