• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

To sole gaurd or not ?

dreamtripper

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Messages
224
Reaction score
8
With some of the recent rainy weather, I am considering adding Vibram sole guards to some of my shoes. Practically it seems like a good idea, but aesthetically I can't bring myself to put sole guards or a nice pair of EGs or Lobbs. Any thoughts on sole guards? - do you typically relegate these to work-horse or casual type shoes or would you be comfortable putting them on your nicest dress shoes as well?
 

Akeem

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2007
Messages
2,173
Reaction score
1,419
my daily-wear shoes all have them. those less worn do not.
 

makewayhomer

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
2,696
Reaction score
143
I put a vibram cover on the first 2 "nice" everyday shoes bought. good call I think.

my Park Avenue I have left naked and won't vibram them. I wear it only a few times / year so no need.

my most recent pair of shell PTB's I will leave naked and wear the soles through, and when it comes time to resole I think I will have a Dainite sole put on. that is most practical of all for an everyday shoe I think.

so I have a mix of both
 

NewYorkBuck

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Messages
480
Reaction score
18
Many years ago I read on AA on how sole guards can prevent correct flexing of the shoe and can lead to bursting seams/threads. Opinions were divided but there was enough "yays" to make me think it may not be a good idea for my best diggs.

What I have done is buy a few less expensive rubber sole models for inclimate weather. Makes walking safer and is less hard on the wallet.
 

patrickBOOTH

Stylish Dinosaur
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Oct 16, 2006
Messages
38,393
Reaction score
13,643
I think they are very tacky and ruin the look of a nie pair of leather soled shoes. For bad weather I recommend having a pair of bad weather shoes. Why would you want to be wearing EG's or Lobb's in the rain anyway?
 

Fred H.

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Messages
827
Reaction score
45
Tacky or not, for those of us who are hard on shoes, zips are a god-send. Heels and zips replaced for $55. Soles NEVER need to be replaced.
 

patrickBOOTH

Stylish Dinosaur
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Oct 16, 2006
Messages
38,393
Reaction score
13,643
I have never heard of a "zip". But I can almost guarantee that I am harder on soles than most anybody being that I only wear leather soles and walk about 20 miles a week in nyc. The key is to have enough shoes that having to resole is not really an issue.
 

dasai

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2010
Messages
379
Reaction score
6
I think it's a largely personal choice, but I myself would probably not bother putting sole guards on handgrade shoes, if only because on my budget, they'd be for special occasions only. Any leather-soled shoe I wear once a week or more gets the treatment, which is to say I have them on my AE MacNeils.

However, I do get flush toe plates put on as a rule, as I wear out the toes extremely quickly. There's a cobbler in Osaka who will do it for ¥1500 a pair (compared to twice that at the Hankyu department store).
 

ThatGuy

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Messages
362
Reaction score
12
Nothing says small-timer to me than a nice pair of shoes with topys on the bottom. It screams "I bought these on B&S and can't afford a resole"
bounce2.gif


I own four very nice pairs of shoes. Non of them are topy'd. Leather is very heard wearing and is fine in the rain. Plus, if I wanted my soles to have rubber on them, I'd by Danite soled shoes in the first place.
 

DWFII

Bespoke Boot and Shoemaker
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
10,132
Reaction score
5,714
This whole concept more or less ignores the fact that good shoes are constructed the way they are so that the sole may be replaced fairly easily and the shoe restored to its original lines/sleekness, etc..

That said, once you get going down this path the logical next step is to put topy on topy so that the topy never has to be replaced.

I've seen it.
 

Quadcammer

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Messages
2,963
Reaction score
306
no thanks...part of the reason I buy leather soled shoes is cause I like the appearance.

When they need a resole, they need a resole. Its what, $120 at a top shop every few years? I can stomach that.
 

makewayhomer

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
2,696
Reaction score
143
Originally Posted by ThatGuy
Nothing says small-timer to me than a nice pair of shoes with topys on the bottom. It screams "I bought these on B&S and can't afford a resole"
bounce2.gif


it also screams "I don't like cracking my head on ice"
 

blahman

Distinguished Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2010
Messages
4,138
Reaction score
339
Originally Posted by DWFII
This whole concept more or less ignores the fact that good shoes are constructed the way they are so that the sole may be replaced fairly easily and the shoe restored to its original lines/sleekness, etc..

That said, once you get going down this path the logical next step is to put topy on topy so that the topy never has to be replaced.

I've seen it.


I just picked up my pair of Borrellis today that I had topys put on. Soles are now ugly as sin, but considering how crapola Australia is in terms of anything quality, its the only choice. Its a major task just to even find a decent pair of oxfords let alone a cobbler you can trust with resoling. And should one find a cobbler, the price will be twice as what anyone can get in EU or US. So svrew them, I'm Topying.
 

Xenon

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
602
Reaction score
35
This question comes up once in a while so here is my list of best to worst:

1) All my nice shoes will have leather soles only and left intact but will never see contact with rough or aggregate surfaces (asphalt, rough cement, mud, rain ect). For winter or outside use I will have a few pairs of leather soled shoes that have been covered with topy or other types of membranes.

2) keep nice leather soled shoes intact and don't use outside and have rubber soled beaters for outside uses.

3) Have all leather soled shoes covered with topy, ect

4) Keep nice leather soled shoes intact and use outside regardless

5) Wear only rubber soled shoes thinking they are nice
plain.gif
:
eh.gif


Clearly a covered leather sole (topy) is not the equivalent of a rubber. A topy is infinitely thinner and less ugly than rubber (vibram ect). A leather sole is hard wearing except when wet, where it will soften and pick up all sorts of grit. This embedded grit will abrade the sole more and also abrade any type of flooring including granite that you walk on.

lastly a well built shoe (welted or blake rapid) can be resoled but not having to disturb the stitches and leather sole is more desirable. Quite simply I do not trust third parties to accomplish a trouble and damage free resole 100% of the time. That resole will never be as good as the best original sole. This is akin to factory OE (Original Equipment) paint job on your car. Your Porshe, BMW, Bentley ect will never see a paint job as good as the original it came with ( including all the phospate and corrosion protection layers) if involed in an accident. There isn't a body shop in the world that reapplies all the necessary layers in the same diligent manner that is done in the factory.
 

Quadcammer

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Messages
2,963
Reaction score
306
thats cool and all, but its a pair of shoes. They aren't meant to have an infinite life span.

You wear them (and given most people on here have multiple shoes, not terribly often), get them resoled a few times, and then you move on.

Its like putting plastic covers on your nice leather couches because you don't want them to wear.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 36.7%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 59 39.3%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 15 10.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 26 17.3%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 26 17.3%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,125
Messages
10,578,695
Members
223,881
Latest member
Thomasaevers
Top