Footwear Care

On the first few occasions try to wear your new shoes in dry conditions as far as possible. Thereafter try to avoid wearing the same pair of shoes day in and day out. Wearing a pair of shoes on alternate days prolongs their life and helps keep them looking smart and feeling comfortable. Good cream or polish is essential to preserve the leather and keep shoes looking good. Polishing once a week is usually sufficient.

Clean footwear with a brush or damp cloth before applying a good quality shoe cream or polish of the appropriate colour.

Grain Leather Shoes

	Let shoes dry before cleaning and polishing them
	Clean shoes with a leather cleaner to remove the surface dirt
	Optionally use a conditioner to soften and lubricate the leather
	Polish with a suitable cream, liquid or paste
	Optionally weatherproof them with a suitable product

Suede and Nubuck

The key to looking after suede and nubuck shoes is preventive maintenance. Because the leather has no protective surface they can quickly soak up stains, so its a good idea to apply a protective product before they show signs of damage.

Suede

	Let the shoes dry before removing dirt with a suede brush
	Brush up the nap
	Apply a suitable protective product and leave the shoes to dry overnight
	Brush up the nap again

Bald patches on suede can be restored using sandpaper or a stiff brass wire brush. Stains can be carefully removed with a solvent cleaner or suede shampoo. Never use polish meant for normal leather on suede.

Nubuck

Nubuck shoes can generally be cleaned by wiping with a cloth dipped in slightly soapy warm water. There are also special products for cleaning and protecting nubuck footwear.

Wet shoes

Don't dry shoes in direct sunlight or in front of fires or radiators. Slow, natural drying at room temperature is best if you want to avoid your shoes shrinking or going out of shape.

	Dab excess water with a dry cloth
	Let them dry slowly at room temperature
	Stuff with paper to soak up moisture and maintain their shape
	Remove paper when almost dry
	When dry, clean, polish and optionally weatherproof with a suitable product

Salt stains

Wipe over with a damp cloth and polish when dry. Wipe down your footwear as soon as you come in. When salt stains do set in, try wiping the leather with diluted vinegar.