Wednesday, January 30, 2013

With your good bag and your cheap shoes...

Hannibal Lecter, Fashion Maven
Lately, I've been feeling a bit like Clarice Starling, a well-scrubbed rube with a little taste. Sure, my pocketbook looks fabulous. But exactly what statement am I making with my worn-out shoes?

Over the last six months, I have worn through three, count 'em, three pairs of my all-time favorite ballet flat, the Jack Rogers Slim.

Oh Slim, how I loved you.
When I wore a dime-sized hole in the soft leather soles of Pair #1 within two months of purchase, I rushed the shoes off to the cobbler, as if carrying a sick puppy to the vet. Sadly, the new sole he applied began to peel off just a few weeks later. When the Slim went on sale, I ordered two more pairs in black and gold thinking that perhaps Pair #1 was just a lemon. Neither fared any better than my original pair.

I arrived at the unhappy conclusion that I was the owner of cheap shoes. Adding insult to injury, my cheap shoes had cost me a good chunk of money. It was time to upgrade.

If you are a man, you can turn to any number of fine establishments for exceptionally made shoes that will last decades (or at least get you through Career v. 1.0). Mayor Bloomberg claims he's been wearing the same two pairs of loafers to work for ten years. If you would like to weep green tears of bitter envy over perfect tassel loafers, I invite you to read Reggie Darling's ode to Alden slip-ons here.

But for us double X chromosomes? Labels and price no longer seem to guarantee quality. As I read through blogs and forums though, it appeared that Ferragamo still has a cult following of women who swear that their flats have lasted them for years. Last week, fortified by a dry martini and reassured by Lisa at Amid Privilege, I bit the bullet and ordered a pair of Ferragamo Varinas in tortoiseshell printed patent (thankfully on sale).



Will they last? Only time will tell.



21 comments:

  1. Well hello! And at a guess they will last forever, and ever:). Thanks for saying hello.

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  2. What a laugh that title was! yes hubs has been wearing the same two pairs of Churches shoes for the last ten years, he will not even think of buying new ones, having them resold ad infinitum tickles him pink.

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    1. I'm a big girl with big feet, so for a while, I contemplated just buying men's loafers. But after taking a good look at them in real life, decided that they just wouldn't pass.

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  3. Lovely Ferragamos! May I make one suggestion? I always get rubber half soles added to any shoes with leather soles. (And rubber heel tips on pumps.) My cobbler has told me it's best to do this *before* they are worn. It will extend the life of your shoes substantially.

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    1. Great suggestion! I will bring them over to the shoe guy today.

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  4. Well I think these are the bees knees!!! Reminds me of the stupid shoes from Aldo that I loved because of the colour and then fell apart one day during work. I hobbled back to the office and slipped on my winter boots for the rest of the day. These are classic so I am sure they will both a) list b) retain pride of place in your wardrobe!

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    1. Thanks, WMM. I wasn't sure about the color until I took them out of the box. And then I fell in love. :)

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  5. Feragamo runs a bit narrow for me...I am on a firm foundation. These are quite beautiful. Sometimes you do get what you pay for.

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    1. I had heard that the patent leather runs small, so I ordered up half a size. Glad I did! I don't think my normal 8 1/2 would have worked.

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  6. hello:
    Perhaps the Ferragamos should be placed in a glass cabinet and admired from afar. They are certainly beautiful enough to be seen as works of art and would surely last longer that way?!!!

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    1. Hello Hattatts! Yes, I suppose quarantine is the only way to truly protect them. :)

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  7. Oh they are lovely! I wish you health to wear them.

    I don't think leather soles which wear through with walking are a sign of poor quality, just demonstrative of much walking :) I get a slim synthetic sole put on *before* wearing them much, to prevent them wearing through. You can do this before wearing them at all, but I like to wear them in a few times to let them stretch a little before applying the new sole - because the moulding to the foot is one of the lovely things about leather shoes. (And I have wide little feet). Once the plastic/rubber sole is on, they are less malleable. A good cobbler should not put on a sole which peels off, so maybe try a different one next time? I went to four or five before I found one who really understood and liked shoes. They are expensive, but worth it. And walking distance from my house ... truthfully inreased distance from Classic Shoe Repairs, Brecknock Road, is one thing which puts me off moving from our current flat. (Shallow? Me?!).

    Love that you took sartorial cue from Hannibal Lecter.

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    1. I'm laughing over your comment about moving too far from you cobbler!

      Thanks for the advice about the rubber soles. My suspicion is that because the sole was already in such bad shape by the time I brought it in, the new sole didn't have a smooth surface to stick to and peeled off. Nevertheless, I brought the Ferragamos to another guy who had good reviews on Yelp.

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  8. I love leather soles for the comfort but some that are soft and therefore lovely to walk on can wear quickly. I wouldn't take it as cheapness, I just make sure I don't use them for walking on abrasive surfaces very often. ;)

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    1. Hi Tiffany Rose,

      There was a lot going on with these shoes that I didn't get into (it was a saga), but the final straw was that Jack Rogers completely changed the shoe. They changed the sole (I'm assuming because of complaints) and made the shoe itself about 1/2 size smaller. I may still buy their Navajo flip-flop, but I have soured on the brand.

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  9. Good to know that the brand has changed,,,,I bought 3 pairs about 2 years and they are still in great shape. I guess it's like everything else,,,,the cost-saving tactics just lead to poor quality. Grateful for the Internet so that we buyers can share the info! Thanks so much and sorry you had to go through that nightmare,,,,hoping these work out better!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Anonymous. I'm glad to hear that yours are still in great shape. I really did love those shoes - they were so cute and comfy!

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  10. Very nice! I like the ones in leopard.

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