Caring For Your Tracey Neuls Footwear
Tracey Neuls footwear uses natural leather and Tracey personally hand-selects all leathers used on the uppers and the linings, sourced from small independent Italian tanneries where the animals are sensitively cared for. As well as being the best, cow leather is chosen because the entire animal can be used with little to no wastage. Leather is beautiful and unparalleled to any synthetic material.
Good natural leather has texture and irregularity is inherent. A perfect surface is an indication of a leather which has been over processed or is in fact is synthetic. We like our leathers to look like leather and be full of character.
Where possible we always choose to make our shoes with hands over machines. In doing so you may find slight differences which you would not find in a mass produced shoe. Do rest assured though that our crafts people are highly skilled and a high level of conformity is our goal but small differences are the reassurance that they have been made with love.
Mostly, the solid leathers we use are dyed all the way through. Scuffs and scrapes to your shoes can often be disguised with a touch of similar shade polish. With unpredictable weather climates, you might want to consider a bee’s wax resin, or a see through spray to keep them more water resistant. Please note that they have been treated by the factory but leather is a skin and by nature is an absorbent material. If caught in heavy rain, allow your footwear to dry at room temperature without the aid of heaters. Once dry, there are plenty of leather products on the market which could help revive them. Always test a small area first.
Absorbency means that red wines, oils and other liquids can stain. Emulating nature's exotic animals on our footwear, we print, texture and emboss many of our leathers. All surface embellishments are just that – on the surface. Please note that these luxurious textures are less resistant to abrasion and a little extra care is needed when wearing them. We can help on how to treat and care for shoes but we can't be held responsible for how customers wear their shoes once they have left our shop. Some leathers are more durable or delicate than others, this we can advise on when deciding, depending if you require something more everyday or special.
Leather does patina with time, we all do! Being natural and organic means that it can be sensitive to light and humidity. If regularly wearing your shoes in very hot temperatures, please treat them like your own skin and make sure the exposure isn’t too long, as some lighter colours can literally tan. Please also be careful of dark dyes from clothing as they could transfer onto your shoes and this is very difficult to rectify.
Top tip: make friends with your local cobbler. Just like your shoe's upper, a leather sole is also absorbent. Please avoid heavy rain and don’t submerge your soles in puddles. Any leather sole can disintegrate if it has been wet too much. You can help superficially by adding a thin rubber ‘sticker sole’ to the bottom if you wish. However, rest assured, the beauty of leather soles is that they can be refurbished and re-soled with a new one when the time comes.
One of Tracey’s favourite past times is beachcombing for old leather shoes washed up from the early part of the century, a testament to this material's longevity. Leather is exquisite and it should be enjoyed. Quality, handcrafted designs are worth repairing and if well cared for, leather shoes do last and are an investment. For any more information about shoe care please feel free to email us at shoes@traceyneuls.com.
