The Indispensable Guide to Classic Men's Clothing by Joshua Karlen

Author:Joshua Karlen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Indispensable Guide to Classic Men’s Clothing
ISBN: 0000966184718
Publisher: Tatra Press
Published: 2014-06-16T00:00:00+00:00

How should I care for my shoes?

Well-made shoes will last decades if cared for properly. Consider the advice below to best prolong the life of your shoes:

•Let them rest: Don’t wear the same shoes on consecutive days. Perspiration, absorbed into the leather when shoes are worn, needs time to air. Letting the shoe breathe for at least a day will prevent a slow rot from the inside out, and will also prevent them from smelling bad.

•Use shoe trees: It is crucial that shoes are stored fitted with shoe trees, preferably of cedar, which will absorb moisture, and impart a pleasant fragrance in addition to preserving the shape of the shoe. If you don’t have shoe trees, stuff crumpled newspaper into your shoes.

•Use shoe horns: Use a shoe horn when putting on your shoes to prevent wearing away, or buckling, the back of the shoe.

•Brush, clean and polish: Brush off dirt after you wear your shoes and, when needed, clean them with shoe cream. “Polish them regularly with a cloth,” advises Mr. Willis, of Edward Green. The cracking you might find on poorly cared for shoes is caused more from perspiration not properly dried off, than from exposure to the elements. Give them a shine with wax polish about once every three wearings. Shines do great things to leather over the years; as with an old baseball glove, the leather begins to take on a rich patina. A shine protects the leather from moisture and sun damage and retards scuffs. Some shoemakers recommend a hard, wax-based polish; others prefer the softer, fragrant bee’s wax polish. Polish your shoes by first wiping them clean with a soft cloth. Then rub in polish, wax or cream with a slightly damp cloth. Wipe off the excess, let it dry, and buff with a soft-bristled brush.

•Dry your shoes: If you get caught in the rain, don’t put your shoes near a heat source. Wipe them dry and leave them at room temperature. After a few hours, insert shoe trees to help keep their shape. Don’t polish your shoes when they’re wet.

•Rejuvenate suede: The nap of suede shoes can be renewed by softly brushing the shoes with a fine-bristled brush, or by softly rubbing them with a fine nail file.

•Remove salt stains: Salt, used to melt ice and snow on walkways, can leave unsightly white stains on shoes. Even worse, salt can do serious damage because it leeches out moisture from the leather, leaving it brittle and likely to crack. To remove salt residue (which is not visable until it sets in), first dry the shoes. If the shoes are very wet, wipe them with a dry cloth and stuff them with crumpled newspaper; if they are only slightly damp, insert shoe trees. Either way, let the shoes air out at room temperature for about an hour.

Afterward, gently rub the outside of the shoes—especially near the soles, an area where salt is most likely to lodge, and which gets the most wear-and-tear—with a cloth dampened with fresh water.

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