Peter: That is one difference between European, at least Swiss, attitudes, and American ones: Here, it's alost cheaper to buy a new shoe, and certainly easier, than to find a competent cobbler who replace soles and heels. In fact, most shoes up to the middle price ranges nowadays aren't even constructed so as to allow easy replacement, with hard rubber molded one piece heels and soles. (But cowboy boots, very common street wear in the US Southwest, always have separate leather soles and heels.)
Here in ABQ, NM -- which, granted is (1) far more spread out and (2) less wealthy than east coast cities, where cobblers may be more common, I've seen the few easily accessible cobblers slowly close shop, so that now, on our burgeoning Westside, you have to do extensive Google searches to find one still working, and then he is a part timer who requires appointments -- "my guy" lives in a North Valley "barrio" with his ancient father and has his shop in cute little Home Depot shed, with electricity and air, parked in the driveway. But he'll do leather and Vibram soles as well as good extracurricular leatherwork (patched leather footstool cushion chewed by dog and added elegant SW riveting, and converted worn pair of boat shoes to house slippers with double leather bottoms). Back to heels: I wasn't aware that heels were added for wear, though it certainly makes sense; (they were also added for stirrups and height -- that royal old pimple Louis XIV had 5" heels, apparently to go with his full bottom wig). I wonder why heels instead of hobnails -- probably because the latter are noisy and slippery? Funny description of vain bankers and their thin heels. I agree that nothing so common and so long used as shoe heels can be *merely* fashion or social stupidity. On Mon, Nov 20, 2017 at 2:19 AM, Peter Turskovitch <patrick.tu...@gmail.com> wrote: > Thick heels last longer. That's what they're for. They exist to allow you > to walk farther before replacing your shoes. The vast majority of shoes, > for centuries, have had a little extra material in the places that wear the > most. That means raised heels. Raised heels mean that your shoes can last > far longer before replacement. I'm surprised that this isn't common > knowledge. > > Where I live, decent boots have separate heels and fore-foot soles, both > of which are replaceable. Cobblers often have a display of Vibram-brand > replacement heels in their windows. Anecdotally, cobblers are about as > common in Zürich as dry cleaners. Getting your shoes re-heeled is a super > common thing to do. Bankers here are semi-famous for having low or even > absent heels on their shoes, ostentatiously displaying their ability to > replace entire shoes when the sole wears a little. > > I understand that this list is mostly American - do you really not replace > the soles of your shoes in America? How can you people think that heels > "serve no purpose" despite being a feature of shoes for literal millenia? > As if any mere fashion could be so stable??? > > Peter, confused, Zürich > > > > On Monday, November 20, 2017 at 1:04:43 AM UTC+1, Deacon Patrick wrote: >> >> Humans are highly adaptable, and we often adapt to things less than ideal >> and yet continue to do amazing things along the way. Democracy of the herd >> buying mostly raised heels doesn’t answer the question: what does a raised >> heel accomplish? >> >> With abandon, >> Patrick > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews. By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching. Other professional writing services. http://www.resumespecialties.com/ www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/ Patrick Moore Alburquerque, New Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique ************************************************************************** ************** *Auditis an me ludit amabilis insania?* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
