SoleHeeled offers convenient and affordable Grenson shoe repairs by Australia’s best craftsmen, with free shipping to your door. This case study outlines how we recently repaired a customer’s Grenson shoes.
The shoes
The heels and soles on these Grenson Albert dress shoes were heavily worn, especially at the front of the soles near the toe. When this customer reached out to us for a free diagnosis / quote, we offered to perform a full resole, replacing the soles and heels along the entire length of each shoe with premium leather soles and dovetail combination heels like the originals.
Full JR leather resole
We began by removing the old soles and heel blocks from the welt (the layer of leather that sits between the soles and the uppers, through which the soles are stitched into place). We installed a new pair of leather soles, stitching them in to place, in the same way as the original soles — through the welt and along a groove cut around the perimeter of the new soles.
We used Joh. Rendenbach (or “JR”) leather soles in this case. These soles are a favourite, premium option favoured by wearers of premium dress shoes because they offer superior comfort and durability, meaning less frequent resoles.
Once the new soles were stitched into place, we then shaped the soles to fit the shape of the shoes / original soles and then polished the leather soles to seal and protect the leather.
JR leather reheel
We reattached the original heel blocks to the new full-length soles, peeled off the worn heel caps (the outermost layer of the heel blocks) and replaced them with a new pair of JR ‘dovetail’ heels, which we both adhered and nailed into place — with imported brass nails that retain their colour and shape while worn.
These heels (also know as quarter-rubber heels) are made of mostly leather, and with rubber at the back, strategically positioned to cover the areas where heels tend to wear fastest. They offer the benefits of enhanced durability and grip, without taking away from the traditional aesthetic of leather-soled dress shoes.
Have a pair of Grenson shoes needing repair or restoration?
Our experienced craftsmen have been trusted by not only generations of Australians but also local and international brands (including Gucci and RM Williams) with the repair and restoration of premium shoes since 1955. If you have a beloved pair of Grenson shoes in need of repair or restoration, ask us for a free diagnosis/quote by completing our online order form — where you can upload photos of the shoes and let us know exactly what you would like done to them, or let us advise you on what the shoes needs based on the photos.
SoleHeeled serves all of Australia through its free 2-way shipping service:
Order online: Answer a few questions to get an instant quote and complete your order.
Send your shoes: Drop your shoes off at a local post office for free packaging and shipping to us..
We repair: A team of experienced cobblers will carefully repair your shoes.
We return: We'll deliver your repaired shoes to you, wherever you are in Australia.
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