Shoe Care
When you buy a new pair of shoes or boots, its imperitive that you buy the correct shoe care or accessories for it, if you dont already own some. The minimal requirements are a suede brush, a brush for polishing, and a shoe tree.
Boots trees
You must store your boots on trees! You need them to keep the boots shape, and without these, the boots are likey to sag at the ankle, which will cause unnecessary creases. As a cheaper option, you can stuff them with newspaper!
Stick on Soles
If the soles on your shoes are worn, you can get your local shoe repairer to add some stick on rubber soles. These are cheap, and work well. You can also transform a boot for example, by adding soles with a large tread, so you can walk better on snow, and rough terrain.
Do ensure that you also add a heel, when you get the soles added for obvious reasons!
Shoe creams
If your favourite leather boots or shoes boots are looking worse for wear, pamper them with some shoe cream. Not only will this help bring vibrant colour back, it will also nourish the leather.
Shoe dye
You can transform shoes with shoe dye. This is easy to apply yourself for simple colour changes. It works best if you use a shade similar to what is already there, so great for when trying to match shoes to an outfit!
For bridal shoes, its always best to let a professional dye your footwear for you, as the shoes are likely to be of a delicate fabric like satin.
Shoe Polish
Always use a good polish on leather shoes. You should polish after each use, but weekly is fine if you are not wearing them much! But, remember, never polish wet footwear!
Put a small amount of polish on a cloth, and wipe around the shoes, paying attention to areas of wear, and scuffs. Leave to dry. Next, use a shoe brush to buff up to a nice sheen.
You can buy some good scuff covering polish on the highstreet, and this is a must for anyone with school age children!
Suede
If you buy some new suede shoes, once you get them home, brush them gently with a suede brush, and spray them with a protector following the instructions on the can. This spray (including the water proofing spray) is invaluable in helping you to lift out dirt and stains, and keep water marks at bay.
Did you know you can try using masking tape to lift out dirt? You can also use a piece of very fine sandpaper, which can work just as well as a suede brush. Just take care as you would normally when cleaning such fabrics.
Freshening up!
You can whiten trainers with household cleaners, but you can buy whitener cream on the highstreet, and it works very well.
If you shoes look old, or plain, try replacing the laces with new ones, or opt for a different colour!
Ladies, you can add ribbon, corsages and other embellishments onto old shoes to reinvent them, or change them to suit a new outfit. Have a look in your local habidashery shop.
Shoe sprays are excellent for keeping odours out on trainers especially! But everyone one should spray their shoes after wear, to keep bacteria and fungal infections at bay.
Synthetic shoes
These really are the easiest to care for. Such is the fabric, they should come up nicely when wiped with a clean, soft cloth. |
