Prisma Illya Boot Degrdation?

So I was very lucky to get one of my grails a few weeks ago - Prisma Illya! She's adorable and I am very happy to add her to the collection, but her original boots are absolutely destroyed. The pleather? has flaked off almost entirely save for a few spots. I don't think it's abuse or anything; the seller shipped the boots to me in a bag, and most of the flaked-off pleather is also in that bag, so I think they just kinda disintegrated with time. Is there any way to like... fix them? Mitigate further destruction? Or if anyone knows of an aftermarket set of shoes that look like the originals, I'd honestly be just as happy with that - I just want her outfit to be complete >.<

Also, a really silly question, but if anyone else owns her - are her gloves supposed to replace her hands? I cannot see any reasonable way to cram her hands *into* the gloves, but they don't really stay on if she's hand-less lol.

Thank you!

Pleather is the devil and plagued me in my teen years, and is the bane of my doll fashion life. All shoes/boots/pants/jackets made with it will eventually have this problem, even if they're never used.  There are conditioners and solvents that are supposed to extend the life of them, but once it's flaked off, it's gone.  There are ways to 'refinish' pleather by trying to add a new top layer, but I've seen wildly varying results from it, and it is a LOT of time and effort.  Pleather just sucks.

I don't know of any makers who would have those boots 'off the shelf', but they shouldn't be hard to commission.  Personally, if I were in your shoes, I would find a pair of pink boots made with a better material and just modify them with the white accents myself.  It may not be 1:1 or official, but the heart of this hobby is customization, and it'd be a good conversation starter for other collectors who see them.  

11 hours ago, DesertPhantom51 said:

Pleather is the devil and plagued me in my teen years, and is the bane of my doll fashion life. All shoes/boots/pants/jackets made with it will eventually have this problem, even if they're never used.  There are conditioners and solvents that are supposed to extend the life of them, but once it's flaked off, it's gone.  There are ways to 'refinish' pleather by trying to add a new top layer, but I've seen wildly varying results from it, and it is a LOT of time and effort.  Pleather just sucks.

I don't know of any makers who would have those boots 'off the shelf', but they shouldn't be hard to commission.  Personally, if I were in your shoes, I would find a pair of pink boots made with a better material and just modify them with the white accents myself.  It may not be 1:1 or official, but the heart of this hobby is customization, and it'd be a good conversation starter for other collectors who see them.  

Oh that's a great idea! I totally forgot I could make alterations to doll clothing honestly hahaha. Thank you!