How to Care for your Shoes

Everything happened in slow motion. The man falling into the woman, her cosmopolitan flying out of her hands and heading directly at me. Her glass and its contents landing directly on me and my nude high heels. 

Has this ever happened to you?

For you to get the most out of your favourite accessory, it's very important to care for them.

And caring for your shoes, could not be any simpler.

Leather Shoes

Leather shoes are extremely durable and easy to care for. 

When caring for leather shoes, give it a coat of good quality leather conditioner. The leather conditioner acts like a sunscreen and moisturiser for your shoes and protects your leather from the sun. It also stops the leather from ageing and cracking. 

When applying a leather conditioner to your shoes, apply a small amount of the cream to a clean, dry cloth. Lightly cover the entire shoes with the conditioner. NOTE: Do not to rub the leather.

I usually leave the conditioner on the shoes for a few minutes and then buff the shoes, with a clean sponge. If you have a good quality leather conditioner, it should dry clear. If the leather conditioner has left any marks on the shoes, you can go over the entire shoe with an instant shine sponge.

After you have leather conditioned your shoes and it has dried completely, give the shoes a coat in a good quality waterproofing spray. This protects the shoes, from water, dirt and oils absorbing into the leather.

Shoe care is an ongoing commitment, so I recommend using the leather conditioner and waterproofing spray after every seven to eight wears.

If you are busy and always on the run, you can get an instant shine sponge, for your leather shoes. The instant shine, is a sponge which is impregnated with an oil and will shine and polish your leather instantly. 

Suede Shoes/Nubuck 

People tend to wrap there suede/nubuck shoes in cotton wool and never wear them because they are afraid of ruining them. Don't! They are very durable and easy to care for.

Before wearing your new suede/nubuck shoes, make sure you give it 2-3 coats of a good quality waterproofing spray. This adds a protective coat/barrier around the shoe so no water, oils or dirt can get into the suede.

By waterproofing your suede/nubuck shoes, it will also keep your shoes smelling nice. Wet suede is not a great smell!

I recommend waterproofing your suede shoes, roughly every seven wears. I would also recommend using a suede brush on your suede/nubuck shoes. This will make sure they stay supple, soft and neat.

After a lot of wear, your suede/nubuck shoes can become very smelly, so it's important to wash them. You can wash your suede/nubuck shoes with a suede shampoo, which you can purchase from a boot maker or some shoe shops. Note: Make sure you let them dry completely before packing them away, as they can smell out other shoes if they have not dried properly. It is also important to use a suede brush when the shoes are wet.

Satin/Fabric Shoes

Satin and fabric shoes are just as easy to protect as suede shoes.

They can be protected with a waterproofing spray but I would suggest coating it with roughly 3-4 sprays, letting them dry each time. Satin and fabric shoes are not as durable as suede and cannot be cleaned as easy, so the more coats, the more protection, the better. Like suede, waterproof your satin and fabric shoes after every seven wears.

Patent Leather

Patent leather can be cleaned with a leather conditioner, just like your leather shoes. However, you will need to shine them, once the conditioner has been applied. To polish my patent leather shoes, I just use a clean, micro fibre cloth to shine them up or an instant shine sponge.

Other Notes

It's important that you choose shoe care products that do not have a colour base to them. This means you can use them on any colour shoes and it wont leave any marks on them.

The more you wear your shoes, the more frequently you should use your products. For me, I top up the shoe care for my shoes after seven wears.

It's also important to keep your shoes in shoe boxes. This protects them against dust and any unwanted moisture. By keeping them in individual shoe boxes, it prevents different fabrics and colours rubbing against each other and permanently staining them.

You can always take a photo of your shoes and put them on the outside of the box, that way you know what shoes are where and they will never be forgotten. This will also give your wardrobe a funky look!

If you are using new shoe care products that you have never tried before, I would suggest testing the products by applying a small amount on the shoe first, to see how it reacts.