The Fix

One of the big sales messages of buying luxury goods is that the steep prices are justified by the quality of the goods — that with proper care, these high end objects will last forever. This maintenance requires the occasional repair work.

I also like the idea of repairing things as opposed to replacing them. In Japan, patching up fabric or repiecing pottery are art forms unto themselves (Boro and Kintsugi, respectively).

ecently, I took to high end vintage finds to get fixed at Sole Survivor

in Kensington Market. The shoes are Gucci lace ups that Mr. Andrew got at a yard sale in the summer. The fun thing about a visit to the cobblers is that  they can sometimes give you a forensic analysis of your footwear — how many times the shoes have been repaired before, what wear patterns reveal about your gait etc.

At Sole Survivor, they also walk you through the steps required to make the repair. In the case of this Le Gout Du Jour crocodile crossbody bag, the old snap closures had given up the ghost. To put new ones in, they would have to open up seams to replace them. Which they did, seamlessly.