Basic Shoe Care
The longevity of your shoes depends on how and if you care for them. Durability will increase immensely by following these simple shoe care instructions.
Always use shoe trees – this will help the shoes maintain their form and to some extend prevent unnecessary creasing. Even a pair of shoes for $1500 will soon look like crap if you don’t use proper shoe trees. With proper shoe trees we mean shoe trees that will actually fill out the last appropriately, and not the cheap ones that can be found at budget outlets.
Alwas use a shoe horn – when putting on your shoes. Once in a while a client will come into the shop and claim the heel has cracked due to poor quality. The answer is no, the heel will crack if you do not use a shoe horn. A waste of good money!
Rotate your shoes – do not wear the same 2-3 pairs of shoes day in a day out. Please allow your shoes to “rest” with proper shoes trees for at least 48 hours after each wear. Do not store your shoes near a heat source, like a radiator.
Use a shoe brush – after every other wear use a high quality shoe brush to dust the shoes off. It only takes a few seconds and it will keep your shoes looking vibrant for much longer.
Nourish your shoes – apply a very fine layer of a nourishing product like Saphir Medaille d'Or Renovateur or Bickmore BICK 4 after every 5-6 wears. Buff with a fine shoe brush or a clean cotton rag. This will prevent the leather from drying out. Use nourishing products moderately and try to avoid oversaturating the leather.
If you live in a country like Sweden where we have snow and slush for part of the year, wipe down your shoes with a damp cotton cloth after each wear, then buff with a dry cotton cloth or buffing glove. Slush found in cities contains salt and this will deteriorate leather and created ugly stains that are very, very hard to remove if not cared for properly. Salt stains will also stress the leather and will crack the leather if left unchecked.
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