I'm looking to get (re)belted...

December 22, 2013 8:21 PM

I have a slim leather belt with lovely Mexican silver hardware; but the belt itself is fairly shredded, and has already been repaired once (by a shoe repairman, who did the best he could). Who fixes belts these days? How do I find someone to put the hardware on a new piece of leather, in Montreal, in New York, or on the Internet? How much should I expect to pay?
posted by musofire to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (3 answers total)

Go to a western wear store, they sell belt blanks for precisely this purpose. You can swap the hardware yourself or they'll probably do it for you for a few bucks.
posted by fshgrl at 8:41 PM on December 22, 2013

Sounds like a job for Bottes Imperial at 2117 Bleury in Montreal. 514-844-5611. That's right near Place-des-Arts metro, but it's the kind of business that might close between Christmas and New Year's, just in case you were thinking about doing this soon.
posted by zadcat at 9:24 PM on December 22, 2013

The leather part of the belt is beyond repair. Even if you patched in new leather, the old parts would continue to crumble. You need to keep the buckle and pitch the rest.

Barbara Shaum in Manhattan is a true artist. She's getting close to retirement but has at least one apprentice at all times and should be willing to make a belt.

She's very opinionated and anything but cheap. If you soothe her and agree with her, she'll do remarkable work.
posted by KRS at 8:48 AM on December 24, 2013