Shoe Repair Is in the Bag, Too

Your shoes pinch your toes, and your luggage is ripped.

Don’t settle for looking like an out-of-towner out of luck. Here are two places that specialize in full-scale shoe, handbag and luggage repairs.

Factotum

Taken from the Latin terms facere (to do or to make) and totum (the total or whole), Factotum does just that--offering a complete shoes/handbags/luggage repair service. This is the place where major retailers, such as Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, go for quick fixes.

Along with traditional shoe repairs, it does custom orthopedic fitting on designer shoes ($75-$125), re-covers shoes (around $150) and recaps toes ($50).

The shop also will redesign shoes; if the toes are too tight, they will open them or change rounded toes to the currently stylish narrowed ones. Also, you can have heels re-sized and shoes customized with sequins and rhinestones to match a garment.

Handbag straps can be replaced or shortened, new zippers put in and seams resewed in the exact color and thread (prices vary). In addition, when straps are shortened, the rivets that are part of a designer bag can be taken apart and remade to look exactly as they did when purchased.

For luggage, the shop stocks a full inventory of repair parts (handles, locks, wheels) for all the major brands.

392 Ocean Ave., Laguna Beach (714) 497-4114.

Anthony’s Custom Shoe Repair

Anthony’s stores have been in Orange County for 45 years. Some of the services offered are re-sizing heels ($8-$20), stretching shoes ($4.50), dyeing shoes ($22.75) and restoring the shoe color to its original shade ($16.75).

Dyeing and restoring color is most of the stores’ business; they can color match almost anything. The stores also repair handbags, and because they do so much work for airlines, they have all the supplies needed to repair any kind of luggage.

5570 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road, Anaheim Hills, (714) 921-4506; 3401 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar, (714) 673-4640; 32515 Golden Lantern, Dana Point, (714) 248-2455; Fashion Island Newport Beach, (714) 644-2551; Westcliff Plaza, 1108 Irvine Ave., Newport Beach, (714) 548-4053; South Coast Village/Santa Ana, (714) 557-5631 and MainPlace/Santa Ana, (714) 836-9662.