Can Cobblers Save Us From Our Overconsumption Problem?

“So many of us have personal relationships with tailors,” said Lauren Sharkey, a Chicago-based personal stylist, “but can we say the same for cobblers? Maybe that’s a misstep.”

My grandfather was a cobbler and shoemaker, born at the turn of the 20th century in New York. He quit school at the age of 14 to work as an apprentice to his father, also a cobbler. Leaving the house by 5 a.m. and not returning until after 6 p.m., he spent nearly 50 years in the trade. My mother remembers going to visit him in Soho, where he worked for the brand Pappagallo, at the time focusing on shoemaking (different from shoe repair, the domain of cobblers). He worked at a long table with no chairs, surrounded by the pungent smell of glue and chemicals. She was enthralled by what she calls “Cinderella slippers,” clear high heels, unlike anything she’d ever seen. If this sounds like another world, it is.

“At the height of the cobbler industry during the Great Depression, there were 120,000 shoe repair shops in the U.S.,” said Jim McFarland, known as America’s Cobbler. McFarland is a fourth-generation cobbler, widely recognized as a leader in the craft of shoe repair, and the historian on the board of the Shoe Service Institute of America, founded in 1904. He explains that shoe repair is becoming more rare. “Over the decades, shoe repair industries dwindled to 62,000 In 1950. In the ’90s they were down to 15,000; 2000, 7,500. Today, there are fewer than 3,500 shoes repair shops left in the U.S.” He remarked that cobblers were severely affected by the COVID lockdowns, which “devastated the business.”

Two main causes of the demise of the craft of shoe repair include the rise in fast fashion fueled by a consumer desire for instant gratification. Let me explain.

First, cheap shoes are hard to repair.

“In terms of circular fashion as it relates to footwear,” Sharkey explained, “most women and men are hardest on footwear, especially in urban areas where we’re putting a lot of miles on our shoes. Many younger people opt for the $70 Zara shoe, but that $70 is not a good investment because you’ll have to buy another pair in a few months.” She says to invest in the quality of a shoe, meaning the bottom, “but also the support of shoes. Think of shoes as a vehicle of getting from place to place. Boots, loafers, flats, that’s where we find pieces that can stay with us for decades. Taking that bigger plunge for the $300 pair might feel scary, but it’s an investment that carries time.”

McFarland agrees. “Cheap shoes are hard to fix. Invest in quality. Quality takes time. If somebody wants to buy a good shoe, buy a vintage shoe. More than half my shoes I bought off eBay, and they’re vintage. They’re lifetime shoes. If you take care of them, you’ll have them your whole life.”

There’s also the environmental factor of cheap shoes made by fast-fashion retailers to consider. “Man-made materials do not breathe. Leather breathes. You throw these man-made shoes into the landfill, in 100 years, they’ll still be there. Vegan leather is just a marketing game: It’s just vinyl. When they get thrown away, they don’t degrade. Real leather does. It will disintegrate into nothing. They’re healthier for feet; they stretch and move with your feet.”

McFarland also points out that the “Amazon culture” of next-day delivery has fueled the desire for instant gratification when it comes to fashion consumption, whereas repairing a shoe does take time — although not as much time as we think. “A men’s shoe re-craft takes on average two weeks. A women’s shoe repair takes on average three to five days, depending if we have to re-heel or re-tip the shoe, and if we have a regular flow of shoes coming in,” McFarland said. It’s a mental shift in how we think about our wardrobes and in moving away from thinking about fashion as disposable to a place of mending what we’ve already got.

Because high fashion is (mostly) associated with quality, using a cobbler can elevate your look. Here are a couple of tricks of the trade on some of the most coveted high-fashion shoes.

“I had a client with the iconic Chanel ballet flat, and she’s constantly on her feet about town,” Sharkey said. “I advised her to take them to a cobbler to get a different, more girthy sole put on. This put a new spin on a classic and gave her a more bespoke shoe that fits her personality. I see a lot of sneaker heads embracing Jordans from the ’90s, but the quality isn’t suitable for everyday wear. A cobbler can fix that.”

Finally, both our experts agree that there’s no way around scuffing the stiletto tips of luxury shoes. To ensure your Loubs “see the light of day,” Sharkey says to get yourself to a cobbler stat. “You’re not buying Louboutins for the extra tip that comes along with the purchase,” she said. Instead, McFarland and cobblers like him can hook you up with a solid rubber tip that’s way more sturdy and will last longer than the ones provided by a luxury shoe brand.

Another reason cobblers are becoming extinct is that no one is learning the trade. Many of the active cobblers are in their 60s and 70s, looking to retire.

“There’s not that many cobblers in their 30s and 40s. For the young people who want to learn it, find a shop that’s owned by someone 60 or older; most shoe cobblers don’t have an exit plan; they work up until their last day of life.”

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration have changed many of the rules and regulations surrounding shoe repair and shoemaking.

McFarland notes, “Today the EPA has changed the dyeing process we were able to use. Thirty-five years ago, a lot of shops didn’t have the right ventilation, and cobblers would spray dye out of a gun with a cigarette dangling from the mouth.”

My grandfather was one of those guys; he died of emphysema in his 70s. But today, many of those hazards no longer exist. Full training can take up to seven years, according to McFarland, but the beauty of the trade is you don’t have to learn all aspects of repair (from dyeing, to sewing, to heel and sole repair) to be successful.

McFarland is teaching the business to the younger folks in his family, including his daughter, and using platforms like TikTok to stir up interest among a generation that’s known for its interest in circular fashion. Some of his favorite shoe repair spots in New York City include Leatherspa and Joe’s Shoe Repair, in addition to his own business.

“I like to think about the soul behind a shoe,” he said.