Hey there, it’s your favorite Personal Stylist – Raktim from Big and Stylish here back at it again. Today we will be discussing some shoe care.
You may have bought that favorite pair of shoes that cost you thirty bucks or three thousand bucks depending on your budget. But now how do you make sure it lasts you a longtime?
Believe me a shoe that costed you thirty bucks could last you a lifetime with some minimal repairs which you could then hand over to your grandchildren. On the other hand that three thousand bucks pair could start to lose its color and start to fade away in just a matter of months.
But do not worry as you have come to the right place. I have myself worn and tried a dozen pair of shoes from different brands and learned of a couple of hacks and ways to maximize the life span of your shoes which I will share in this blog.
How do you know if this information will actually help you?
Let me ask you a couple of questions? Do you use shoe tress to stop shoe creases? Do you use a shoe horn to protect the vamp of your shoes? Do you have a proper shoe care routine? Should you use wax polish or cream polish? How many times a week should you shine your shoes?
To find the answer to all of these questions, scroll down below and go through the tips that I will now go on to share with you.
Have a proper shoe shine and care routine
Do you know what kills the lifespan of a shoe real quick ?
Improper Care!
I do not care whether your shoes are made of vegan leather or real leather, you should treat your shoe just like how you treat your skin.
Just like your skin, your shoes also need proper moisturization and protection. But if you are someone whose skincare routine is like a trainwreck where the bogeys have shifted off the rails, then I do not expect you to understand in the first place (eye roll).
As a Personal Stylist I will perhaps cover the topic of proper Skincare and grooming for men in another blog. Just like shoe care, most men are also lagging in the department of skin care.
But enough dilly dallying, let’s get to the topic at hand.
Now if you are a proper shoe head, you may spend anywhere from thirty minutes all the way up to sixty minutes at your workstation trying to get a proper spit shine on your shoe while your fingers look like you have been working at a mining station.
But I am guessing just like me and the 90 percent of the men out there, you probably do not have the kind of patience to sit in a secluded spot and rub your shoes like Aladdin’s lamp.
So, I am giving you a simple 4 step shining routine that will give you a good, polished appearance on your shoes in under 5 minutes –
- Step 1: Clean the shoes thoroughly with a soft bristle brush to remove any dirt or debris on the shoe.
- Step 2: Time to apply some cream polish on your shoes. I recommend using your hands but if you are too touchy you can use a cotton rag.
- Step 3: After applying a cream polish let your shoes dry. Then you apply a wax polish that matches the color of your shoe. Best way is to use your hands to apply it but you can use a hard bristle applicator brush if you are too touchy with your hands (Pun intended).
- Step 4: Let the wax polish dry and finally again give a final brush with the soft bristle brush to remove any excess material and provide a good shining finish on your shoes.
Now the amount of shine and luster you will get on your shoe will vary depending on the type of the shoe leather. The quality of your materials used to shine your shines also dictate the shine you will get on your shoes.
To know about this 4-step routine in more detail you can check out the video linked above.
Use Shoe trees
Credit: Jos A Bank
Apart from a poor shoe maintenance routine, do you know what else eats away at the lifespan of a shoe?
The answer is moisture and creasing.
After you receive any new shoe, you will find that out of the box there will be a wooden carving inside like shown above in the photo that is modelled around the last of the shoes. Those are called shoe trees.
But if you are like me and you buy from most modest brands, you will see that your shoe comes stuffed with paper inside it.
Both are different materials but serve the same purpose. They both protect the leather from creasing and accumulating moisture and bacteria when it’s sitting in the warehouse.
The biggest mistake that men make in terms of caring for their shoes is not using a shoe tree.
When you are not wearing your shoes, they start to crease and worse if moisture is built up inside from you wearing the shoes all day long, then bacteria starts to build up.
The solution to this problem is a shoe tree. It keeps the leather stretched out to make sure there is no creasing, and the wood soaks up all the moisture in the leather.
A good quality wooden shoe tree will set you back anywhere from around Rs.1900 all the way to Rs.5000 on Amazon.
But if that is too much for you, you can easily get the same in a plastic material for under Rs. 1000. It won’t be able to absorb all the moisture but will definitely do a good job minimizing the creasing and increasing the life span of the shoe.
And if you are really in a pinch in terms of your wallet, you can use old newspaper or paper and roll it up and stuff it inside your shoes.
Wear Socks !
Credit: Sock Soho
Speaking of moisture and bacteria, do you know of another thing that can protect your shoes from the above two big baddies?
Yes, you guessed it right, Socks!
And I do not care whether you like the full calf socks look or the no socks look, wear socks with your shoes nonetheless.
The no sock look does not mean not wearing a sock, it means you wear a no show sock specifically designed to show off your sexy ankles like shown in the pic above.
So do yourself a favor and wear socks with your shoes, not only will it protect your feet, but it will also prevent your shoes from smelling like a 12-year-old boy’s hostel room.
If you like to show off your ankles, then wear no show socks otherwise stick to your classic calf length socks.
Use Shoe Horns
Credit: comfortclothiers.com
Before you understand why this is important and why you should use this. Let’s understand what the heel cap on your shoe is.
The heel cap is basically present at the back portion of your shoes. You will prominently see this on leather shoes rather than sneakers and canvas shoes. It is the hard portion that you feel hugging your heel at the back of your shoe.
It is there to give your shoe some shape and most importantly to give a little bit of ankle support to the wearer.
Now when you try to force your feet into shoes, you may not realize it, but you are slowly destroying the heel cap of your shoes little by little.
You may not realize this but leather shoes, especially formal leather shoes are designed to be worn by sliding your heels inside them with the help of a shoehorn as shown above.
As an avid shoehorn user myself it physically hurts me to watch people just try to force their feet into their leather shoes and not realizing how they are killing the lifespan of their shoes in the process.
If you are in a pinch, you may use the non-buckle end of your belt as a temporary substitute for your shoes.
I personally always like to carry my shoehorn everywhere even when I am travelling. Also, it’s just easier and faster to just slip into your shoes without bending over and trying to force your feet in there.
So before reading this article if you used to wonder why your shoes appear deformed within just a year or two of buying them then you have your answer now.
Recap
So, to conclude we learnt about the 4 ways you can take care of your shoes today. Here is a recap:
- Have a Proper Shoe care routine (4 step routine)
- Use Shoe tress to preserve the shape and protect your shoes from moisture.
- Wear socks to not just protect your feet but also protect your shoes from moisture and bacteria.
- Use shoehorns to protect the heel cap of your shoes.
Now if you were wondering why your shoes did not used to last more than 2 to 3 years before this, I hope that now you have your answer.
Before investing in any new pair of leather shoes, I highly recommend that you read this blog thoroughly to make sure you get the maximum lifespan out of your shoes.
I hope you found this blog useful, please do comment down below what tips you found useful and if you have any tips of your own to share with our audience.
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With that I want to thank you for taking out the time to read this blog article. And i hope it helped you in some way.