How to Keep Your Shoes Fresh for Longer
Investment shoes need good care. Here are some reviving tips for keeping your shoes and boots in great condition, for a long life of adventure.
Replace Insoles
We all forget how easy it is to spruce up an older pair of shoes simply by replacing the insoles. Slipping your foot into a clean fresh shoe makes all the difference - not forgetting the support that a new insole provides.
We now sell Tracey Neuls leather insoles so do not hesitate to get in touch for a replacement set when the time comes.
Protective Spray
We take pride in our use of the environmentally more friendly Veg-tan dyeing technique to colour our leathers. This leaves the leather soft and supple like butter, infinitely comfortable, but does mean, like suede, it is a little more sensitive to marks. We recommend investing in a protective spray, one bottle lasts for years and you can do all your shoes, coats and handbags whenever you need to. Definitely worth the investment.
We currently use this one in store: Fabsil a high performance waterproofing treatment suitable for leather and suede.
Leather Balsam
Renapur do a great leather balsam that nourishes the leather immediately, and helps with cleaning, conditioning, restoring, polishing and waterproofing too! Restore the softness of your shoes and keep them going for longer.
Shoe Polish
Mostly, the solid leathers we use are dyed all the way through, so scuffs and scrapes to your shoes can be disguised with a touch of similar shade polish. Keep them at their best with regular polishing sessions. Ranges such as Woly offer the spectrum of colours so it's easy to find a match. With each online order we send, we include a little shoe sponge and buffer - they work like a dream to bring out the shine in your leathers.
Replace leather sole
Occasionally, it is necessary to take your shoes and boots for an MOT. The benefit of Leather soles is that they can be taken off and replaced by a cobbler when needed. Designed with component parts so they can each be replaced as and when needed, our leather sole shoes are built for comfort and longevity. Heel tips can also be replaced when worn down.
Add a Rubber Sole
Some people prefer a rubber sole if the environment does not so easily permit the more sensitive leather variety. It is quite common for a rubber sole to be applied on top of the leather one, for a robust, bad weather-friendly solution.
Shoe Trees
For soft leather and material shoes, an ideal way to keep the shape over time is to store them on shoe trees - foot shaped blocks that can be inserted into the shoes and boots to keep their shape. They come in a variety of materials - classic wood or plastic, and really do make a difference to a prized pair.
Reflective Shoe Care
Our Reflective shoe styles glow with amazing brightness thanks to the creation of scientists. The molecules react to light and burn on and off with intensity. However, like any light sources, they have a life.
Please be aware that these shoes will have a shorter life span than a hardy leather equivalent.
It is hard wearing to an extent but is ultimately a textile rather than a leather upper. The flex and give of 3M reflective fabric means that it can tear if subjected to particular stresses like quick drying after being exposed to heavy rain.
This does not mean they aren't suitable for wearing during rain showers, they are perfect for all winter weather, but try to not expose them to heavy downpour as the material is WATER RESISTANT (which means that the water isn’t going to get in easily) but it is not WATERPROOF.
For dust or slight dirt, we usually suggest cleaning this style with Baby Wipes as they are very gentle on the material. Likewise, any gentle shoe cleaning foam or cream will suffice. You can find good ones from such brands as Loake or Saphir.
As for the rubber soles: in addition to rubber shoe care products a good DIY solution for slight dirt removal is to use an eraser (the one for drawing). A gentle rub will help erase any marks on the rubber soles.
We hope this helps - happy polishing!