I went to a shopping center cobbler to buy some shoe laces yesterday, he had only one pair of brown laces but he didn't have any black laces. He told me that no-one buys shoe laces anymore. I suspect it is because people are buying throwaway shoes and don't need to buy them. I never thought i'd see the day when l couldn't buy a black pair of laces.
Even getting good quality coloured laces is really tough. Getting laces for 2 eyelet shoes is difficult too.
Once upon a time they used to sell a shoe lace machine. You could cut laces to a custom length and use different colours.
In UK we have Timpsons and copy stores that are tiny and focused on keys, shoe repairs etc. They carry loads of stuff and do very well. It's an ace business model in part helping ex-prisoners get back into society too.
When they finally confirm the mail order, I'm in process of buying my first C&J who seem good on the accessory side for the future.
You're right though, the casualisation of society is rampant and not done yet. Goldman Sachs today announced they are removing their dress code. I envisage it was banking, transaction and financial advisory sector that kept a lot of the quality shoe companies going. No wonder Cheaney's newslettere this week was full of their posh sport shoe / sneaker range.
Well, you can get any sort you want at various online places like this ... https://www.freshstep.co.uk/shoe-laces-boot-laces
But I agree, it's nice just to wander in somewhere local, exchange greetings with the guy behind the counter, pick out what you want, pay a nominal amount and head off. Those pleasant little interactions are on the decline in all sorts of areas of life.
Yes it is intriguing how society has gone so casual and buys throwaway products now. I don't know why people want to do that. Even older people have now done that. I think dressing very casual and owning poor quality products takes enjoyment out of life.
Woofboxer: I did order a bag of rare coloured dress laces a couple of years ago for my John Lobb pairs, but hard to find the beauty and quality of the original laces. At this site l can get various colours in different lengths. But like you said, always better to buy locally in person.
https://shoelacesexpress.com/collections/all-dress-shoelaces?page=1
A lady told me the other day she was forced to buy plastic baskets for her flowers instead of the traditional materials. Owning this type of rubbish doesn't make people's lives better. People want good products.
Last edited by The_Shooman (2019-03-10 15:39:37)
Not just laces but cobblers are becoming very hard to find in my neck of the woods--good, durable shoes having been largely displaced by sneakers, sad to say.
Last edited by The_Shooman (2019-03-30 18:55:31)
shooey - before the repair that looks like a RMW Santa Fe boot. Creative repair.
Last edited by fxhmail (2019-03-30 22:24:37)
That's an amazing repair Shooey, thanks for posting about it.
Last edited by fxhmail (2019-03-31 06:21:44)