Hi Sars,

I love The Vine and I am so excited that I finally have a (hopefully!) worthwhile question to write to you about.I have a pair of white and red Puma Tennis shoes that I love, but they look pretty grungy, particularly the white part. The white part is made out of mesh, kind of like basketball shorts, out of what I am guessing is nylon.They look like this, but cooler.

I have tried just throwing them in the washing machine, both with regular detergent and OxiClean, and I have tried bleaching with one of those bleach pens, but the white still looks grey.

I love these shoes, and I am really too poor to buy another pair.Do you (or any of your readers) have any ideas about how to clean my shoes?

Thanks!

Pumas, old-school-style

Dear Pumas,

You’ve already tried what I would have suggested — OxiClean — so you might try stopping in to a local shoe-repair place and asking if they provide any cleaning services.And we can poll the readers.

Readers, can you clean these shoes?Email subject line: “shoe-cleaning.”

Hey there, Sars and loyal readers of The Vine.

Ten years ago, I bought a leather jacket at an outdoor market while I was living in London. Until this past spring, it was My. Favorite. Jacket. Around about April I had a run-in with a delivery bike basket and My. Favorite. Jacket. was the loser. What I have now is an old leather jacket with a shredded sleeve. The rest of the jacket is fairly intact: it has a few nicks and scratches; some worn areas and scuffs; and the lining is shot.

My. Favorite. Jacket. was perfect in every way. The shoulders had some padding but not enough to make me look like a linebacker, the sleeves did not hang down to hide my fingertips, it wasn’t too wide, I could wear either a heavy sweater or a t-shirt underneath it without looking bulked-out or baggy, and the leather was very soft and flexible. The problem is that I’ve had no luck replacing it. I am five-foot-nothing and very slim, but I’ve got a rather substantial rack. Every jacket I’ve tried on, even in the petites department in stores like Lord & Taylor and Macy’s, makes me look like a kindergartner playing dress-up. I didn’t bother looking at Juniors/Misses because of my Mrs. Madams.

I don’t know if the sleeve is irreparably damaged, but the other issues are fairly superficial. What I would like is to either find someone who can make the diagnosis and patch the leather back together if it can be done, and clean and re-line the coat; or find a New. Favorite. Jacket. that will properly fit a tiny female equipped with Uhurus. I live in NYC and I imagine such a person or people could be found here, but I’m not sure where to start looking. Last time I found a large-ish hole in the jacket, I had the head of the costume crafts department at the opera company I was working at fix it, but I’m not working there anymore. I’m open to suggestions. Thanks!

Best,
Euphemisms are fun, but I miss My. Favorite. Jacket.

Dear Euph,

Actually, shoe-repair places often fix bags and other leather goods, so I’ll recommend that a second time.You could also go on Citysearch and look for leather-repair experts in your neighborhood — or, for that matter, costume-repair specialists (there’s no reason you couldn’t tell a costume shop that the jacket is part of a costume).

For a new jacket, I’d haunt vintage stores and secondhand shops (ones in the outer boroughs tend to be less brutal with their pricing — I got a sweet three-quarter leather coat at Beacon’s Closet for $40).It’s going to take a while to find one with the proportions you need, but you’ll find it eventually.

Readers, we need either good clothing/leather-repair technicians, or reliable places to find inexpensive/vintage leather jackets, both/either in New York City (no online retailers, please).Email subject line: “leather jacket.”

Hi Sars,

I’m a light sleeper and my husband is a sound sleeper. This has been causing problems in the morning when his alarm goes off. He generally gets up about 60-90 minutes before I do, and I savor every last minute of sleep I can get in the mornings. However, when his alarm goes off, and he doesn’t hear it, I have to poke him or wake him up to tend to the alarm. Some mornings turn into a snooze-button-fest, and it’s starting to drive me insane — especially when I can’t fall back to sleep (which is happening more and more often).

I’d gladly wear earplugs, but they tend to fall out in the middle of the night, and I’m also worried that I wouldn’t hear my alarm when it came time for me to wake up.

I’ve searched for products that offer alternative alarm types, and the only thing I’ve found so far is a vibrating alarm that would go under the pillow. Are there other products out there that might work better?

Seriously Sleepless In Seattle

Dear Sleepless,

I think what you probably need isn’t a product — it’s to talk with your husband and ask him to please get up when the alarm goes off, because the constant snoozeration is driving you nuts.If he really doesn’t hear it, it isn’t his fault, but once you’ve poked him, he should probably just get up — or you should.This may be more of a personal-adjustment issue than a technology one.

But in case there is a more hi-fi solution than ye olde elbow, let’s ask the readers.Folks, we need an alarm that will wake a sound sleeper without necessarily driving a light sleeper nuts.Email subject line: “alarm tech.”

[12/1/06]

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