The love of a good cobbler, who back in the day would make and repair shoes, but these days, mostly just repairs and shines them, can make a world of difference for your shoes. Finding the right cobbler for you, however, is like finding the right tailor, or florist, or dentist. It takes some doing and some work to find the right one for you.

I have seen some people online on money saving forums try to say you can repair your own shoes. I highly advise AGAINST this unless it’s just a minor internal repair to cover up a fabric hole. Do you really think you can do what this man is doing? I don’t think so. He is grinding a sole down to what he knows is the right shape and height. Don’t try this at home with a piece of sandpaper, kids. It’ll take you 3 days.

I grew up as the child of a cobbler, watching my dad on machines like this. My father did many, many things, being as much of a curious polymath as I am, but for quite a few years he owned a shoe repair and shoe sales business. My uncle owned a shoe store on Market Street in San Francisco, meanwhile. So I’ve been inundated with great shoes for a long time, and one of my first memories is probably of sitting by the mirror as my mother put on makeup, misted on perfume and opened up a perfectly pristine shoe container from the long line of gorgeous Ferragamos she had. She was a size 6.5 to 7, which I still believe to be the perfect shoe size, even though I’ll never fit into her shoes with my clodhopping size 9 feet!

So on to cobblers in New York. Angelo’s and Hector’s both have high praise online from customers, but for years, I only let one place touch my high end shoes, and that was Shoe Service Plus. As I have said before, they took my ripped and broken heels, cracked leather, too skinny and tight shoes and other walk-threatening inconveniences and fixed them to nearly like new for me. However, they’ve been getting horrendous reviews for the past year, while I’ve been living mostly on the west coast, and I’m considering trying Angelo’s, Hector’s or Cobbler Express. I will report back here after visiting one of them. Yelp has other highly recommended New York cobblers.

What should you look for in a professional shoe repair service?

1. Clarity up front about what will take place. Ask what color soles and non-slip tabs and zippers will be. If it’s designer, you may want to bring your own zippers. Make sure leather or fabric replacements will be what you want. Ask whether they will repair/paste the rip or replace it entirely with a new piece of leather or fabric. Are they cement gluing a detached sole back on, or nailing it and gluing it?
2. Consistent prices. If you think the prices are unfair, demand to know the reasons for said prices and how they measure up to other shop prices. For instance, if you are getting half soles, ask for the price of full sole replacement. Also ask if there’s a cheaper alternative in a different sole material.
3. Quality working materials. Ask what kind of soles, what kind of polish and what laces they use.
4. A safe working environment for employees.
5. An organized shop. It’s a sign they won’t lose your shoes.
6. A ticket stub for pickup with a number or other working system.
7. A normal turnaround time. They should be able to replace tips (i.e. small soles for the heel of ladies’ shoes) while you wait, for instance during lunch. Larger soles could take a few days to a week. A dye job, rip mending, fabric replacement, replacement of zippers or stretching (width-wise – they generally don’t do length-wise as it’s unhealthy for your shoes and could bust them) could take longer.

New York Times Fashion Advice Bonus; Where to get your Louboutin soles redone in New York (be sure to read the Comments section for other Louboutin cobbler recommendations from readers). These are crazy and kinda tacky but I love em.

And I have to admit, I’m kind of impressed by this woman’s Louboutin collection. She’s no Imelda Marcos, but wow, that is a lot of Louboutins!