Replacement Laces

This week I went in search of new laces for my Eastland four-eyelet mocs. Finding shoelaces isn't as easy as you'd think. Most neighborhoods and business districts used to have at least one she repair business, but most of those are gone. Shoe stores are a reasonable choice, but even there I found the selection limited and unsatisfactory.

Most drugstores have a very small section with shoe care products. A couple of days ago I was downtown and went into the big CVS across Washington Street from the Old South Meeting House. Because it's a larger than average store, it has a whole endcap of shoe stuff. I found two sets of laces I felt would work with these shoes, so I bought both.

The darker brown laces are 30" long, a much more sensible and manageable length for this style of shoe with this number of eyelets. (The laces that came with the shoes were around 42" long, and even after I'd cut off several inches they were too long.) However, these are intended for dress shoes, so they are thin and I don't think they look good here.

The other laces on the left are a curious sort of caramel color, but they look like they might have come with the shoes. They are a bit thicker, so more suited to a casual shoe, and the weave of the fabric is a bit more noticeable. They are only 27" long, which makes for pretty small loops when tied, but they seem like the better choice. If I can find darker brown laces in this style and in the 30" length, I will get them.