If you purchase with quality in mind, your shoes will care for and carry you for life; but, there’s a catch—you must also care for them. With that in mind, we’ve developed a gentleman’s guide to proper, personal shoe care that ensures your shoes treat you as well as you treat them.
A basic shoe polishing kit will work, but you could benefit by building your own. If you are aesthetically minded, spring for something like the Allen Edmonds Cedar Valet Box to store your kit. What do you need in a kit? Let’s see:
No matter what you get, make sure you show your shoes some love before they start asking for it—after every few times out.
Now that you have what you need, follow these steps:
Prep:
Using a toothbrush and gentle soap, scrub mud and dirt from the entire soles and welts of your shoes; then, wipe off contaminants like dirt, dust, or spills from the upper using a cotton cleaning cloth.
Clean:
With just a bit of leather cleaner on a clean cloth, gently work the cleaner into the leather by rubbing in small circles. Then, allow the shoe to dry. Do not saturate your shoe or the process will take much longer.
Condition:
Once dry, rub the shoe with a conservative amount of leather conditioner. This will rehydrate and restore the leather. The basic kit we suggested does not include a leather conditioner, but don’t worry; with that kit, you’ll condition in the next step.
Polish:
Using a dedicated wax polish cloth, rub—in small circles—a bit of wax into the upper and the part of the outer sole directly under the arch of your foot. Then, vigorously brush the entire shoe using a horsehair brush to remove excess polish. Do this until you can see only a small amount of film on the shoe.
Or, if you have a basic kit (as listed above), cover the entire shoe with a generous amount of cream polish using a shoe polish brush. Cream polish might not give you the shine of a wax polish, but it does help condition.
If you wish to add a shine, move on to step 5. If not, skip it.
Shine:
Dip a cotton ball into some water and squeeze out excess moisture until it’s damp but not dripping. Apply a little polish to the damp cotton and apply to the toe and heel of the shoe in small, circular movements.
This step is repetitious. Use a new piece of cotton to remove all excess polish and repeat step 5 until you’re happy with the shine.
No matter how perfect your outfit is, if your shoes aren’t up to par, you won’t feel—or look— fully ready. Beautifully-cared-for shoes complete an outfit and help prepare you for the day ahead. Proper shoe care not only extends the life of your shoes but shows that you, the wearer, pay attention to the little things. You, and your shoes, deserve it.
