Did you know that you could dye leather? Clearly I like the idea of giving apparel a second life with dye, and as I was doing some spring cleaning last week, I realized I might be able to do something similar with shoes. See, I had this very sad looking pair of yellow boots (yes, I wore a pair of yellow boots to shreds), but I could never bear to get rid of them. They were just so comfy and the little heel is the perfect height to wear walking around the city all day.
Exhibit A:
I'm not even sure the photo does justice to how stained and beaten up they were. I tried cleaning and polishing, but I just couldn't get them looking presentable.
This is where the dye comes in: I figured if I couldn't get the stains off, maybe I could cover them up! After a lot of Googling about dying leather, this seemed like a simple project I could tackle myself. However, they also needed to be re-soled. I figured I would take them to the cobbler to get them fixed up while I waited for the dye to arrive in the mail. When I took them in, I saw a sign that they dye leather. So, it was settled, for just $30, I basically got a new pair of shoes!
The results:
They're much darker than I had envisioned, because the cobbler said that dark brown or black was all that would cover up the stains. I think they'll be great to throw on in the winter! Of course, I was so excited about them, I threw them on today (see below)
Moral of the story is, if you have something you love, don't give up on it! I also had two other shoes fixed up at the cobbler(new heels and a new sole). Clearly, I can't let go of a good pair of shoes.
