Your favourite shoes have been your faithful friend for a long time when, all of a sudden, you notice your shoe sole is starting to look old. You wish you could wear them a little bit longer. Remember, resoling them is possible. Do it at home or, if you don’t have the time or would prefer to have it done by a professional, take it to a shoe repairer. Changing your shoe sole will allow you to wear your shoes for much longer and is a good move for the environment.

Shoe sole replacement: at home or at the shoe repairers?

With some basic DIY skills and a little dexterity, you can change a shoe sole without too many problems. It should be noted that for footwear with sewn soles, you will have to take them to a shoe repairer who will have the special type of sewing machine needed. For resoling, you can buy a pair of half soles and heels at the shoe repairers. You will then need resoling glue and a clean work surface. At this point, you have everything you need to change your shoe sole. You pull off the old shoe sole, clean the surface thoroughly (using a special cleaner for glue, for example) and proceed with the gluing. If this all sounds too complicated, you can always drop your shoes off at the shoe repairers who will do a perfectly good resoling job.

Shoe sole: things to know

If your shoes are very damaged, you might as well buy a new pair, as old leather or warped and torn fabric don’t protect your feet nearly as well. If this is not the case, then you can just as well put on a new shoe sole. If you want to save money on resoling certain types of shoes, especially ones with sewn or flexible soles, have a rubber sole put on right after you buy them. You will then have much better traction in bad weather.