BLOOMINGTON - When the soles wore out on Raymond Allyson Jr.'s very comfortable and well-made size 16 work boots he decided to have them repaired. "It costs less than buying new," he said.

Fixing the foot gear cost about $100, less than half the cost of a new pair.

In this bad economy, an increasing number of people in Bloomington-Normal and nationwide are opting to repair instead of replace their footwear. They're going to Twin City shops like Adrian's Shoes and Repair, Johnson's Shoe Repair and Warrick Shoe Service.

As a result, the shops have seen increases in their repair business of about 10 to 20 percent. In the case of Adrian's that means up to 200 pairs in a week compared to about 160 before the economy went bad.

While there's no typical cost, most often repairing costs less than half the cost of new, said Bob Bolender, owner of Warrick Shoe Service in Normal. Heather Darnall-Stiles, manager of Adrian's, gave some specifics: A new pair of soles on a work boot may cost $60 to $80, while a heel on a pair of women's shoes can cost $8.50 to $20, she said.

She isn't surprised that more people are opting to come to shops like Adrian's to repair their shoes, as well as gloves, jackets and luggage. She said this is what historically happens in tough times.

Like Allyson, Carol Wenger of Fairbury prides herself on repairing her shoes instead of pitching them in the trash.

Wenger, who works in Bloomington, brought a pair of shoes with a bad heel and another with a sole problem to Adrian's and will spend about $10.

The trend can be seen across the country.

"It's happening everywhere," said Jim McFarland, a spokesman for the Massachusetts-based Shoe Service Institute of America.

McFarland, who has a Florida repair shop, said some of those bringing in shoes for repair are first-time customers hit by the recession.

Bolender is seeing first-time customers as well.

"It all started late last year with the layoffs and high gas prices," Bolender said. "Anytime you can fix it at a fraction of the cost of new it's worthwhile."

Like Adrian's, he typically sees about 200 shoes a week compared to around 160 before the economy went bad. His customers come from as far as Lincoln because there are few shoe repair shops outside larger towns.

Rocko Johnson, owner of Johnson's Shoe Repair in Normal, said that while some customers will pay to repair inexpensive shoes, they usually do this because the shoes are comfortable and they don't want to risk a new pair.

The challenge of saving consumers money appeals to Alfonso Diaz, the shoe repairman at Adrian's.

While many of the shoes in Diaz's workplace look like they're ready for the trash heap, they'll look like new when he's finished, he said.

In fact, on a bench near Diaz was a pair of work boots illustrating just that. The soles of the boots were loose and the tops were salt-stained and scuffed.

Diaz, however, said repairing them is the best option. "A good pair of work shoes is expensive and if you find a comfortable pair you want to keep them," he said.