Lately I have been running out of shoes – you know when you have so few shoes, that it becomes a pivotal part of your fashion decisions, because so many outfits get ignored because ‘I don’t have shoes to go with that’.
The problem is, I don’t want to buy shoes, because a pair will set me back around $100 at least, and I am saving! So, I went down for a weekend at my parents and rifled through my old wardrobe to see if I couldn’t find some ‘new’ old shoes.
I have a lot- I used to work in an office, and earn a nice wage, so I had a lot of old shoes which I stored at my parents. Boxes and boxes of colourful Nine West shoes, but all of them had a little something wrong with them. The pink ones were too faded, the red ones had stubbed toes, the black ones stitching was coming loose – and every single one of them needed heel replacements. I had walked these shoes into the ground and I didn’t take care of them at all!
(Savings tip #57389 – Look after your things).
So, I went through all the boxes, found the shoes I liked, and took them all to the Cobbler to find out how much it would cost to get them fixed. Note that the prices can vary from shop to shop, and this shop was in a bit of a nice suburb – when looking for clothes alterations, dry cleaning, cobblers, etc – go to the cheaper suburbs!
New heels = $15 a pair
Re-colouring = $40
New Zipper and sole on boots = $90!!!!
General overhaul = $25
The next problem was, which ones to get fixed? I couldn’t afford them all. The boots were way too expensive to get done, even though they themselves cost around $320 – maybe when I am rich.
So I decided I was just going to get the heels on three pairs done, and the minimum fixes to make them wearable. This cost me $55 for three pairs, and when each pair is about $130 to buy.
Three new pairs of shoes in three different colours means a range of outfits are now again wearable. Not to mention they are all worn in and super comfortable – and all for $55.
(secretly I think this is still a bit expensive, but I am trying to pretend it is ok).
