Cobbler

If I ever find myself living in a science fiction movie--the kind where everyone has to survive on their wits--I am heading straight to Peg's house. She can grow food, cook it, spin dog hair into yarn, drive a dog sled, and make shoes from scratch. She also used to be an attorney, and you just never know when that might come in handy. I am not sure what I would bring to the table in a survival situation other than the ability to knit the dog hair yarn into itchy sweaters, but that might be enough.

Anyway, Peg is a person who took a sharp turn in her career and became a shoe repair apprentice. That is apparently the only way to learn the trade these days. It is a bit of a dying art, which may be one reason she has been so successful since starting her own shoe repair business. It is really surprising how many directions "shoe repair" can go. This week one of her jobs is a leather motorcycle racing suit that took the brunt of the damage in a crash, sparing the driver. Before she gets to that, though, she has a whole box of shoes that date from the twenties and thirties that need repairs. They are being worn for the filming of "Public Enemy" and have been too fragile in some cases for the demands being placed on them. New heels, new elastic, glue for peeling soles, but no polish or refurbishing that would make them stand out in the movie.

I wondered initially why a film company wouldn't just make fake period shoes with new materials. When I saw the shoes, it made more sense. Almost 100 years later we have a stylized idea of what shoes looked like in earlier periods--it would be hard to come up with the variety of designs that actually existed. Costume companies collect period garments and shoes--they are unique and totally authentic. Unfortunately they are also old and that's where Peg ("Cobbler to the Stars") comes in. She'll be working most of the weekend to get them done before next Tuesday when filming resumes.

So here are some of the shoes--consider this a little movie preview. I know I'll be looking for them when "Public Enemy" hits the big screen.