The boots that walked on…
In the Summer of 2023 I recieved a HUGE box of donations from The Royal Opera House costume department.
Thanks to Blue Patch I’m now recieving all sorts of textiles and items that they no longer need, perfect for repurposing. You may know that I have based my Couture Patches on the stunning textiles I recieved from them.
However, my initial box was a real mixed bag of shoes, velvet and upholstery fabrics, plus some fabulous cotton costume patterns which I really love. But the item that really foxed me, was this one pair of ex military black boots. The boot itself was fine, but the sole was crumbling.
Badly.
I asked my friend, who used to be in the army, whether she had seen anything like this, and she nodded knowingly. She said there was famously a fault with the manufacturing of these particular Army boots which showed itself once the boots were used in a hot climate, then weren’t worn for a period of time, would start to crumble and be unwearable. Lots were thrown away…. She wasn’t confident that I could repair them. But I was determined, so headed off to talk to two lots of cobblers near where I live.
I recieved a similar puzzled / worried reaction from both. One cobbler said it was impossible, the other asked me if I could have to leave the boots so the ‘boss’ could glance his expert eye over them. The main issue was that the sole was built into the boots and therefore to repair would basically mean, rebuilding the boot as if they were making a new pair. This would cost the same price as a new pair of Doc Martens.
I was slightly crestfallen but put the project to one side until I could decide what to do.
I then posed my quandry in the Autumn of the same year on Instagrams Slow Fashion Challenge and someone mentioned that I should try The Boot Repair Company. Having no other option and desperate to find a solution, I contacted them by sending them a DM.
The Boot Repair Company asked me to send lots of clear photos and within a day, they’d responded by saying that they could be repaired and that if I was happy with the price I should send them straight away.
Now, although it wasn’t going to cost the same as a brand new pair of Doc Martens, it was still more than a secondhand pair of shoes (that I would pay for), so to say I was nervous to commit to paying for the repair, was an understatement…but I talked it through with my husband and kids, and they all agreed I should give it a go. At least they would be saved from landfill! And yes - that WAS definitely the end goal!
So I accepted The Boot Repairs offer and sent them off…and within seven days of them arriving, I’d recieved an email to say they were fixed and on their way back to me! WHAT a service.
They arrived back with the amazing new sole as you can see below, and as I happened to have some black long laces in my shoes cleaning kit, I replaced the weak threadbase ones, gave them a lovely polish with Welsh made Leather Butter from Studio Orinocco and Ta DAH!
I was undecided on whether to paint them or leave them black, so left them as they were ‘classic black military boots’ and as the ROH didn’t want them back I popped them online to find a new owner…
Fast forward to April 2024 when I got the opportunity to be Costume Designer for The Removed for Swift Rocket Films thanks to the writer / director Rebecca Rose.
Designing costumes sustainably for a film is for another blog, but suffice to say I was relieved I had a few options for the fitting day, and was thrilled that my ‘ROH Boots’ were perfect for Tom Christians’ character - and he was the perfect size for them! (I’d neglected to mention that when I recieved the boots, there were no markings to say what size they were, so have had a few fittings with different men to discover they were a size 11!).
What’s more, over the weekend I sold them to a new owner - yippeee!
I asked The Boot Repair Company, how long the new sole would now last for the new owner and they replied, 'that the Vibram tread on the boots (they supplied) is genuinely fantastic. The tread itself will last longer than the original.’
Well to be fair the previous sole definitely lived out its leather boots, so I can see these revamped boots living on and on…and wonder what more stories they could share in their new journey…
***
Since I drafted this blog, I’d shared the story with the Royal Opera House who were thrilled to hear that since the repair, they’d not only been used for a film, but also that they’ll now be carrying on their journey with a new owner. They’ve asked for photos to be sent to them of what they looked like before and then after the repair, plus shots of Tom wearing them on set (as you can see here) as they’ll be holding an exhibition of the upcycled and repaired donations for their staff for World Environment Day on 5th June.