Tango Shoe Divas

Emma writes:

I have a problem with my slingbacks and, since you have so much experience with different shoes, I’m hoping you’ll know somthing that can help. When I lift my foot, the stiletto stays on the ground and there is a 1/2 inch gap between my foot and the shoe. Needless to say this makes dancing in them very unstable. The ankle strap is fine, it is the strap that connects the ankle strap vertically to the shoe that is too long. These straps are not the thicker, slingbacks I see on your page – they are as thin as the ankle strap. What can I do? Should I have someone cut them and sew them shorter? Should I atatch another strap vertically from the bottom of the shoe over the top of my arch? They are Comme Il Fauts and I don’t want to ruin them when I tried them on they “stuck” to my feet perfectly but once I start dancing they unstick themselves.

I wish I had time to properly answer this question, but since I don’t I am going to throw it to anyone who is listening, and then maybe I will have time to come back and add my own thoughts!

BTW I deserve to be MIA, this is what my life currently looks like:

I’d SOOOOOO much rather be thinking about tango shoes!!!

I bought this hole punch on ebay. There are a lot available, but I picked this one because it was 1.5 mm. Most of the multi punches only go down to 2.0 mm. I don’t know if it makes a difference, but I figured the smaller the better since I have had straps rip in half at the hole. I carry it in my shoe bag all the time, and it has rescued many a night of dancing for me and my friends. I got this one from Jewelry Tools, but they don’t seem to carry them at the moment.

Try these two searches and see what you can find:

Hole Punch in Jewelry and Watches

Leather Hole Punch in Crafts

I recently took my second favorite pair of CiF to have the heel tips replaced. Given the frequency with which I have to have these replaced on my shoes I was beginning to regard this process more like a dental cleaning than major surgery. I am a major heel dragger (in a good embellishment sort of way), and the tip on a pair of stilettos sometimes only lasts me 4 wearings, so my shoe guy and I have gotten very close. I needed to have some more complex alterations done so I decided to try someone that came very highly recommended by one of my favorite fellow Shoe Divas.

Big Mistake.

I had the poor judgement, or the positive among you might say trust and faith, to not closely inspect the shoes until I got to the car, where I opened the bag. I don’t want to come off as an overly emotional, weepy woman, but I can honestly say that I was holding back tears when I saw them. I was divided between going back in and screaming at him in all my womanly fury or going home quietly. In the end I chose my usual path of non-confrontation – the damage was already done, what good would losing my temper do? But as I drove, I got more and more upset.

This is what I got back:

EEEEEEEEKKKK!

The other one isn’t quite as bad (maybe half the length) but what really got me is that he managed to crack BOTH of them. One is bad, two is unforgivable…

The truly ironic (hopefully not in an Alanis Morissette sort of way) part of the story is that these heels didn’t need to be done all that badly, but I was headed in to the shoe guy already and I figured I would take these in and get them done before I over wore the tips and marred the perfect finish on the heels, as I am prone to do… And I got this.

SIGH.

So I guess the moral of the story is if you find a shoe guy that you love, don’t let him go. And if you are local, stay away from “John’s Shoe Repair” at 3007 H Clairemont DR, San Diego, no matter what my Russian friend says…