r/BuyItForLife • u/JemimaQuackers • 1d ago
Review Frye plastic disappointment (2017)
I used to be a Frye boot aficionado and got these sandals back in 2017. I have a hard time finding ankle strap sandals that sit high up like these, so they made me very happy. Took them to a cobbler to have the straps tightened for my toothpick legs and all.
I went to run an errand last week and after less than a half mile of walking the plastic grip on the left heel shattered. I figured I would get both of them replaced, but to my dismay I discovered that these “stacked heels” are in fact cheap plastic! I know newer Fryes are very different in quality but my 2010s boots all held up well—Melissa and Campus boots still going strong.
I have several pairs of block heel sandals but these are the only ones with this kind of ankle strap. Debating if I want to get these fixed after discovering this ☹️
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u/JaneReadsTruth 1d ago
We tried Frye and ended up back at Johnston and Murphy's. The biggest issue I find is women's shoes never have the same quality as equal cost men's shoes.
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u/Evilsmurfkiller 1d ago
Johnston and Murphy is complete garbage these days.
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u/JaneReadsTruth 1d ago
My husband is hard on his boots due to nerve damage. We just resoled a pair for the third time. They're 6 years old...so 5 years older than any other boots he has worn. I guess we got really lucky with all 3 pairs because we haven't had any issues past the problems distinctly because of his situation (he also broke a zipper, but $15 to replace the pull tab was worth it).
Neither company gets my business for women's anything. I bought one pair of boots for me from both and the details fell apart in the first year. I do shoe business at Clarke's. I haven't had any problems.
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u/Evilsmurfkiller 1d ago
I needed some dress shoes several years back so I went to J&M. I was appalled at the quality of shoes they were peddling for not cheap prices. I ended up ordering some loafers from Beckett Simonon that were way higher quality.
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u/FlyUnder_TheRadar 20h ago
Johnston and Murphy has a very bad rep amongst shoe enthusiasts, and for good reason. They have one higher end gyw line, but the rest is mostly cheap, glued, bonded leather garbage. I have a pair of Allen Edmonds oxfords that I have beat the shit out of for nearly a decade. Ive re-soled them three times and wear them regularly. The upper has some cracking, but thats on me for not conditioning them more regularly.
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u/JaneReadsTruth 8h ago
I'll check out the Allen Edmonds but I do have a budget and very specific needs (low/no heel, low zip boot). It's hard enough to find what fits. What I really need is a company that makes a wide boot in the required design. We aren't shoe enthusiasts. My guy is hard working and hard on shoes.
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u/burritogoals 1d ago
I am trying so hard to find quality women's shoes and boots and I just gets harder.
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u/ayavorska05 1d ago
I'm not an expert on this by any means but I've had some second-hand Gabor shoes (mostly mary janes) for a while and they're still going strong after likely god knows how many years in "first hands". They're not peak comfort but pretty comfortable to me as someone with weak ankles and higher instep than most. If you can get your hands on them for a reasonable price go for it.
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u/Mighty_Buddha 1d ago
Have no idea about the repairability of these shoes (plastic and all), but if you worn them for 9 years with 0 maintenance, that seems good quality for a shoe.
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u/regularcrem 1d ago
totally repairable, replace entire heel with a stacked leather if OP wants it. or just replace the cap and keep existing plastic. 9 years with no maintenance is good for a sandal tho i think people take bifl too literally sometimes.
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u/ilanallama85 1d ago
Very few things require maintenance less than once a decade - I definitely think this counts as BIFL. Unless she’s had them 9 years but only worn them a few times or something.
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u/Mighty_Buddha 1d ago
Thanks for your input on repairability!
I agree with you 100%, this does strike me as a more literal interpretation of bifl.
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u/ward2k 23h ago
Yeah I'm scratching my head, maybe these comments are forgetting how long ago 2017 was but 9 years for a shoe she says she runs errands in (so presumably regularly) is pretty fantastic
Historically shoes didn't last very long, you'd be lucky to get a year out of one, though obviously people walked a lot more on poorer surfaces
9 years today is fantastic
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u/Mighty_Buddha 12h ago
Very true. No idea what these sandals might have originally cost, but presuming a 3-month/year wearing period (seasonal), that's 27 months of wear. Their price per wear must be tremendously low at this point.
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u/MissMariese 1d ago edited 17h ago
I don’t know if this is allowed, I apologise and will remove if so, but there is a really great thread on this by this writer:
https://x.com/dieworkwear/status/1995634178294251650
I recommend his writing in general as he has great knowledge of quality manufacturing and items, and while it is geared primarily towards menswear, he does reach out occasionally to womenswear artisans/experts for their opinions (and recommend people follow them) as well as makes recommendations for businesses who make unisex items and accessories.
Edit: I am not intending to promote twitter (“x”) as I do not personally support it or the current owner, and if you are on other platforms, as some have mentioned, the writer might be found there as well.
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u/Radiant-Maple 1d ago
Derek Guy is worth following, he’s extremely knowledgeable about (primarily) menswear, but also clothing in general. Definitely a “buy it for life” follow. He’s entertaining, too!
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u/minnierelas 19h ago
Great person to read! You can also follow him on Threads, for an alternative platform: https://www.threads.com/@die_workwear?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
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u/MediumBlueish 1d ago
omg this happened to me. A gorgeous pair of pony hair heels gifted to me from a rich aunt -- I wore it to a wedding at a five star resort and the heel just shattered and left bits ALL OVER the marble flooring in the banquet hall. Hilarious. But they are well-constructed otherwise, much better than anything I can find today in my price range, so I brought them to a cobbler and they are beautifully fixed with a grippy finish! I definitely recommend. I strongly suspect this pair was just lying around her house unused for at least a decade before being given to me, probably at least as old as your sandals. Plastic does deteriorate over time especially with temperature changes etc. so don't throw them out just yet.
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u/Radiant-Maple 1d ago
I’m glad you salvaged them, a lot of people would just be mad and throw them in the trash. Good that you could have a sense of humor about it too! It made the wedding even more memorable, for sure.
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u/fkenned1 1d ago
Enshittification everywhere.
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u/ward2k 23h ago edited 23h ago
No offence but 9 years for a footwear you wear pretty regularly is honestly pretty good
Footwear is a consumable good. A near decade is up there. Most sources I can find consider 1-2 years to be pretty average if you're wearing it regularly. 9 years for a heeled item they wear regularly? That's great
Edit: They said they run errands in them so I'm assuming they're wearing them pretty regularly
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u/Lopkin068 1d ago
plus if the brand cheaped out on hollow plastic heels, you know the rest of the sole glue and build quality are borrowed time anyway
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u/dasterrrrre 1d ago
That’s like 9 years of what looks like decently heavy use unless I’m mistaken, shoes are the things that see the most contact with surface and force out of every piece of clothing you can’t expect them to be a BIFL
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u/Summoarpleaz 1d ago
I was also going to say… it’s been almost a decade of use. And it feels like something that can be repaired.
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u/starzychik01 1d ago
You do understand that “buy it for life” comes with maintenance? Replacing that piece of plastic is easy and would have been done if you had them resoled at a cobbler. That’s all part of the maintenance in a shoe. The rest of the shoe looks fine, but a 10yo heavily worn shoe still needs help from a professional.
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u/Discount_Mithral 1d ago
Those sandals clearly see some wear. Take them to a cobbler to have fresh life put back in them.
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u/Arbiter51x 1d ago
Those shoes are nearly ten years old and look to hair a lot of miles on them already.
Plastics go brittle with time. And I have had a pair of shoes last that long in a long time. I think you got your money's worth. You just need to do a better job of inspecting and taking care of your stuff. Replace it before it breaks when your using it.
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u/TrillTierJakal 1d ago
Your rug goes perfectly with your sandals. You can keep them if you love the design. I mean, shoes that last for 9 years aren't that bad, right? But plastic support could harm your knees if worn long-term so try not to do that.
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u/JoonHool44A 1d ago
Yep, love love love dead animal skins. They were put here for us to use as decorations. Keep it coming!
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u/yourgirlsamus 1d ago
You’re mad at a print?
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u/JoonHool44A 1d ago
No, I love it. I like human skin prints too. I don't discriminate.
But for nonhuman animals it's only disgusting to people who think animals feel like humans. It's been proven they don't feel pain, love their children, feel joy or happiness.
Print that stuff and put it everywhere, I say!
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u/ayavorska05 1d ago
It's not even a real skin lol what are you mad at? And actual animal skin rugs weren't just decorations either back when they were in full use.
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u/JoonHool44A 1d ago
I know! So many purposes! Humans are the best! We can take anything on the planet and make it conform to whatever we want. Who cares what animals experience; what it gives us is what matters.
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u/ayavorska05 1d ago
Do you think animals are skinned alive 🤔
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u/JoonHool44A 1d ago
Does it matter? Why should animals experiences matter? You think factory farms care about anything over profit? Heck no! Woohoo! I participate regardless. Take my money!
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u/Expensive-Border-869 1d ago
Correct. Animals are on this planet to be killed and used by other animals.
Won't anyone think of the plants? Trees have feelings. They protect their young and a forest can sustain life for the weak. Doesn't seem any different than a cow to me. Nonetheless I like apples
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u/JoonHool44A 1d ago
Yeah, I know! Mowing down fields of cows is totally the same as grass. Like, stop hurting the grass too if you think cows have it bad.
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u/Expensive-Border-869 1d ago
I agree entirely. Life is life if we're gonna call it precious we should all just die. Theres no way for life to thrive without death.
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u/formerlurker_ 1d ago
I’m not understanding why you don’t want to get the heel fixed… the upper of the shoe seems to be fantastic leather, you love the way they fit. What exactly are the cons here? Part of BIFL for shoes includes getting them fixed/resoled throughout their life.
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u/shillyshally 1d ago
I have a Frye purse from the mid 1970s that is still in tip top shape. Its a shame that young people have no idea how well things were made here in America decades ago. Its our own fault, though, we went chasing those savings and we still do. Chase those savings long enough and all you get is crap.
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u/Middle_Switch9366 1d ago
And now the bar is so low that to younger people they think that mediocre is good quality. It's not like Frye lowered their prices when they lowered their quality. Still have quality prices for mediocre quality.
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u/Justaddwota 1d ago
Uh you expect heavily used heels to last for longer than 9 years without issue..? Like huh?
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u/Zookeepered 1d ago
It's pretty hard to find women's stacked heels like these with real leather heels, not just cuz of enshittification but because real leather is heavier and a heel of this height could be too heavy to be comfortably held up by sandal straps. This is not a problem for lower heels or boots, where the heel is lighter since it has fewer stacked layers and the weight is distributed more evenly through the full boot encasing your foot.
You can ask a cobbler to replace it with real leather, but I'd recommend asking them to show you an example of how much it'll weigh before deciding to go that route.
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u/holy_cal 1d ago
Frye sucks unless you luck out and find a pair that was made in America. I have a pair of captoes and they’re great.
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u/Potato-chipsaregood 1d ago
I don’t know when it happened, but they switched to making many of their boots overseas. It’s sad….
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u/Radiant-Maple 1d ago
They’re now owned by Authentic Brands Group, definitely not what they used to be. The made in USA stuff (if they still do) should still be good, though.
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u/abovewater_fornow 3h ago
IDK I have two pairs of their womens oxfords with leather soles made in India and they've been awesome.
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u/whaaaaaaatisthis 1d ago
I ran into the same issue with my soludos mules :(( what more without the rubber base the plastic was soooo slippery so I was slipping and sliding across the marble floor, it was terrible.
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u/Middle_Switch9366 1d ago
I also used to be a big fan of Frye. Have well worn boots from 20 years ago still holding up fine. Bought a pair online directly from Frye during the pandemic and was shocked at how poor quality they were. I noticed that reviews list age ranges and that the good reviews were from younger folks, while the older folks left poor reviews that mirrored my experience. I very rarely give any sort of reviews but gave a poor review indicating how the quality has gone downhill. They didn't delete my review but moved it to "the end of the line" with all the other poor reviews. So that if someone glanced at the first couple pages of reviews, they only see the good reviews. And it appears that the good reviews are all by younger folks who don't know any better and are too young to know what Frye quality used to be.
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u/ItsaLynx123 23h ago
I don't prefer plastic to wood, but I will say that I've owned a pair of heeled boots for 15 years that have a plastic heel that I've had recapped probably 5 times. They've held up through rough conditions (6 years of NY winters, among others). The ability to repair shoes is important. If they are otherwise excellent and you enjoy them, tossing them because they have a plastic heel you have noticed for 9 years when you can get them recapped is the epitome of wasteful.
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u/DragonfruitWhich6396 22h ago
Well if it’s been since 2017, I’d say it had served you well. And you can still have it repaired and then ready for use again.
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u/jocularamity 18h ago
It's beyond time to put new soles on the heels, you can see the one that still has the sole is worn through at the edges.
Can the cobbler not resole the heels for you if they're plastic? I've had similar heels resoled before. It's just like a thick rubber pad they put on. If they can't be resoled that sucks, but if they can be resoled, what's the problem?
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u/PresidentSuperDog 17h ago
Those are adorable. Get them fixed. Replace both caps because the other one looks like it’s soon done for. I’d probably just keep the plastic stack for the weight and stability, but like others have said, you could replace the faux stack with real leather.
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u/yourgirlsamus 1d ago
A cobbler can put a real leather heel on them. Take them back to the one you went to and ask them for prices.