Do you topy your leather soled shoes?

[TomasR]

I'm curious as to the forum consensus on this one. I know there's a great deal of elitist snobbery over at StyleForum and such when it comes to this issue, but I frankly don't get it. Unless you never walk around in your leather soled shoes, they will get chewed up in a hurry. NYC streets in particular are especially unforgiving as I learned after a few wears of my AE Kenilworths.

After taking them to a cobbler who applied a Cat's Paw brand sole covering for $35, I can say I will be doing this for any and all leather shoes I acquire. The sole is thin to the point of being undetectable and lets me walk around without fear of ruining my shoes if an unexpected rain shower covers the streets or I come across a rough patch of NYC sidewalk. If you're interested in preserving your shoes and don't want to drop dough on regular resolings, this seems like a no-brainer to me.

[Shomas]

I totally agree. I chewed through a leather sole on a pair of Grensons in something crazy like six months. This was due to poor shoe care altogether, but particularly due to walking on wet and often gravelly or just rough streets. I got them resoled and had the cobbler put a topy on them, and I'm totally happy with it. The grip is great, they haven't worn at all and unless I put my feet up, nobody can see the soles. It cost me $20 and will save me WAY more than that. I understand some snobbery, even where I don't share the taste, but this one just kind of baffles me.

[jeff4]

Well... now I'm worried, haha. Shomas, have you added rubber half soles to all of your leather soled shoes?

[Chareth]

I do, mostly.

The only exceptions are my much more expensive shoes that I don't wear to work. But I think it's situational; I suspect most people don't really do much hard walking in their dress shoes and they, logically, probably don't see much value in a topy.

Like Tomas and Shomas say, the combination of NYC sidewalks and bad weather can quickly mangle your soles or make it treacherous to walk. And, let's face it, despite the fact that shoes really do look much nicer without a topy, almost no one will ever notice.

[Shomas]

Well... now I'm worried, haha. Shomas, have you added rubber half soles to all of your leather soled shoes?

No, but I intend to. For the last few months I've kept all of my leather soled shoes in my office, worn my Red Wings during my commute and changed when I arrive, so there's been no urgent need. But I intend to have them topy-ed before spring.

[bruschetta]

My plan is to wear my leather soles down and have them resoled with Dainite soles. I also live in the middle of a city with rough sidewalks and poor weather.

[Shomas]

It entirely depends on the usage. If you have a large collection of shoes that have a long cycle time then it is entirely down to the environment.

Quite true. For my part, just walking to and from the subway every day adds up to a little under six miles in a week. Even with a sizable shoe collection, the miles add up - and those can be over somewhat rough concrete. Under different circumstances, a topy might not make quite as much sense, but for me it's the right move.

[JoshuaNY]

I topy mine. I walk about 20 blocks in NYC every day. I figured it would help with wear and also with grip when wet out. I don't think it takes away from the look of the shoe, and honestly I don't really care if other people see em. My soles will last longer then theirs. My cobbler uses vibram, haven't had an issue with em.

[NYCToon]

I live in NYC (fairly obvious) and I put rubber caps on all my leather soled shoes right when I first buy them. I would wear right through the leather without them.

[Acousticfoodie]

I prefer Vibram more than Topy. I only have anecdotal evidence that vibram is better tho:

[robert12]

My plan is to wear my leather soles down and have them resoled with Dainite soles. I also live in the middle of a city with rough sidewalks and poor weather.

My intent, also. I'm wondering if AE offers this when its time to ship them off...

[zerostyle]

Absolutely yes for any pair that you wear regularly. If it's a dress pair that you only wear on special occasions, you could probably get away with skipping it.

For a while I tried to wear leather soled shoes to work, but constantly had issues with rain/snow/etc. One day, I wore them into work, and it had just started raining. My coworkers were all headed out to lunch, but I was hesitant to go because it would ruin my shoes.

It was at that point that I decided leather soles are ridiculous for everyday wear, and had vibram soles applied immediately.

[Acousticfoodie]

It's also good for piece of mind as well. Especially if you get stuck in an impromptu:



Or if you find yourself needing to walkacross:



Or find yourself in a combat situation:



Or most importantly...finding yourself needing to relieve yourself in a restroom that looks like this (Just imagine your leather soles soaking up whatever is on teh floor):

[ravi]

My plan is to wear my leather soles down and have them resoled with Dainite soles. I also live in the middle of a city with rough sidewalks and poor weather.

How much does that cost?

[obnoxious2]

Anyone can post pics of topy on their allen edmonds? There is a small rubber heel part but is the whole heel topy-ied?