I saw that there was another thread about shoes, but since it was mainly pictures and prices I thought it was appropriate to start a thread about how to make sure footwear remains fresh and shiny.
I'm going to list a couple of techniques that I use for my own shoes and hopefully other people have more tips 'n tricks to share.
Mandatory measures for all types of shoes
### I always keep my shoes in shoe trees; if my feet aren't in my shoes - something else is. This is essential if you want shoes not to wrinkle in the area above your toecap and look worn out.
### I never use a pair of shoes two days in a row. The reason for this is that the sweat from your feet contains salt that sets in the shoe and tears if used too much without rest. Preferably a pair of shoes should rest at least 48 hours before you use them again, but this might be hard if you don't own very many shoes.
Leather shoes
Shoecare of leather shoes can be devided into two areas - Durability care and cosmetical care.
In order to make sure your shoes remain durable it's good to have some kind of fattening product which keeps the shoes moisturized. I use a product which is derived from beewax and it looks and smells like molten waxcandles. (note: this is not wax polish!!)
Before applying the fattening product I take a wet towel and properly clean the shoes. Sometime I even put them under the water tap in my kitchen - especially if you have been on a night out in your best shoes in the club and they've been stomped on.. Then I let them dry for 10-15 minutes.
This will keep shoes from drying out, but the problem is that they will look very greasy. So what I usually do is give them a proper brushing with a good brush - preferably genuine hair - to remove all the excess fat.
I don't use a lot of shoe polish, but when I do I apply a little bit to a piece of cloth and finely distribute it on the entire shoe (not so much on the area that wrinkles when you walk tough) and brush it off a few minutes later.
A greate technique - one that everyone who owns leather shoes should master - is called Spitshine polishing. It's kinda difficult to explain so I'll post a video here:
the important thing about spitshining is that you keep using tiny droplets of water and tiny amount of shoe polish. I always use neutrally colored shoepolish for any shoe but black.
Good luck and please share your tips 'n techniques
I'm going to list a couple of techniques that I use for my own shoes and hopefully other people have more tips 'n tricks to share.
Mandatory measures for all types of shoes
### I always keep my shoes in shoe trees; if my feet aren't in my shoes - something else is. This is essential if you want shoes not to wrinkle in the area above your toecap and look worn out.
### I never use a pair of shoes two days in a row. The reason for this is that the sweat from your feet contains salt that sets in the shoe and tears if used too much without rest. Preferably a pair of shoes should rest at least 48 hours before you use them again, but this might be hard if you don't own very many shoes.
Leather shoes
Shoecare of leather shoes can be devided into two areas - Durability care and cosmetical care.
In order to make sure your shoes remain durable it's good to have some kind of fattening product which keeps the shoes moisturized. I use a product which is derived from beewax and it looks and smells like molten waxcandles. (note: this is not wax polish!!)
Before applying the fattening product I take a wet towel and properly clean the shoes. Sometime I even put them under the water tap in my kitchen - especially if you have been on a night out in your best shoes in the club and they've been stomped on.. Then I let them dry for 10-15 minutes.
This will keep shoes from drying out, but the problem is that they will look very greasy. So what I usually do is give them a proper brushing with a good brush - preferably genuine hair - to remove all the excess fat.
I don't use a lot of shoe polish, but when I do I apply a little bit to a piece of cloth and finely distribute it on the entire shoe (not so much on the area that wrinkles when you walk tough) and brush it off a few minutes later.
A greate technique - one that everyone who owns leather shoes should master - is called Spitshine polishing. It's kinda difficult to explain so I'll post a video here:
the important thing about spitshining is that you keep using tiny droplets of water and tiny amount of shoe polish. I always use neutrally colored shoepolish for any shoe but black.
Good luck and please share your tips 'n techniques
