We want your shoes and boots to not just feel good but look their best all the time. New footwear does look wonderful, but it looks even better when it has been well cared for, worn in and developed a patina.
This Valentine’s Day we think you should give your shoes and boots some love. They will thank you after all wet weather we have been experiencing. Read our handy guide below.
Shoe care step one
This is all prep work. Don your apron! You don’t want to get any polish or cream on your clothes. Remove your laces first, if you have any. Insert your wooden shoe trees. You will want to buy the same size as your shoes or if you’re a half size, go up. Shoe trees are essential for the longevity of your uppers and sole. While creaming/polishing your shoes, they will help push the creases out and make the leather a bit tauter. Brush off all loose dirt. Do this outside or over the sink.
Shoe care step two
Apply Saphir Renovateur. Using either your fingers or a cloth, apply this lightly in circles and leave for two minutes to dry. Then buff with your brush. This will add some moisture to your leather and help remove old cream and polish. This means you will have a good base to work with. Wait a few minutes before proceeding to step three, we don’t want to soak the leather.
Shoe care step three
Apply your cream. As with the previous step, you want to apply a small amount and work in circles using your cloth. Start at the toes and pay close attention to make sure it’s worked in nicely. Don’t worry about getting cream in your brogue detailing, the brush will get this out. You can use your welt brush to get the cream between the welt and uppers. It’s hard to get your cloth into this bit. Leave the cream for one minute and buff.
You need to give them a good brush to get all the excess off. The pigment in the cream will help cover up light scratches and will enhance the overall colour of your shoes. Wait five minutes before moving to step four.
Shoe care step four
Time for some shoe polish. Make sure your shoes are fully dry from the previous steps. Use your cloth and two fingers to get a small amount of polish from the tin. Start at the toes using small circles and spread it evenly until it dries. Then get a little more and do this around the whole of the uppers. Take time to use small circles and don’t forget to use your welt brush for the stitching and welting area.
If you want a bit more of a shine, you can use drops of water to create a bull shine. See this video our MD Jason made. Once you have applied the polish, you only need to wait two to three minutes. Don’t wait too long as the polish can be hard to buff off. Get your trusty brush and buff quickly, with a little force, to create some friction. This helps to set the polish and will create a noticeable shine. Be careful not to catch the end of the brush on the shoes when doing this.
Shoe care step five (for leather-soled shoes only)
Walking on wet concrete is almost like sandpaper on leather soles and will create wear. You can’t always avoid wet weather, of course, and by making sure you’re rotating and resting your shoes in good quality wooden shoe trees, you will be prolonging the need for a resole two-fold. It’s also worth having at least one other pair to wear during the week to alternate.
Apply the sole protector with a cloth. Your sole will likely soak quite a bit up, so do not be too liberal, but apply enough that you can see it has evenly soaked up. Leave them to dry for at least one hour before wearing them out.
Want to check out the products we use? Take a look at our shoe care section on our website.
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