Help me salvage a pair of evening shoes

Several years ago, I bought a pair of Stuart Weitzman black evening shoes. They have a rosette in the middle, with a Swarovski crystal cluster at its center. I wore them once, to a wedding, and after spending five hours on the dance floor, I looked down to realize that one of the Swarovski crystal clusters was missing. It was never recovered. Photo 2 shows the shoe without the cluster.

So now I have a nice pair of shoes that I can't wear because of the missing piece. The good thing is that I know these are salvagable. (One thing I don't love about these shoes is that the rosette has become way overdone on shoes in the past few years, but I still like these and think they look nicer than most rosette shoes I see. Additionally, I would like to salvage these because they are one of the last pairs of shoes with leather in them that I bought, and since they have already been purchased, I don't want to be wasteful with them.) At worst, I could take off the crystal from the other shoe and just have a small circle of black satin fabric put over the marks from where the crystals used to sit. However, I would like to do something a little more interesting. I think that if I find a brooch of the right size and style that could look cool.

Does anyone have any other ideas? I had thought of having someone copy the crystal cluster, but I don't know anyone who can do that. Or does anyone know of any good websites that have a variety of brooches? I have tried to find some online and have looked in fabric stores as well as accessories departments, but haven't found anything that would work.

The photos below are:
1. The shoe with the crystal cluster
2. and 3. The shoe without the cluster (from two different angles)
4. The crystal cluster next to a quarter, so you can get an idea of size

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15 years ago

Anonymous

Why don't you try finding a pair of big earrings with discs? Maybe at Forever 21 or Claire's or something. Then they would both match. You could chop off the ear posts and glue them on.

Maybe something like this:

http://www.forever21.com/produ.....pgcount=25

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

If you go to a craft store, shoes in hand, I would think the store employees would have lots of suggestions as well as tools and glue to do the job. Good luck!

PS -- I'm impressed that you danced in those for five hours.

Louise

I second cocolion~ try a craft store the big one near me has all sort of faux jewls x

Jonesy

Yep, I agree with the other posters! A craft store, or Etsy...You could spend a few days on Etsy looking at replacement parts, I'll bet :). Lots and lots to choose from. Just find two matching pieces that you like, and glue 'em in there.

taylor

Oh! definitely worth saving!!

I like the ideas here so far. I had a similar thing where I lost the center stone on one shoe...I found something else I like and replaced both..I think at Michaels crafts!!
Also speak to a shoe repair /cobbler and see if they can do it for you once you find the replacement crystals or stones, They probably have something better than the crazy glue I used!:)

Steph

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Jonesy, I think that etsy is a great idea; unfortunately I have SO much trouble slogging through all of the listings there. I constantly complain about this, but I wish there was some way to make the site more user friendly.

All of the suggestions to go to craft stores are good ones. We don't have any big craft stores here in the city proper, so I guess I probably need to head out to the suburbs. One of the problems I have is that whenever I find something sparkly, it looks cheap to me. Since the shoes are nice and were somewhat expensive, I don't want them to look cheap because of the embellishment I add. I guess that just means I need to keep searching.

Taylor, I have already taken them to my shoe guy, who said he won't have any trouble adding something on. He actually found something on his own and added it to the shoes so I could see what it looked like, but I hated it. At least I know he will be able to get them fastened correctly!

rae

I really like CM's idea of finding a cheap pair of earrings! There are bound to be lots to choose from, and they will be easy to sort through -- and ready-made! Forever 21, Claire's, The Icing, even a CVS kind of store might have something cute and really inexpensive.

Yes, I see your point about the cheapness thing...What about a pair of vintage rhinestone buttons? The round shape would work well inside the flowers on the shoes and they wouldn't look cheap, IMHO.

Here's an example of a pair of buttons that are really pretty, and about 1" in diameter (I just Googled "vintage rhinestone buttons" and this was one of the first things that popped up):

http://www.etsy.com/listing/58.....ne-buttons

A a broach or earrings with a cluster of pearls (maybe gray?) might be less likely to look cheap than something sparkly.

Kyrania

Active Member

Those ARE beautiful shoes. I like the deas for replacing both crystals. Thank you all because I have a long black evening gown that I was gonna ditch because I lost one crystal, too. l

I say keep and salvage but I LOVE rosettes and floral accents.

Sveta

How about creating ones yourself - I know you make jewellery. You can buy some beads you like, take a round piece of satin and glue or sew them on it in the design you like. I would use black sparkly beads - they should look more expensive here...

teri

http://shoeclips.biz/
should be an easy fix

Maybe even a solid gold or silver toned (depending on your preference) piece could fill the space and give shine without being too cheap/glittery to your eye? I also like the idea of pearl clusters for the same reason - a touch of shine without risking being gaudy.

Lisa

I like the shoe clip idea, or having something sewn on. I think something with a black tint to it, will look less "cheap" than super bright and sparkley.

RoseandJoan

Steph, I think this would be a great opportunity to turn your good quality beautiful shoes into good quality, beautiful and unique shoes. My instinct would be to contrast the feminine rosette with something a little more rugged like these military buttons
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/8-ROYAL-.....588cbc2e10

Ornella

Steph, I think you have the opportunity to really match the shoes for your outfits (not OTT, of course)! If you find a good solution, why not think about making it removable and getting yourself a few different replacements, so you can have a few options to choose form, depending on what the rest of your outfit will be.

Deb

Beautiful shoes and so many brilliant ideas. I like the idea of switching out the centers for a different look.

@ Teri: Thank you for posting the link to shoe clips! I got lost in it, and my brain is on overload with all the ways to change the look of average pumps. There are some very whimsical, fun clips ... I love a pair of small, crystal bumblebees I saw. Fun!

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