Friend destroyed an expensive item

Do you have a picture of what the shoe looked like at the start of this ? If those are designer shoes I'd be contacting the original place of purchase because that just doesn't look like it should happen from just walking around at a function in them, especially if they were $2k, that is expensive even for Jimmy Choo. What a mess.

efs

Even the glue on designer shoes will perish over time. Not repairing the perished glue before wearing means that extra stress is placed on the fabric.

If the shoes were worn without realising the glue was perished, all the photographed damage could occur at no fault of anyone involved.

I have to agree to disagree here, the ungluing of both shoes would not have happened simultaneously. If I paid $2k for a pair of shoes and they looked like this after one wear by a friend at the races I would be taking them back to where I bought them.

As far as we were told the shoes were not showing any damage when lent to the friend. OP says both shoes are the same, that is a failure of manufacture. They are Jimmy Choo's, they need to know this happened.

I have to agree to disagree here, the ungluing of both shoes would not have happened simultaneously. If I paid $2k for a pair of shoes and they looked like this after one wear by a friend at the races I would be taking them back to where I bought them.

As far as we were told the shoes were not showing any damage when lent to the friend. OP says both shoes are the same, that is a failure of manufacture. They are Jimmy Choo's, they need to know this happened.

It depends how old the shoes were in the first place and how often they are worn. I'm not sure if the OP said? The glue would be the same age on both so its likely it had degraded on both! Probably not simultaneously, but could easily happen on the same day. The OPs friend could have just been the unlucky one to wear them for a while and it might have happened to anyone.

I have to agree to disagree here, the ungluing of both shoes would not have happened simultaneously. If I paid $2k for a pair of shoes and they looked like this after one wear by a friend at the races I would be taking them back to where I bought them.

As far as we were told the shoes were not showing any damage when lent to the friend. OP says both shoes are the same, that is a failure of manufacture. They are Jimmy Choo's, they need to know this happened.

 

It depends how old the shoes were in the first place and how often they are worn. I'm not sure if the OP said? The glue would be the same age on both so its likely it had degraded on both! Probably not simultaneously, but could easily happen on the same day. The OPs friend could have just been the unlucky one to wear them for a while and it might have happened to anyone.

It seems people are more forgiving than me. There is no way on earth would I accept that a pair of $2k shoes should look like that after a day out if they did not look like that at the beginning of the day.

As I said in a previous thread on this. There is no miracle shoe glue that lasts forever that only expensive shoe companies use.

The shoes were several years old. Shoe glue perishes.

It's not like a luxury car and should last 10 years..

The price you pay doesn't reflect the quality of the shoe. You are paying for a designer, and possibly the silk and real leather linings. The shoe manufacture and glue, thread etc is exactly the same as cheaper shoes. A more expensive shoe doesn't mean it lasts longer.

I wonder if your friend is one of those people who move their feet while they are standing. It’s really hard to explain in words but you know those people who will tilt their foot on the side when stand and keep moving a lot push back on the toes ect

I was going to say that I’ve only ever had shoe glue perish on expensive shoes, but quite possibly it’s only the expensive shoes that have lasted long enough for the glue to perish...

Shoe glue perishing on both shoes simultaneously here. Retuning to basketball after 18months off to have a baby. Hilarious results when I had a shoe blowout on the court. Soles both hugely flapping.

I have to agree to disagree here, the ungluing of both shoes would not have happened simultaneously. If I paid $2k for a pair of shoes and they looked like this after one wear by a friend at the races I would be taking them back to where I bought them.

As far as we were told the shoes were not showing any damage when lent to the friend. OP says both shoes are the same, that is a failure of manufacture. They are Jimmy Choo's, they need to know this happened.

If the shoes were brand new and failed on the first wear, then yes, I’d agree that they were not fit for purpose regardless of the price.

These shoes were several years old, not often worn and we don’t know how they were stored. Glue perishing is something that can reasonably be expected in shoes, designer or not. The glue goes brittle and is worse in shoes that are worn infrequently.

The warranty on designer shoes is only about 2 years. They are not indestructible. The purchase price relates more to the social status symbol, cache and marketing than to any extraordinary super glue technology and qualities.

It’s difficult to visually tell if the shoe glue is about to perish. When I take mine in to the cobbler before I wear them, he always prepares me before he rips them apart. Some pairs require a bit more force. Some are so brittle that they start to come apart in their bags before I reach the cobbler.

Do you have a picture of what the shoe looked like at the start of this ? If those are designer shoes I'd be contacting the original place of purchase because that just doesn't look like it should happen from just walking around at a function in them, especially if they were $2k, that is expensive even for Jimmy Choo. What a mess.

efs

Even the glue on designer shoes will perish over time. Not repairing the perished glue before wearing means that extra stress is placed on the fabric.

If the shoes were worn without realising the glue was perished, all the photographed damage could occur at no fault of anyone involved.

 

I have to agree to disagree here, the ungluing of both shoes would not have happened simultaneously. If I paid $2k for a pair of shoes and they looked like this after one wear by a friend at the races I would be taking them back to where I bought them.

As far as we were told the shoes were not showing any damage when lent to the friend. OP says both shoes are the same, that is a failure of manufacture. They are Jimmy Choo's, they need to know this happened.

I have to agree to disagree here, the ungluing of both shoes would not have happened simultaneously. If I paid $2k for a pair of shoes and they looked like this after one wear by a friend at the races I would be taking them back to where I bought them.

As far as we were told the shoes were not showing any damage when lent to the friend. OP says both shoes are the same, that is a failure of manufacture. They are Jimmy Choo's, they need to know this happened.

 

It depends how old the shoes were in the first place and how often they are worn. I'm not sure if the OP said? The glue would be the same age on both so its likely it had degraded on both! Probably not simultaneously, but could easily happen on the same day. The OPs friend could have just been the unlucky one to wear them for a while and it might have happened to anyone.

It seems people are more forgiving than me. There is no way on earth would I accept that a pair of $2k shoes should look like that after a day out if they did not look like that at the beginning of the day.

If I hadn't had similar happen to me, I would also be sceptical. I treat my things well and like to buy for longevity.

As someone else mentioned, it is a real surprise as one minute they are fine and then suddenly I am walking like a circus clown. I am also curious about the climate the OP lives in, as this is relatively common where I currently live, but never happened to me in Melbourne.

I have to agree to disagree here, the ungluing of both shoes would not have happened simultaneously. If I paid $2k for a pair of shoes and they looked like this after one wear by a friend at the races I would be taking them back to where I bought them.

As far as we were told the shoes were not showing any damage when lent to the friend. OP says both shoes are the same, that is a failure of manufacture. They are Jimmy Choo's, they need to know this happened.

If the shoes were brand new and failed on the first wear, then yes, I’d agree that they were not fit for purpose regardless of the price.

These shoes were several years old, not often worn and we don’t know how they were stored. Glue perishing is something that can reasonably be expected in shoes, designer or not. The glue goes brittle and is worse in shoes that are worn infrequently.

The warranty on designer shoes is only about 2 years. They are not indestructible. The purchase price relates more to the social status symbol, cache and marketing than to any extraordinary super glue technology and qualities.

It’s difficult to visually tell if the shoe glue is about to perish. When I take mine in to the cobbler before I wear them, he always prepares me before he rips them apart. Some pairs require a bit more force. Some are so brittle that they start to come apart in their bags before I reach the cobbler.

We aren't going to agree obviously.

The OP said she paid more than $2k now if these are years old Jimmy Choo's then they are extremely expensive for that age. I do not have the type of money that would accept and forgive this failure.

I have a DD who has some JC and I know if hers went like this in a day of wear then putting it down to a glue problem would not stop her from taking them back to where she got them from.

ETA...a photo of the shoes on the JC page I am pretty sure would get some results. They are not going to want people to think that this is how their shoes end up.

DP had a pair of good walking boots. He didn't wear them for some time (possibly years) between walks then when he wore them bushwalking both soles came off within about 10 minutes. If the shoes are old, it is totally conceivable that the glue will perish on both shoes at the same time if they haven't been worn for a while.

We aren't going to agree obviously.

The OP said she paid more than $2k now if these are years old Jimmy Choo's then they are extremely expensive for that age. I do not have the type of money that would accept and forgive this failure.

I have a DD who has some JC and I know if hers went like this in a day of wear then putting it down to a glue problem would not stop her from taking them back to where she got them from.

ETA...a photo of the shoes on the JC page I am pretty sure would get some results. They are not going to want people to think that this is how their shoes end up.

Happy to agree to disagree

Jimmy Choo sold his final stake in the business around the early 2000’s. The shoes were more exclusive (and relatively more expensive) back then than they are now. They’re now more mass market.

I’ve been reading and not responding. The comment about the shoes not looking very good quality was particularly upsetting as they were exceptional quality. Most put it down to glue failure but as I have said before the material is torn. Yes the sole is the glue.. I’m not concerned about that.

My friend admitted that they were too small and she shouldn’t have worn them. Yes our friendship has moved forward and I’m ok with that.

Jimmy Choo sold his final stake in the business around the early 2000’s. The shoes were more exclusive (and relatively more expensive) back then than they are now. They’re now more mass market.

I've just had a look at the Jimmy Choo site and prices. I think we must have very different ideas on what constitutes 'more mass market'.

This morning they had a topic on the radio "I wish I'd never let them borrow...." and it made me think of this thread.  Any update @Givingitanothergo?  Did you end up getting the shoes repaired?

On 22/04/2021 at 8:47 AM, Tinsel said:

 

I've just had a look at the Jimmy Choo site and prices. I think we must have very different ideas on what constitutes 'more mass market'.

Yea I don't think it is. It's still pretty exclusive around where I live (Manhattan), you have to go to places like Saks Fifth, or its boutique in Madison Avenue. They have 2 years warranty and they can help with repairs. 

I thought if this thread too recently when I was in some house on a job and there was a whole wall of Jimmy Choo shoes (worn) and some of them looked pretty trashed..actually some were broken..

I think I was the only person there who knew what they were and had a giggle to myself lol!