Why Should I Buy Hand Made Shoes? Part 1, The Disadvantages
Before you rush off to buy an expensive pair of hand made shoes, you need to ask yourself if you really want handmade, or if you would be better with factory-produced shoes. Whilst I only buy hand made shoes, I realise that they aren’t for everyone, so I thought it would be a good idea to explain the differences between hand made shoes and mass-produced ones.
Without starting off negative, I’ll first give you a few good reasons why you shouldn’t buy handmade. Having said that, you should read the rest of this article as well, as I’ll be giving you the other side of the story, and I think the reasons for buying handmade shoes outweigh the disadvantages.
- The most obvious downside to hand made shoes is the cost. Due to the high production volume, and the fact that machines cost less to run than skilled shoemakers, mass-produced shoes are much cheaper than handmade shoes. Having said that, the higher cost of hand made shoes is usually outweighed by the fact that they will last much longer than their factory-made counterparts, which can actually work out cheaper in the long run, as you don’t need to buy new shoes as often, so this isn’t as big a disadvantage as it seems.
- Depending on the skill of the shoemaker, the craftsmanship might actually be worse than factory-made shoes. Machines can do a very accurate and strong job of the sewing, which not everyone can emulate. Obviously, a true craftsman will produce stitching that is first-class, but you have to be careful here.
- In order to try and keep the prices down to a reasonable level, some shoemakers use inferior materials, which results in a shoe no better than something you might buy in the supermarkets. Whilst these shoes might be fine for many people, they aren’t what you are looking for if you want good quality handmade shoes. You need to do a bit of research before buying – or take advice from someone with experience. I’ll be talking about which shoemakers I trust in a later post, so be sure to read that.
That’s about all I can say against the idea, but if you read my reasons why you should buy hand made shoes, you’ll see that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.