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Original poster

Should a pair of c.£100 Bloch ballet pumps last longer than 5 months?

28 replies

blue2711 · 04/07/2012 20:23

I bought a pair in January and loved them; now they are broken Sad. The elastic at the back of one of them has come detached from the leather. I have worn them a fair bit but certainly not constantly and mostly indoors. I really like them and find them extremely comfortable (unlike a lot of people, I know) and was planning on buying more pairs.

BUT mywardrobe (where I bought them from) have told me that the damage is just due to wear and tear and they won't replace or refund them. I'm annoyed and also now think that Blochs must be pretty poor quality. I have Topshop and Primark ballerinas that have lasted years so now feel pretty reluctant to spend on Bloch again.

Have I just been unlucky or have you found BLochs to fall apart quickly? I want to know whether to pursue this further with mywardrobe and also whether I dare buy Blochs again.

Thanks!

OP posts:
Emo76 · 04/07/2012 20:28

I am really surprised - I have 2 pairs of Blochs similar to what you describe and they have seen a LOT of outside wear for the past 12 months - they are coming towards the end of their life through genuine heavy use but not falling apart. It sounds like a fault to me. Have mywardrobe looked at them / have you sent a photo?

DonaAna · 04/07/2012 20:31

Completely unacceptable! I can't ever remember having shoes that have fallen apart that quickly. Will skip Blochs.

Good to know that My Wardrobe is very inflexible with returns - will be spending tons of money at Matches shop elsewhere.

dexter73 · 04/07/2012 20:31

That's crap. I have cheap shoes from Next that have lasted 3 years so an expensive pair of shoes like that should definitely last longer. I would pursue it further with mywardrobe and I would be put off buying those shoes again if I had a bad experience with them.

DonaAna · 04/07/2012 20:32

Sorry garbled message - too tired after my run. Defi itely not normal wear & tear.

issimma · 04/07/2012 21:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RatherContrary · 04/07/2012 22:15

That's terrible - thanks for posting as I had been considering buying some Bloch pumps. I had always thought that My-Wardrobe's returns policy was really great, but then again, I've only ever returned new, unworn items. I would say that a pair of shoes worn for that period of time are not fit for purpose and that they should be taking responsibility for that.....

I would certainly expect a pair of shoes to last for longer than 5 months!!! Most certainly pursue it. If My-Wardrobe think that the Bloch shoes are worth selling, they should stand by them being of decent quality. 5 months - even if you'd been wearing the damn things around the clock including to bed - is not satisfactory. Perhaps you should send a copy of this link to both Bloch and My-wardrobe.... I know I won't be buying from either company if this is their attitude.

BourbonBourbon · 04/07/2012 22:21

I dunno... I have two pairs of Blochs and both have pretty much died a death after about 6 months of constant heavy use, I don't drive so stomp around everywhere. They are soo comfy though, with leather sole andleather inner, I'm not sure they could realistically be more hardwearing without losing their delicate comfort. I got mine in TK Maxx for about £20 each though. Wish I'd bought loads of pairs when they had them in as they don't seem to stock them any more. I couldn't bring myself to pay full price tbh - IMO all ballet type shoes have a fairly short life expectancy. Someone linked Massimo Dutti ones for leather soled ballets as good value recently - I buy mine in sales, Kurt Geiger sometimes also comes up trumps.

Oh god sorry I'm waffling Wine

Original poster
blue2711 · 05/07/2012 11:39

Thanks for replies. I too am really unimpressed and also surprised by mywardrobe as have usually found them to be really helpful. I am going to pursue this further by giving them a ring today (contact by email so far). I really haven't worn them constantly and I drive everywhere so I don't think its reasonable to expect them to wear out so fast.

£20 sounds good bourbon, I think mine were around £40 in the sale but I'd still expect them to wear like £100 shoes as that is their full price and I was considering forking out the lot on my next pair.

I'll let you know how I get on.

OP posts:
StickyProblem · 05/07/2012 11:45

I don't agree that more expensive shoes should last longer - I'd say the opposite. Dexter your cheap Next pumps certainly wouldn't have had leather soles, and non-leather ballet pumps last for ever. In fact I usually bin mine after a few years because they smell, not because they fell apart!

I'd say a year's reasonably constant use for Bloch-style elasticated pumps is reasonable. Disclaimer: I am very very heavy on shoes!

Apparently if you wear leather shoes every other day, so they get a day to dry out, this makes them last a lot longer, although I never have two pairs similar enough to do that.

StickyProblem · 05/07/2012 11:46

sorry blue just saw you only had them since Jan, not sure where I got a year from!

dexter73 · 05/07/2012 11:52

Why do they put leather soles on shoes if they are so crap and wear out so easily?

StickyProblem · 05/07/2012 11:54

I don't know. Ask all the retailers of shoes that cost £80 or above. I've told and told my DP to stop buying leather soles shoes, they don't wear well.

You said these are very comfortable so perhaps that's why. They aren't "crap", they are comfortable rather than hardwearing.

dexter73 · 05/07/2012 11:56

I think the issue with blues shoes isn't that they have worn out but that the elastic has broken.

FrancesFarmer · 05/07/2012 15:26

My Blochs are holding up well. When I bought them, I had my cobbler put a vibram sole on them for extra durability - the shop assistant actually suggested this.

Original poster
blue2711 · 05/07/2012 15:55

Yes dexter is right, the soles and heels are absolutely fine, it is the elastic that has broken. I rang mywardrobe this morning and another customer services woman said that they couldn't do anything to help when it was judged that items hadn't been looked after carefully enough! But how on earth can they judge that?! I put my case forward again and was told that they would get back to me - but no contact as yet.

Hmm, I do know what you mean sticky. Very odd really; I think I buy into the buy less, buy better philosophy presuming my expensive purchases will last, but with shoes perhaps that isn't the case!

OP posts:
BourbonBourbon · 05/07/2012 16:04

Oh I assumed it was the sole, or the toe bit, that wears out on me because my toenails are long and manky

Are they the two tone ones with stretchiness all the way round? If so then I entirely agree with you that they should last much, much longer than five months! Good luck with my-wardrobe, haven't used them before so will be watching.

pippop1 · 05/07/2012 16:04

You can have leather soles "resoled" before you even wear them. This makes them last much longer and good shoe repairers will do it so that it doesn't show. Leather soles are a waste of time.

FrancesFarmer · 05/07/2012 20:37

^

Yes, the elastic should hold up longer.

Don't give up just yet!

Original poster
blue2711 · 09/07/2012 20:54

An update! Seriously disappointed and aggrieved with mywardrobe now. I emailed them twice more after their initial 'we can do nothing' email and telephoned once. Was told I'd get a call back: NOTHING. No replies to emails either. Have waited since last Thursday but now really unimpressed. Fair enough don't refund me but don't ignore me!

No more spending at mywardrobe by me.

And still don't know whether or not to risk Blochs again.

OP posts:
dexter73 · 09/07/2012 21:04

I wouldn't bother. You can get ballet pumps anywhere and at least you won't be worried about wearing them. Two fingers up at mywardrobe too for their bad customer service.

DonaAna · 09/07/2012 21:16

Ok, will definitely boycott My Wardrobe. Their website is really ugly too, worse than Zara's - will spend my hard-earned cash at NAP and Matches instead.

Pelicano · 09/07/2012 21:26

Def think the fault lies with the seller not the product in this case. It doesn't seem to be wear and tear if it is the elastic after five months. Just persist in wanting to return them to Bloch via My Wardrobe if they won't refund.

Mine pairs have lasted over 12 months (to be expected) though I don't wear them outside when there's a threat of rain due to the leather sole.

NotSoGrumpy · 09/07/2012 22:16

blue what a rubbish response from MW. I also bought a pair of Blochs from there in the Jan sale, mine are raspberry coloured, and they haven't worn well. No specific fault but they look very tatty and my ballet pumps from Hobbs (4 years and still going strong) are in much better shape, I shan't be buying Blochs again.

dexter73 · 09/07/2012 22:23

NSG - a friend of mine wears Hobbs ballet shoes and hers have lasted well too. They come in lots of colours.

Decameron · 09/07/2012 22:45

Blue, maybe try to contact Sarah Curran, the founder of My-Wardrobe. I think @sarahmywardrobe on Twitter.