TOMS, oh how they rip.

So, I got a pair of TOMS in remembrance of my brother-in-laws good friend who passed away recently and was an avid TOMS advocate. We all actually got some as Dan said that his friend would've wanted that.

They are great, and comfortable and support a good cause so there aren't really any downsides...except that the canvas, which makes up the entire Classic shoe, ripped on the toe within 3 weeks. I swear I don't have any weirdly long toenails, nor do I sharpen them! But nevertheless my toes were peeking out of the front of my TOMS.

So...I needed a fix. About 2 months ago I finally found Contact Cement in the UK that is exactly the same as the stuff in the US. I quickly identified it as the same by it's strong and memorable smell(watch out brain cells!)which is engrained in my head from my father always using it in leather craft.

I then purchased a small leather hide not even thinking about my torn TOMS.

After getting back from America we have been cleaning house and recuperating and I put my TOMS at the bottom of our steps with intent to figure out a fix. I also placed the leather I bought on the steps. Destiny brought them together!

The fix was simple: I stuffed newspaper into the TOMS to stretch out the toe panel, then I cut out two leather pieces to entirely cover the toe, then coated the bottom of the leather and the top of the TOMS toe panel in contact cement. Let it dry for a few minutes then firmly stuck them together. I glued the leather right down to the sole, then used a razor knife to cut it back, and peeled the unwanted leather off. Presto!


I'd say if you have a ripped pair of TOMS, find some contact cement and have a go! It doesn't need to be leather either!