How to care for your shoes - step 1

A particularly gruesome can be the men's foot locker. Battered leather, pungent inners and all round terrible condition. And pairs of them in a heap at the bottom of some cupboard or wardrobe. 

A simple rule: look after your shoes and they will look after you. 

Let's forget the many reasons why you should maintain your shoes health. Let's focus on just one good reason not too.......(chirping crickets).......Anybody? 

Personally, I can not find a solid reason not too so doing so is wrong. Nows the time to stop and decide you wish the sort of shoes that look fantastic, last years and feel great. Isn't that what we all want? 

I started enjoying my shoes when I started buying handmade shoes. And that is a driver. If you buy cheap shoes you will accept that you can treat them cheaply. If you invest a larger amount you will look after them like an investment.

 

Shoe care

Cleaning: polish once a week a least. I tend to do mine on the Monday morning but any day that you have 30 minutes free to do all means you get so many happy hours every time you look down at them plus the longer they will live. Polish also acts as a protective layer, to some extent, against all the knocks and scuffs that you suffer day to day. If there is no polish then the leather directly takes that daily punishment and permanent scratches can appear. 

How to: this is a good video of a chap called Mike Summers who owns and runs Jim the Shoe Doctor in the states. Couldn't fault his simple step by step guide.

Or for something a little more detailed please watch this video by the Institutue of Modern Butlering. This is a site dedicated to training and advising butlers or the gentleman's gentleman.

Both are great in depth ways to look after your shoes but just doing some polishing once a week and general care will help hugely. 

The photos below are some great shoe care from  a handmade shoe company in the states called Allen Edmonds. They are very popular around the world but also are heavy into shoe maintenance so below are available to buy from them or me if you wish. Contact me if you wish to purchase but remember I will need to add on a shipping charge unless you can pick up from my London office in Bank. 

The full Leather shoe kit is only £85 pound which for a high end pack like this is very good value. 

The travel kit is £28 and the mini kit £12.