One of the main reasons we invest in welted shoes is the ability to resole them. Since I first delved into welted shoes, I’ve resoled two of my Fortuna shoes – for different reasons. During that time, Fortuna has also provided some other after sales service. Here’s my review.
The first resole I did was on my burgundy penny loafers. The resole wasn’t really prompted by the worn-out soles as they still had some life in them. But the shoes were slightly loose and I was about to move to a city notorious for wet sidewalks – London.
I figured I’d have the soles resoled using Dainite rubber soles and, if possible, have the shoes relasted on a smaller size. Surprisingly, Fortuna happily obliged at a small upcharge on top of the resole. So the shoe went down half a size from 9UK to 8.5UK, which made the fit much better.
Fortuna’s resole is quite extensive. This is because in the factory the resole process follows the same assembly line as new shoes (for a read on our factory visit, click here). They change the outsole and heels, replace the welt, put in new cork, and finish the work off with a subtle shine. In my loafer’s case, the shoe was relasted on a smaller last, which is of course more labor intensive – hence the small upcharge.
The Dainite sole was the perfect choice for London as they became my go-to shoes, including on rainy days. Contrary to some people’s experience, the soles were not slippery at all for me, even when brand new and worn on marble.
The second resole I did was on my first ever welted shoes I purchased back in 2016 – the black captoe oxfords. I noticed that the soles started to feel very soft and during rainy days the insole started to get soaked. The outsoles have become too thin, which allowed water to soak in from the looser fibers.
An issue unrelated to the soles was that the inner lining around the heels had started to tear, which is a common issue in well-worn shoes. I enquired whether the heels could be relined. Fortuna, once again, happily obliged. I was told that the new lining could not be stitched, however. I didn’t mind and have since not experienced any issues with the new lining.
The shoes came back looking almost brand new (if not for the creases on the vamp). I elected to have the shoes resoled with leather outsoles, given the formality of the upper. Apart from full rubber and leather outsoles, Fortuna can also do a half rubber sole for something in between.
Overall, I am very satisfied with Fortuna’s after-sales service. Not only are they able to resole their shoes, which is the main reason in investing in welted shoes, they are also always happy to address other issues on a case-by-case basis.
A full leather resole is currently priced at IDR 750,000, while a full rubber resole is priced at IDR 1 million. For this price, as explained above, you get new soles, heels, welt, cork filling, and a standard shoe shine. So long as the uppers are in good shape (mainly by moisturizing them), the shoes can theoretically be resoled again and again. At a price of less than a third of new shoes, this is a good bargain.
For illustration purposes, the black captoe oxfords now cost IDR 3 million, which means the cost is IDR 750,000 per year (I wore them for four years until the resole). If I can wear the new soles for an additional four years, the cost would be equal to IDR 468,750 per year (i.e., IDR 3,750,000 over eight years.) That’s IDR 39,062 per month. Again, good bargain.
Written by: Nikki Krisadtyo