Somehow I’ve escaped ever dealing with zipper repair…until now.
I’d like to get these zippers replaced with something industrial strength. Where do I find a vendor? Can any shoe repair place do this?
Depending on what area you’re in, a regular shoe repair is probably not the right place. I had one guy ruin a pair of boots (luckily they were cheap anyway) by not fitting the zipper correctly so they ended up enormous on me. If they are high end boots you might ask the manufacturer, otherwise I’d start at your local tack shop and ask if they have a good leather person, and go from there. Otherwise the perfect solution is probably to send to a specialty shop - I think there is one in Wellington that people send their boots to (I can’t remember the name). They would be the best bet as they would know how boots are supposed to fit, how much the zippers have to be capable, and also know how to cater to high-end, expensive leather! I’m sure someone else on here would know the shop.
Depending on your boots, sometimes it isn’t worth it, sadly.
Around here the only place that does it is (ice) skate repair shop. They also fix baseball mitts! Good luck.
The shoe repair shop in West Concord, MA. If you go in there, you will see all kinds of horse gear, as well as shoes and all kinds of boots. I think you coudl ship the boots there.
I had the zipper replaced in a pair of aging semicustom Effingham field boots. I dropped them off at the shoe repair in West Concord, Mass on my way to the Cape, and picked them up a couple of weeks later which forced me to stop at the Dover store in NH. He gave me a choice of zippers and asked if I needed more or less room in the calf area. When i got them back they were better than new. Perfect zipper repair and buffed to a beautiful shine. He probably doesn’t do much shipping but you can call. This is a real shoe repair shop nestled in with the fancy shops in West Concord. He is highly recommended by everyone I asked, including the Dover store. This is where they send everyone.
The one in Wellington is Woody’s of Wellington.
Try word of mouth. There is a hole in the wall shoe shop downtown here that I was referred to by another shoe shop because he won’t touch tall boots zippers with a 10 foot pole. The woman who does the boots also farms, so I’m waiting until potato season to bring her my boots and just making do with half chaps in the meantime.
The only shoe repair place in town said their machine wouldn’t sew riding boots. He suggested a Mennonite harness shop but they said I had to buy my own zipper, couldn’t find out what type to order. I finally decided to drop them off at a tack store that has experience!
I recommend Pisano Riding Boot Repair. https://www.facebook.com/pisanoridingbootrepair/ We’ve mailed boots in to have them worked on, and they do great work.
my shoe repair shop (near Lake Oswego, OR) repairs them all the time. I would check there first. IIRC it was $40. I did have to bring them back once as the zipper didn’t go far enough down my ankle. but that was fixed
FYI for anyone reading this thread I just contacted Woody’s for zipper repair and they’re $125/boot, and Pisano is $90/boot. I also see that https://www.pacificsaddleryrepair.com in Temecula is $90/boot
Anyone else got prices from other places? Especially in CA? Anyone used any of the above or https://anthonyshoerepair.com in San Diego?
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We’ve used Pisano, and they did a great job.
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There is a very good place in a high-end Dallas neighborhood named Deno’s. They are used to working with expensive shoes and boots, and have always done a fantastic job for me. A couple of years ago they replaced the zippers on my custom DeNiro’s. They charged for $80 for both boots and told me they accept mail-ins. They fit of my boots did not change one bit, and you can’t even tell that the zippers were replaced. More recently they shortened the throatlatch on my CWD halter, and you also cannot even tell any work was done on it. I am always pleased with their work!
Pics of the repair and more info on my blog:
https://hunkyhanoverian.com/product-…s-shoe-repair/
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The factory repairer for Parlanti, Deniro, and I think Fasciani or maybe it’s Tucci is just outside of wellington. The place is called Polo something, Polo Mare maybe?
They take drop offs at the Dover on Pierson and they’re on the grounds in season.
Anthony’s can be hit or miss. There is a little hole in the wall type place off El Camino Real in Encinitas called Foot Depot that does a ton of riding boot repair. The guy in there can be a bit grumpy, but they do excellent work. I had zippers replaced last fall (both boots) for about $135 total. The replacement zippers are better than the original zippers from Königs.
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