Disposables

Trivial repairs.  My name brand casual shoes, GH Bass and Sperry have not done well.  I tend to keep items indefinitely.  My Thom McCann K-Mart shoes last until they wear out.  Their low price makes them disposables, but they fit well while I have them.  Rockports and LL Bean indestructable.  New Balance too.  My dress shirts when worn for work, will eventually have sleeve ends that fray.  And ties have a loop in the back to capture the thin end.  It will sometimes separate.  I can sew it back, but usually don't.  In my mend collection or two pair of staple long pants whose belt loops have separated.  My attempts at home repair expose my lack of skill.  A tailor could mend them easily but I wear each infrequently enough to not justify the costs.  Same with leg hems that have separated.  

Moving clothing manufacture overseas has brought us American consumers to a branch point.  Price has come down.  So has much of their durability.  While repairs are possible in principal, they are not alway worth the cost.  And for my GH Bass bucks, which need only a heel cap that I could do myself if I had the part, three shoemakers cannot get the part, nor will the company sell it to me.  The agent who responded to my inquiry suggested I buy another pair from their wonderful collection.  Let me see if the more reliable Rockport has something akin to that.