Back in my days of driving everywhere and lazing around campus, a pair of shoes lasted seemingly forever. They may get dirty but never worn out. That was before New York City. Walking in this city does to shoes what driving in LA does to car tires. It’s unbelievable how quickly a pair of shoes fall into disrepair walking these streets. After less than a year and a handful of surprise rainstorms, my Frye boots were in a pitiable state of dried and brittle leather. I always thought I could do it myself, with creams and conditioners, but I was wrong. I had to take the plunge and bring them to a cobbler (and I proudly promote Rostelle’s on 8th and 54th).
I had never been to a cobbler before, so I was nervous. The man behind the counter, after I gave him my boots, looked at me with an expression of hideous disbelief. He looked at the beat up Chelsea’s, then up at me, then back down at the boots and shook his head slowly as if he’d just seen a horrible car accident. Then he looks at me and yells ‘how long has it been since you’ve had these conditioned!?’ It was like the Seinfeld episode where the mechanic passionately implores Jerry to ‘have the oil changed every 3000 miles!’ For God’s sake, how could I have been so disrespectful!? He was right, but I had no idea what kind of care a nice pair of shoes needed to survive this city. Needless to say, 5$ and 24 hrs later, the boots were better than new. I was hooked and I implore you to do the same. Keep those leather shoes and boots conditioned and they’ll last forever and look great.
They say the first thing a man is judged on is his shoes. Take that to heart.