This summer I happened up on a pair of Grenson “Masterpiece” brogues, well used and going for a song. The leather sole and heel were pretty worn down, but the careful owner had taken wonderful care of the upper, they were polished to a deep, gleaming lustre and looked pretty great. So, given my preference for some proper rubber under my feet, here was another opportunity to get the good folks at Shoehealer involved. You’ll no doubt remember the work they did on my Church Chetwynds and my knockabout brogues?
Lovely and well maintained uppers. My shoes are never this gleaming!
Now, these Grensons are not totally unlike my Churchs, in that they are dark brown brogues. I know a true grade-A shoe connoisseur would be able to point out dozens of differences, but to me they are similar. Hence I couldn’t go down the standard Dainite sole route on these. And my favourite commando soles would be a bit heavy for shoes as delicate as these, so that was out as well.
The leather sole and heel is in need of work though. At some point a half-sole has been applied, though the heel is now very worn down.
Discussing the matter with endlessly patient Richard, head chap at Shoehealer, ideas were aired and discarded. I was thinking of something a little bit colourful, to add some contrast to an otherwise conservative pair of shoes. Maybe even something red. And then Richard came up with the Ridgeway sole in red.
The Victory sole in a colour that would never be described using words such as “subtle”, “blends in” or “no one will ever notice”.
Only it was impossible to find this sole in the correct size for my shoes, so it was back to the pub for another round of draught ale. Not really, but it was at least time to reacquaint heads with thinking caps. Not really that either, as Richard found something in his archive of rare and unusual samples, a Victory sole, in red. Most commonly found on Loakes shoes, this really is quite the uncommon beastie. And I think it looks pretty snazzy mated up with the old Grensons.
Thanks again to Richard and the merry men at Shoehealer for sterling service. Now to send another two pairs over for their expert attention!
They look great, inspired me to do something similar with a pair of loake boots I’ve just got off eBay.
It does open up a whole new world of possibilities, especially if the starting point is a pair of shoes that are very reasonably priced due to soles that have seen better days.
Nick, I agree. Is going to get them resoled with a danite sole but think I’ll get something much brighter. I actually live in Sheffield, so Doncaster isn’t that far. I’d not heard of these guys before. How cool to find a cobbler in the next town over via a Norwegian blog…
If you head to Doncaster, it’s worth noting that Shoe Healer has split into two, so there’s now a Shoe Room there as well. Both would appear to be surprisingly good footwear shops, so Doncaster is doing pretty well on that front!