The decline has been exacerbated by the pandemic, remote working and the rise in popularity of more casual workwear when people did return to the office.
NEW YORK On a recent winter weekday at Penn Station Shoe Repair and Shoe Shine, men hop onto shoeshine chairs and pull out newspapers and phones to read while shoeshiners get to work applying polish and elbow grease to loafers, boots and other leather shoes. When finished, these customers hand over $8 in cash at a counter where a sign reads "We re not God, but we do save soles."