Unofficial Detroit Thread

[kurtisdoubleu]

i have not used Grosse Pointe Shoe Repair-not sure why that section was added to my original post

GP shoe repair is pretty great. He’s usually the guy to take Belgians to (since GP is dripping in them). I somewhat recently took some Ravello longwings to Cobbler’s Corner in Northville to switch out the original plantation sole for a double oak and Tony did an amazing job. He’s an Alden dealer/has parts (not really shoes). I know Brett, the NE Alden rep, goes to visit him when he’s in town. There are photos on the shop’s Facebook a few posts down (he mistakenly took them for All Weather Walkers in the post which is pretty funny). I can post some images of the job here if anyone is interested.

 

[brax]

While not a classic menswear staple, I exclusively use Detroit Denim for all of my jeans. Their accessories are also excellent.

 

[greekgeek]

GP shoe repair is pretty great. He’s usually the guy to take Belgians to (since GP is dripping in them). I somewhat recently took some Ravello longwings to Cobbler’s Corner in Northville to switch out the original plantation sole for a double oak and Tony did an amazing job. He’s an Alden dealer/has parts (not really shoes). I know Brett, the NE Alden rep, goes to visit him when he’s in town. There are photos on the shop’s Facebook a few posts down (he mistakenly took them for All Weather Walkers in the post which is pretty funny). I can post some images of the job here if anyone is interested.

Hmmmmm that sounds pretty interesting. I do not need any work done on Alden's at the moment but the day will come.

Edit: just viewed their webpage, looks legit. They claim to service both Alden and Allen Edmonds recrafting services on the OEMs behalf. Pretty cool.

 

[jaaz16]

While not a classic menswear staple, I exclusively use Detroit Denim for all of my jeans. Their accessories are also excellent.

I had them repair a crotch blowout many years ago and it was so-so. If you needed repairs, particularly darning, I'd recommend several other shops first unless you lived nearby and didn't want to deal with shipping back and forth. YMMV (and that's a pretty specific complaint).

 

[leapyourbar]

I will take my (and my wife's) belgians to GP! Unless I can find Sebastian in Dearborn, lolol.

 

[leapyourbar]

GP shoe repair is pretty great. He’s usually the guy to take Belgians to (since GP is dripping in them). I somewhat recently took some Ravello longwings to Cobbler’s Corner in Northville to switch out the original plantation sole for a double oak and Tony did an amazing job. He’s an Alden dealer/has parts (not really shoes). I know Brett, the NE Alden rep, goes to visit him when he’s in town. There are photos on the shop’s Facebook a few posts down (he mistakenly took them for All Weather Walkers in the post which is pretty funny). I can post some images of the job here if anyone is interested.

Any idea what he charges for a vibram topy? *Edit* It's a resole, so the previous job would have to be removed...each pair of my Belgians are quite a few years old.

 

[Michigan Planner]

I somewhat recently took some Ravello longwings to Cobbler’s Corner in Northville to switch out the original plantation sole for a double oak and Tony did an amazing job. He’s an Alden dealer/has parts (not really shoes). I know Brett, the NE Alden rep, goes to visit him when he’s in town. There are photos on the shop’s Facebook a few posts down (he mistakenly took them for All Weather Walkers in the post which is pretty funny). I can post some images of the job here if anyone is interested.

Hmmmmm that sounds pretty interesting. I do not need any work done on Alden's at the moment but the day will come.

Edit: just viewed their webpage, looks legit. They claim to service both Alden and Allen Edmonds recrafting services on the OEMs behalf. Pretty cool.

I have a couple pair of Alden that are in need of new soles. Sounds like I might be taking a trip out to Northville soon.

 

[greekgeek]

I have a couple pair of Alden that are in need of new soles. Sounds like I might be taking a trip out to Northville soon.

 

[bullethead]

I will take my (and my wife's) belgians to GP! Unless I can find Sebastian in Dearborn, lolol.

I have Sebastian’s phone number and if you guys give me a list of questions, I will give him a ring

 

[brax]

I had them repair a crotch blowout many years ago and it was so-so. If you needed repairs, particularly darning, I'd recommend several other shops first unless you lived nearby and didn't want to deal with shipping back and forth. YMMV (and that's a pretty specific complaint).

I’m not particularly knowledgeable about workwear so I shouldn’t really comment about their repairs. But I’ll do so anyway. Their repairs on their jeans are free. I’ve had two repairs done. One was good while the other was excellent.

The “classic” line at DD fits me perfectly. That coupled with their variety of selvedge denim (hemp, linen, white, etc.) on offer makes DD a super easy choice for my jeans. Plus Eric and Chelsea are super knowledgeable and nice.

 

[kurtisdoubleu]

I have Sebastian’s phone number and if you guys give me a list of questions, I will give him a ring

He's such a good guy. There was a moment where he was thinking of opening up shop in the back part of the building (other side of downtown Birmingham) I am in since we let go of some unneeded office space. I think he was going to do it, but his brother/cousin hijacked the idea and wanted share the space with him to open some rock and roll shirt company (which would have been really bad). It sucks, because it would have been the perfect spot and there would have been parking for customers too. I feel like his business would have been better than ever because of the convince and the rent would have been drastically lower than what he paid downtown.
Oh well, it wasn't meant to be I suppose.

 

[kurtisdoubleu]

Any idea what he charges for a vibram topy? *Edit* It's a resole, so the previous job would have to be removed...each pair of my Belgians are quite a few years old.

I haven't taken any over to him in about 4 years since I stopped buying the Mr. Casuals and switched over to the Henri for the stacked heel. I think I paid like $75, or something along those lines. I know he does/did them all the time.

 

[greekgeek]

Update on my first experience with Sam's shoe service. First off it's a very nice looking shop inside with a huge selection of shoe care products at fair prices. Saphir products are well stocked. They have a surprisingly large selection of new shoes on offer as well, I spotted Mezlan (huge variety, from conservative to the exotics), J&M, and a few Allen Edmonds. Also some small leather goods like wallets and gloves, hats, ties, and pocket squares. Decent merch and value prices, but aside from the shoes not much would pass muster under SF level scrutiny.

Anyhow back to the shoe repair report. I took in a pair of C&J for PRL PTBs and asked for new heels and a shine. We agreed on using the JR heels as an upgrade, $40 for the heels and another $10 for the shine. With a 10% prepay discount it was $45 out the door.

They did an excellent job of the heel replacement, very clean and I am happy with the edge color treatment. The shoeshine is less impressive, but to be fair they were rode hard and put away wet long before drop off, without a fresh shine in years. The result is a mellow glow, not much of a shine and I'd guess only a cream was used. Silver lining: these are cordovan and they did not over apply!

Perhaps next time I will ask for a paste wax shine. One minor gripe is that the shoe polish was liberally applied to the laces, lesson learned I will remove them myself next time to prevent it.

I like the place, kind of has that old school - meets modern vibe, that you just don't see often for shoes and men's accessories.

I was happy enough that I decided to leave a second pair behind for repair, whiskey shell cordovan loafers from none other than our own Ron Rider. Kudos to Sam for having recommended only new heels and a shine. He could have easily tried to upsell on some new soles or a rebuild. Let's see how it goes..

Overall thoughts on Sam's from this experience:
Atmosphere/friendliness: A
Selection: A+
Quality of repair: A+
Shoeshine: C
Value: A+
Timeliness: A+

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Pretty happy with how these turned out. Nice attention to detail on the edging and heels. Bit of a snafu on the materials, ended up with the Italian leather and vibram inserts. They offered to redo them now or in the future with JR but I think I'll just leave them as they seem fine and hey, it's an Italian loafer to start with.

Felt pretty good to get these back in service after a few years hiatus. In continuation of their use & abuse I took them through the salt and slush on the first wear, only seemed fitting.

 

[Sreezy36]

I’m sorry I had to do it. Way too tempting. Shout out to the D!!!

 

[GratefullyBlessed]

Amen brother. Amen.