Question:
I have recently purchased a couple pairs of dress shoes (SFs and RMs) and I don't know if I should be diligent in preserving the soles, or have a "the hell with it, they're soles and they can get fixed" attitude. By no means are they St. Crispins, so that might factor in the answer as well.
Do you EG/St.Crispin/Lobb/etc guys preserve the soles?
Any guidance?
Answer:
If you simply want to prevent wear, then just have rubber topys installed.
Answer:
I think trying to protect your soles is a little too fussy (unless you walk in a way that causes unusual wear to parts of the shoes, in which case you might want to use the topys, but I think they take away from the elegance of a leather soled shoe so I would avoid them if they're not absolutely necessary).
Answer:
thanks!
Answer:
Rubber topies plus plastic toe taps, since you never walk on the tip of your sole anyway, but it gets worn for other reasons.
Answer:
If you want to protect the soles, then don't wear the shoes. Keep them in a display case.
Answer:
I wear plastic bags on my shoes with a rubberband on my ankle.
Answer:
+1. Soles are for walking on. When they get worn down, send them back to the manufacturer. I would never put Topy's on a pair of new shoes.
Someimes I wonder if anybody on here uses a pocket-protector for their handkerchief.
Answer:
Sending them in costs quite a bit, though, including time and shipping. Has anyone done a cost/benefit of repairing sole topys versus letting the sole wear out and sending it in for a resole?
Answer:
My opinion is that if you can't afford to wear the sole out by walking on it then you shouldn't have bought the shoe in the first place. Seriously, putting topys on a pair of EGs, Santoni FAMs, Tramezzas, whatever is just ugly.
Answer:
It's a running debate but I've never noticed them on my shoes. Nor has anyone else.
Answer:
You are so damn trying some times.
It isn't a debate whether they are ugly or not. Rather, it is a matter of opinion. I notice them when people cross their legs and I generally think "anal-retentive" when I see them. YMMV.
Answer:
+1
Answer:
Taps will help prolong life of soles and delay the inevitable. Those rubber half-soles (toppy's?) look bad....
Answer:
For what it's worth, my cobbler advised against Topy's or similar rubber sole protectors - stating that it merely increased the heat inside the shoe, increased perspiration, decreased evaporation and thus was harder on the inside of the shoe over the long run - better to have the shoes re-soled. 'Course he may have had some economic incentive to say this.....
