I second the suggestion to go to the cobbler. A tailor and a cobbler should be on everyone's speed-dial here.
I have never had anything dyed but the cobbler does wonders to my leather handbags and shoes. And can teach you about what can and cannot be done to restore these items. Which is really helpful knowledge to have while shopping for new handbags and shoes. My cobbler is the reason that I will think nothing about spending more $ for good quality and for leather. And the reason why I gave up expecting shoes to be able to be stretched -- they can stretch somewhat, but only so far.
My daughter gained freshman 15 last year and to her dismay her nicest tall boots (two pairs) no longer fit her in the calves. We went shopping for new ones, and had zero luck. So we took her boots to the cobbler. He explained why one pair was perfect for adding in a triangle of elastic to extend the calves, which he did. And the other pair, because of the design, was not going to work for that. With that pair, he attempted to stretch the boots. They did stretch but within a few weeks the boot bounced back to its original size. Lessons learned.
Likewise he gave me a long lecture about nude shoes. Apparently these are the most difficult to clean. I am still going to buy them, but I will think twice about spending too much on this color. And he explained that my favorite white purse can be cleaned to look good as new because it's leather, but the braided straps he can only do so much with. He told me when I shop for a replacement to look for a white purse that is real leather, doesn't have braiding or perforations, and has little feet in case you want or have to set it down somewhere.
