Shoe damage assessment

[the_drizzle]

I posted this on the BB sales thread but I want to get some more opinions.

I need some advice assessing the damage on these BB shoes.
(http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCat...lor=BLACK&sort_by=&sectioncolor=&sectionsize=)

This is from one wear with about 15 minutes walking in the rain:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I'm primarily concerned with the wear on the toe as it seems that some of the leather is peeling.

In the other thread most people were surprised at the amount of deterioration in such a short period of time while one individual said it was superficial.

Is this damage abnormal and sufficient to warrant an exchange?

 

[chogall]

Why did you pull a Jesus and walk on water with a new pair of shoes?

Do they fit properly or you tend to drag your feet when you walk?

Try for an exchange, if it fails, just let it dry and cement glue it together.

 

[the_drizzle]



Why did you pull a Jesus and walk on water with a new pair of shoes?

Do they fit properly or you tend to drag your feet when you walk?

Try for an exchange, if it fails, just let it dry and cement glue it together.

They fit properly.

It wasn't raining hard and my other pairs of shoes have gone through far worse without this much damage.

 

[MyOtherLife]

No exchange is necessary. Sorry but this was your own fault and not faulty manufacturing.
Don't be concerned with the current status of your shoes. They'll take a lot of hell yet to come.
You should never wear leather soled shoes in bad weather to begin with. That is what rubber soles are for.
If caught in the rain, lay the shoes on some newspaper to help wick away the moisture from the soles.
Very loosely stuff newspaper into the shoes as well.
Next morning, remove the newspaper from inside and insert proper wooden shoe trees (untreated and unfinished cedar) into them for at least 24 hours. Let the soles rest upon fresh newspaper.
Remove trees after 24 hours and give them another overnight to further ventilate and dry.
As far as your shoes are concerned, the soles look about right for having been soaked.
It doesn't take long does it.

 

[Quadcammer]

hmm, I might have to disagree.

I've worn my AE clifton beaters with the leather sole through some very serious rain storms and the soles look nothing like that with the unsightly peeling. So less you literally drag the forefront of your foot along the ground, this may be some sort of manufacturing issue combined with a lot of water.

 

[RDiaz]

I have a bunch of Magnanni leather soled shoes that aren't really high quality, got caught in the rain a few times with them and they don't look like this at all. Wet leather soles will always deteriorate to some degree, but this is too much for 15 minutes...

 

[mishon]

As others have mentioned, rain / nasty weather should not do such damage to the soles. Looks like you were sliding up and down the asphalt. Ask for a refund. If all else fails, get the resoled.

 

[NORE]

The area of leather that is peeling there was glued in place after the soles were channel welted. After allowing the shoes to dry, take them to a cobbler and have him reglue that area. Not such a big deal.

 

[alliswell]

Take them back to Brooks and they will replace or refund. NORE nailed it - Yes you had them in the rain, but no, that's not acceptable wear.

And this:

You should never wear leather soled shoes in bad weather to begin with. That is what rubber soles are for.

is misleading and misguided.

 

[Sanguis Mortuum]



And this:

You should never wear leather soled shoes in bad weather to begin with. That is what rubber soles are for.

is misleading and misguided.

+1. I wear leather-soled shoes in the rain and snow all the time. Maybe they will wear down a tiny bit faster than if I only wore them in the dry, but they're certainly not being spontaneously destroyed by a bit of water.

 

[the_drizzle]

Thanks for all the input everyone.

One more question I have is whether this is simply superficial damage or if something like this will adversely affect the durability of the soles.

And for clarification, the shoes were not soaked (my feet were completely dry). The ground was wet when I was walking and there was only a bit of a drizzle by that point.

 

[Gdot]

Nore had it right as to what is happening. This, unfortunately, not terribly uncommon on shoes with closed channel stitching on the soles.

However, that does not mean it should happen after light wear in the rain either. If you wish to I would think you might be able to return them. But the damage could also be caused by the way you walk so the store may balk.

If they were my shoes I would simply have them repaired and have toe taps installed if you intend to wear them for walking about on damp sidewalks again. It will extend the life of the soles substantially.

 

[Fred49]

Next time get some leather fat.