A Divine Shine

There’s a small discount for first timers, which was nice. The man in charge is very friendly, too.
Got two pairs of booties reheeled, which came out to about $ 35, which was very reasonable. But, shoes were supposed to be ready by Saturday, and they said they would email. I checked in on Tuesday, and they weren’t ready yet. They were ready Wednesday but I didn’t receive any notification. I just went over to check. So minus a star for lack of communication and one for not delivering on time. I’ll go back since they did a nice job and it wasn’t too expensive, but be wary of time sensitive repairs.

I brought in a pair of shoes last week and was happy with my shine. I found out that I was charged twice (different amounts, different merchants using his business name). I called Stanley and told him and he asked that I come in. So I came to the store showing my double charge; he then showed me the receipts he had that day which showed me being charge once. He called his merchant to sort it out and it looks like they’re may be something funny going on which he will figure out for himself with his bank. He politely gave me a complimentary shoe shine for my other pair.

This is a great little operation, and I’m grateful for their services and level of professionalism. I’ve never seen my shoes look so shiny, and they did a great job with some stitching and heel repair. I was in no rush, so I dropped them off on a Saturday, and picked them up the next Saturday, and everything was ready as promised. Stanley, the owner, is a nice guy and a pleasure to do business with. I will be going back here, and bonus: they are right next store to Cheryl Lofton and Associates, an outstanding tailor!

I thought my beloved Asolo hiking boots were so tough that they’d outlast me — until they began to fall apart on the inside, causing blisters. Nooooo. I looked up the best-​rated shoe repair places in DC. One place wanted almost $ 100. At Divine Shine, Mr. Mayes examined them, told me exactly how he would fix them, and quoted much less. He gave those boots back to me ready for thousands more miles, and gleaming. I was so impressed that I went home, collected all my shoes that needed some kind of repair, and took them to Divine Shine. I just got them back and they are all immaculate — except one pair that is made partly of lace that had torn, so it wasn’t worth fixing. I appreciate the beautiful work and also the honest advice.
Ladies and gents, this is a local business worth supporting AND they do the best work you can find in DC. PS my shoes were all ready when promised.

I started going to Divine Shine in March of this year, I have had nothing but excellent results each time I take something to be repaired. I just took a vintage purse that had a horrible black mark on it, the purse is white, the stain was completely removed. Go to Divine Shine if you want unbelievable results. This should happen anywhere to go for service but sadly it does not. See Mr. Mayes, you won’t be sorry.

Last week I took a pair of leather boots into A Divine Shine to get them outfitted with new heel caps, ½ soles and a (complimentary) shoe shine. I brought them in on a Saturday afternoon, and was told that they would be done the following Saturday. The store was quite chaotic, and the gentleman who was helping me did not know how to enter a ticket into the computer. There was a line of impatient people waiting, and stacks of shoes everywhere. After about 5 minutes, another gentleman, who identified himself as the owner, Stanley, came over and finished the process.
Fast forward to a week later, when I returned to get my shoes. I came in around 3:30 pm the following Monday, armed with my receipt, which clearly stated my name and my order number. Stanley was not there, but there was a gentleman who tried to help me in the store. He kept looking for my shoes, which I kept telling him were right on the table in front of him. Although the names on the tickets matched, he kept insisting they were not my shoes.
The gentleman then went next door to get Cheryl Lofton, who noted that she was covering for him while he was out at the cobbler. (I did not realize that he does not do the cobbling work there, but that he sends the shoes out.) We determined that the shoes were mine, however, over the course of the week, the shoes were only re-​capped, not re-​soled or shined, as I had been promised, and was clearly written on my ticket. Given this discrepancy, Cheryl called Stanley to let him know that I was displeased, and to ask him what should be done in this instance. (I am so sorry that she was involved in this at all, Cheryl is truly wonderful and should not have had to be involved in ironing out what was clearly Stanley’s mistake.)
Stanley then told her that he would be back in a bit, and that I should leave my shoes there, and that he would call me and tell me what happened to them after he returned. Given that he had already had an extra two days with my shoes, I was not inclined to leave them there for another minute, nor was I willing to wait for him. I asked to speak with Stanley, who proceeded to try and give me excuses, telling me that he did not have the store’s inventory memorized, and how was I sure that he was the one I spoke to when I was in the store earlier. (He then cited that he has multiple employees, which also sounded like an excuse to me.) I decided to tell him that I was going to pay for the service rendered, and that I was going to take my shoes elsewhere, while also informing him that I would be reviewing this exchange on Unilocal,so that he would know that I was going to put it in writing.
At this point in time, he told me that I should stop threatening him, and he didn’t know what type of life I’ve had that allowed me to chastise people for their mistakes. I politely let him know that I would pay for the service rendered, and that I would be taking my shoes and leaving. (He also noted that I was not allowed to take my receipt; the one that proved what he was asked to do to fix my shoes.) While I was paying for the service, he called back and said that I should have my money refunded, however, at this point, I had already paid, and thought it best that I not be there upon his return, as I wasn’t interested in any more excuses.
Bottom line, while the services may be good (I don’t know, given the fact that the meat of my services were not executed), the customer service is horrific. I will definitely take my business elsewhere.

Great local shop that does an excellent job at a reasonable price. Took in a Mansur Gavriel bucket bag that my dog had scratched up very badly, Stanley managed my expectations (with that kind of stiff smooth leather the scratches weren’t going to disappear completely) but really transformed the bag so it is now hardly noticeable. Took 2 weeks which was fine with me and I appreciated the honest estimate up front. Will definitely be back again with any other shoe and bag repairs that need fixing.

I’m very into getting my shoes repaired instead of replaced, and so I’ve taken five pairs of shoes here over the past year or two. I’ve had A Divine Shine clean up worn leather, replace soles, heals, and generally put a number of badly messed up shoes back together. The shoes always come back looking like new, and the prices are very reasonable considering how high quality the workmanship is.

I had two pairs of shoes (leather sandals and leather boots), both of which needed new heels, and after reading the great reviews for A Divine Shine, I decided to come on by.
I dropped off my shoes on a Monday morning around 11 a.m. I was leaving Thursday morning for a long trip, and needed the shoes by Wednesday afternoon. The woman who took my shoes was very friendly and assured me that they’d be finished by 2 p.m. on Wednesday, and that the shop owner would be in touch with me before that to check in on my orders.
I didn’t hear anything, so I called on Wednesday around noon to double check that the shoes were ready. There was no answer. I tried several times, and someone finally picked up around 1 p.m. She told me that the owner was out of the store and should be back any minute, and would call me ASAP. I didn’t hear anything, so I called back around 2 p.m. A man picked up and told me he wasn’t sure if my shoes were ready and that he didn’t have time to check because he had some customers in the store, but he would call me back in twenty minutes. Forty-​five minutes later, after no phone call, I tried again. He gave me the same answer («I have customers but I will check on your order and get back to you.»)
At that point, I was losing my patience — it was 3 p.m. and I needed to pick up the shoes by 4 p.m. Since the owner was busy with customers in the store, I decided to go to the store and just pick up the shoes. But when I arrived fifteen minutes later, the owner was nowhere to be found. I saw my shoes sitting on the ground, and both had been re-​soled. A man who worked there said he would go and find the owner. He went next door (maybe to call?) and came back, saying the owner would be right there. I waited ten minutes, and no one showed up. At that point, I was pretty skeptical that anyone would arrive, and so I told the man that I would be happy to pay the price quoted to me originally ($ 30), as long as I could take the shoes and go. He brought a woman over from next door, who was very friendly and helpful. She took my payment and I was out of there with a few minutes to spare.
I’m bummed that it was such a poor customer service experience, because it’s a very convenient location for me! Maybe I just caught them on an off-​day, or during a particularly busy period — the store was a complete mess, with shoes stacked on the floor and every available surface, most without any tags or any sort of organization.

The customer service is lacking, and unfortunately the shoe repair didn’t make up for it. When I dropped off the boots the repairman wasn’t in, so I was told I’d receive a call later that day about price and timeline for pick-​up– I didn’t. I gave them the benefit of the doubt but didn’t end up receiving a call, so I called back a few days later and was told that my boots would be done at the end of the week and they’d let me know when to come pick them up, received no call at the end of the week, called back mid-​week the following week and was told «your boots are done, I don’t know why you didn’t receive a call” — yeah me neither… When I picked up my boots, again the repairman wasn’t in and I paid what the receipt said I owed. About an hour later I got a call from the repairman (for the first time!!) to say that I didn’t pay the correct amount because they forgot to charge me for the shine job, which I couldn’t even tell they had done except for a dark splotch on my boot that had never been there before. So all in all I was pretty disappointed with the communication and I won’t be going back, as I’m sure there are other shoe repairs that aren’t as difficult to deal with.

Sometimes you search near and far for something, only to realize that what you were looking for was literally right in front of you. Such was the case for me with Divine Shine. With the frequency of my visits to All Souls, how could I not have noticed the cobbler that is right next door?
Anyways, I had been (passively) looking for a cobbler in DC since moved here, but there was nothing convenient to my office (or my home, at least so I thought). It took leaving the country for a conference and my favorite pair of heels to be completely worn out to force me to do some real searching.
And then I found A Divine Shine — and divine it is. This is truly a neighborhood shop — the owner is super friendly, and was able to rush my shoe repairs (overnight!) so that I could have them prior to my early departure the following day. He did an excellent job with replacing the heels and shining them up! I would highly recommend this place for shoe repairs and shining. You can always go for a drink next door upon pick up or drop off :)

I get the same pair of boots resoled every winter and wear the hell out of them, and Divine Shine is the best value for your money for that kind of thing. I have been to a few other other places in DC where I got shoddy work that didn’t last halfway through season, this costs more but the difference in craftsmanship is obvious. Also, Mr. Mays offered me free waterproofing throughout the winter to help keep the leather in good shape.

Dropped shoes off here the other week. They were pleasant enough and offered same day service for about 5 pairs of shoes (no extra fee) — it was also early in the afternoon. When I came back for pick up the next day, I thought the shoes looked quite good… except that the time and wasn’t taken to shine the tongue of the shoes. This would have obviously required the time to unlace the shoes, perform the shine, and lace them back up. When asked about this, the shine employee blamed the brush. Umm, what it really came down to is that he did not want to take the time to unlace the shoes and shine the tongue. So, I have well-​shined shoes on the surface, but with untouched tongues (aka they were as dirty and dull as they were when I dropped them off).
Not saying I wouldn’t go back, but if you go, make it clear you want the TONGUES shined as well as the rest of the shoe. To try to resolve this, the person appearing to be the manager offered an unknown discount… the next time I come back (So I paid full price for about ¾ of the job. Ehhh…)

I have used Devine Shine a few times for shoe repairs and they have done a good job.
I just took in a vintage snakeskin clutch that was ripped and they did a great job hand stitching it!
Great job and I will keep coming back!

If you are looking for high-​quality shoe repair, I highly recommend A Divine Shine.
My shoes looked incredible when I picked them up – probably better than new. In my experience, the adage «you get what you pay for» is very relevant in the case of shoe repair. I have taken my shoes to lesser shops, just to have them fall apart right after. At this shop, I got an explanation of exactly what my shoes needed and why, along with long-​lasting, quality work at a fair price. You’ll also get advice on how to make your shoes last longer (e.g., by having taps put on the new soles). Great shop.

Mr. Mayes at Divine Shine is a miracle worker. He does more than carefully re-​sole shoes. I’ve taken shoes that I’ve worn to near-​death and he has completely rehabilitated them. The best word I could use to describe Mr. Mayes is «meticulous.» He carefully examines your shoes in front of you and will make smart recommendations based on what he sees — e.g., what kind of soles, whether you need a special piece to make the heels last longer etc. The result is always amazing. The shoes also always come back shined as if they were brand new.
I should also mention that he does amazing work with bags and purses. My wife and I took him a leather briefcase that has great sentimental value and a purse and both came back looking even better than new. He does a great job of preserving the original patina of the leather, but touching up any rough spots (there were plenty on my briefcase) and giving it a shine. The result is that my bag looked like old leather should — gorgeous and vintage.
Mr. Maves is also really pleasant. I always end up chatting with him, his wife, or the guy who does the shoe shines when I come in. It’s a real old-​school kind of place — the best kind of local business.

These guys cleaned the grey suede shoes you can see in the picture. I didn’t think it would be possible. I’m super happy. I highly recommend this repairer.

Highly recommended. If you like your shoes, there is no reason to get rid of them when they’re worn.
Based on good reviews, I decided to take 2 sad pairs of shoes to A Divine Shine. They are both in better condition than when I bought them. The first pair were leather loafers/​moccasins that were completely worn out. They had been through the rain and mud (I actually got stuck in the woods with them), the heel was worn through, and the leather was scratched and creased. Now they are shiny, with new heels, and no scratches.
The second was a pair of strappy Clarks wedges that had broken after the first wear. One of the straps on the toe had snapped off. Somehow, they reattached it, and I can wear them again.
They are also in a good location if you are running errands — right next to a CVS and a Wells Fargo — and near some good restaurants on 7^th St NW.

Look at your shoes. Do you think they look OK? I thought mine looked OK. Not ideal, but OK. They weren’t OK. Yours aren’t either. Take them to Divine Shine. I did.
Now mine look as good as new, despite my neglect and scuffy ways. It’s honestly shocking when you go into Divine Shine to pick up your shoes and they look like they did when you first got them. You forget how they are supposed to look. I took in 3 pairs this morning and just got home with them this afternoon — couldn’t be happier — Mr. Mayes is interesting and funny, and he knows shoes. They’re in my neighborhood and I’m heading back regularly.
Rules:
1. Good shoes are worth it.
2. Good shoes will last forever if you take care of them.
3. People notice your shoes.

I really love the quality of the work this business does and the staff is very friendly. But I have to dock a star because my shoes weren’t ready to be picked up on the day that we agreed, and I wasn’t notified of this until I showed up to pick them up.
I dropped off two pairs of boots here on a Saturday afternoon: a brown leather knee high pair that needed heel repair, cleaning and polishing, and a short gray ankle boot in a gray suede that were incredibly dirty and also needed new heels. We discussed what work would be done, agreed on a total price, and they asked me to pay 50% of the total price ahead of time since the total was over a certain dollar amount (I think the cutoff is $ 50). I paid my half, and he offered to have them done in a week – come back the following Saturday. I was happy with that time frame and I went on my way.
A week later, I walked over to pick up my shoes as planned, but when I arrived, he told me that one pair was ready but he hadn’t gotten to the other pair yet, and this is why it’s not a five star review. I wish Unilocal offered half stars because maybe docking a whole star is too much for this small of an error, but when a simple phone call would save me a trip, that seems like the considerate thing for a business to do. He didn’t seem bothered at all that they weren’t ready when he had said they would be, and he had my contact information. I asked when the boots would be ready and they weren’t really able to tell me a new day – I asked Monday? Tuesday? They were sort of waffling, so finally I just said, Saturday? That’s a full week after they had originally promised. They said Saturday was fine, so I returned again the following Saturday and they were ready.
I am very, very happy with the work they did on the boots, and both pairs are as good as new-that’s the most important thing. The gray suede boots were especially in awful shape and they are beautiful now. I would be happy to return and give them more business. But if I was on a tight schedule, I might think twice or at least be very clear with them about my time constraints. Maybe just calling before you go to pickup will save you some potential trouble.