# Leather peeling/stripping off the shoe?



## pteryus (Sep 12, 2011)

Hi all.

Long time lurker. Still a newbie so question may be half-retarded and I couldn't find this in the archives.

I was overseas two months ago for a conference and ended up buying a couple of pairs of shoes in a shoe store while out sightseeing. No name brands but they looked ok.

I've worn them a couple dozen times over the past couple of months and I've noticed that the leather has slowly started to strip or peel off (see pics). I've never seen this before, even on cheap mall-bought loafers I had in the past, and I haven't abused these shoes either.

Is this just because the leather is poor quality?

PIC 1

PIC 2


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## Racer (Apr 16, 2010)

Looks like synthetic leather.


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## arkirshner (May 10, 2005)

It is Providence speaking, telling you not only in the long run are good shoes that last cheaper, but also some "styles" are so ugly that no one should wear them.


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## mrp (Mar 1, 2011)

Looks to be embossed/grain. I'm guessing those are the toes and you've been bumping them on something? At any rate there is leather and their is leather, if this happened with very little effort on your part. it is most likely very low grade leather (from start to finish - from the animal to the tanning).


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## pteryus (Sep 12, 2011)

mrp said:


> Looks to be embossed/grain. I'm guessing those are the toes and you've been bumping them on something? At any rate there is leather and their is leather, if this happened with very little effort on your part. it is most likely very low grade leather (from start to finish - from the animal to the tanning).


Yes it's at the toe. I have only worn them one to two dozen times, mostly indoors with the usual wear and tear.

I suspected it must have been the poor leather. It's just that I have never seen this before even with cheap leather shoes that I wear around the cottage/beach/trails.

Thanks.


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## Grenadier (Dec 24, 2008)

You need to step up in quality to at least Allen Edmonds. Anything lesser-made than that is just such crap these days.


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## tda003 (Aug 16, 2009)

I suspect that they are embossed reconstituted leather, the shoe leather version of "parts" in fast food restaurants. You can glue and polish over, but this will continue and if they get wet... I'd toss them and try for a reputable brand. With proper care, a good pair of shoes can be a lifetime investment. Aldens has "seconds" from time to time (there is a post or two somewhere here), which, although still somewhat expensive, is much less than there unblemished "firsts" and will NOT fall apart even after a dozen or two yearsif properly cared for. I've had some for longer than that and they still look good, which makes them a thrifty investment - less than $10/year.


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## Barrister & Solicitor (Jan 10, 2007)

Unfortunately for Pteryus, in Ottawa Allen Edmonds are probably only available at Harry Rosen's and Aldens probably cannot be found.


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

Barrister & Solicitor said:


> Unfortunately for Pteryus, in Ottawa Allen Edmonds are probably only available at Harry Rosen's and Aldens probably cannot be found.


Thank goodness (and AskAndy) that he can get them online from the merchants including Allen Edmonds on these pages:

*Andy's Product Reviews*
*Andy's Selected Merchants*


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## CAG (Jun 27, 2010)

Grenadier said:


> You need to step up in quality to at least Allen Edmonds. Anything lesser-made than that is just such crap these days.


You don't need to spend $300 on a pair of shoes to expect the leather to not peel in 3 months.


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## pteryus (Sep 12, 2011)

Thanks all.

B&S you are right I've only seen AEs at Harry Rosen here. The Holt Renfrew here is very tiny and doesn't carry all that much. Fortunately it's not a far drive to Montreal.


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## Barrister & Solicitor (Jan 10, 2007)

Pteryus, AEs are overpriced in Canada. There's an independent shoe store in my office building and I suspect they sell non-shell cordovan AEs for about $500.

You're better to buy in the US or if you know your size, directly from the "Shoe Bank".


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## Petrus (Sep 17, 2011)

pteryus said:


> Hi all.
> 
> Long time lurker. Still a newbie so question may be half-retarded and I couldn't find this in the archives.
> 
> ...


That shoe is like the difference between solid wood and particle board. It does look like it was made from some manufactured compressed leather scrap "product"
You don't have to buy $300 AE to get a good shoe and in fact even Cole Haan makes excellent shoes, but these shoes are downright nasty.


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